Before TikTok, there was another app from ByteDance, now forgotten: TopBuzz. I think it’s there the algorithm appeared. At first, it started showing you some u

Before TikTok, there was another app from ByteDance, now forgotten: TopBuzz. I think it’s there the algorithm appeared. At first, it started showing you some unfunny mess of weird gifs, memes and short news briefs. But after an hour or two of scrolling, it learned. It observed your scrolling speed changes, your tap patterns, everything. And the feed magically changed to something more interesting — to you, personally. Interestingly, later on this app was accused in facilitating pushing the Chinese political agenda, and then withdrawn from app stores in 2020. But TikTok moved on.