Projects
ALGORITHM / Manage Topics
OVERVIEW
Manage Topics helps user adjust how much content they see from selected topics in the For You feed.
The feature was already available globally, but adoption was extremely low. Even after users changed their preferences, many could not tell whether the setting was working or how it affected their feed.
My goal was to make the experience easier to understand, easier to use, and more visible after the user left the settings page.
CHALLENGE
Through product review, the original experience had two connected problems:
Difficulty in understand
The meaning of each adjustment level was unclear and required too much interpretation.
Invisibility of the result
Users could not tell whether a video appeared because of their setting or else.
This led to the core question:
How might we make topic controls simple to use, while helping users clearly understand their impact on their feed?
Build the experience to support trusted consumption
Before it
Let users understand what the feature does and what control it provides
While adjusting
Users express a preference quickly without interpreting complex control
After it
Users can tell the setting is active, recognize its effect in the feed
DESIGN-DRIVEN EXPLORATION
KEY - Simplifying the control
The original slider suggested a level of precision that the recommendation system could not consistently deliver, explore how to simplify the control with clearer view
SOLUTION
Clearer instruction with visualization
Added active status sign
Update guidance
DELIVERABLES
COMPLIANCE / Age Verification Flow
Age verification products require careful interpretation of complex compliance requirements.
CHALLENGE
Introduce additional verification for younger users without making the experience feel restrictive, while maintaining TikTok’s playful and approachable visual language.
HOW MIGHT WE
Meet strict regulatory requirements
Creating a clear and low-friction verification experience for younger users?
APPROCHES
Reviewed and translated relevant compliance requirements into clear verification criteria.
Researched the local culture and cognitive abilities of user in
the age range.
An age-appropriate verification method that met compliance requirements.
DELIVERABLES
TOOL DESIGN / Visual Query for Researchers
Designed a data access tool for external researchers to efficiently filter and retrieve TikTok data. I restructured the workflow to support pre-download filtering and guided query setup, enabling non-technical users to access relevant datasets without manual post-processing.
TRANSPARENCY / Why This Post
Redesigned the “Why this post” feature to make recommendation logic easier to understand and easier to act on. By connecting transparency with preference controls, I turned passive explanation into a more actionable, user-controlled experience for users
TikTok
Introduction
Collaborated across multiple product design workstreams within TikTok’s Content Ecosystem & Integrity team. I translated policy and platform constraints into clearer user experiences across compliance communication, recommendation transparency and control, and researcher tools.
Content Ecosystem & Integrity team
TEAM
ROLE
Designed interaction flows, information hierarchy, product states, and prototypes
Built a functional prototype with Figma and AI-assisted coding to support engineering evaluation
Partnered with product, engineering, research, and policy to clarify requirements, review tradeoffs, and refine buildable directions
DOMAIN
Trust & transparency · Compliance · Researcher tools