TikTokers Are Wondering Why They're Only Seeing Old Content on Their "For You" Pages

TikTok users are reporting something strange: Their "For You" pages are showing them only old content, like videos they watched or liked in November or the first few days of December 2025.

This isn't the first time TikTokers have noticed something up with their For You pages. In November of 2021, users reported seeing content that they had never been interested in. But the issue seems entirely different in December 2025. Some point to TikTok's soon-to-be partial owners as the cause, while others point to algorithm updates and even conspiracy theories.

TikTok user lord.whistledown2 asked, "What happened in December that TikTok is trying to hide?" They explained, "Everyone’s FYP is out of whack, and we’re all seeing videos from November, or like the first couple days of December, that we’ve either watched or liked. Something’s going on."

In the comments, TikTokers shared different theories about what could be happening. One commenter said that because TikTok is being bought, in part, by Oracle, blocking the Oracle account will make their FYP go back to normal. However, if TikTok's new owners have already updated the way things work on the platform, it's doubtful that blocking the account would make a difference.

And while a deal is underway that will sell TikTok, in part, to a U.S. investor group including Oracle, the deal is not finalized yet. The deal is projected to close in late January 2026.

Other comments point to events going on in the world, implying that TikTok is trying to keep users from learning about them. One TikTok user wrote, "Iran, Lake Michigan, Epstein files, Nigeria, Venezuela,” while another theorized, "People started unediting the E files and sharing it."

A different commenter on lord.whistledown2's video said that they think bots are reposting old content as if it is new, which is causing skewed For You Pages. So what is really behind the change?

Social media managers on the platform are arguing that TikTok's newest algorithm change is the culprit for people's wonky For You pages. According to lana.k.social, who identifies as a "TikTok coach," the reason people aren't seeing as much new content on their For You pages is thatTikTok changed its policy regarding paid content.

Content needs to be high-quality, searchable, engaging, and specific, Lana says. Because of these new standards, TikTok isn't pushing videos out to For You pages as easily. As cooberated by Social Media Manager vicky.owens, it seems that TikTok is only showing videos to creators' followers for the first few days after posting.

If the video gets quality comments and is received well by followers, it then pushes the video to a wider audience, and For You pages, Vicky claims. This could be why it feels like there hasn't been fresh content on For You pages recently.

Last year, a law was passed that said the U.S. version of TikTok needed to be separate from the parent company, ByteDance, or it would be banned in the U.S., according to CNN. Now, TikTok has signed a deal that sells part of the company to American investors. The investors that will take over 50% of the company in the U.S. include Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and MGX.

Once the deal is complete, the investors will "retrain TikTok's algorithm on U.S. user data," per CNN. They will also be responsible for content moderation and storage of Americans' data. ByteDance will still control e-commerce, advertising, and marketing.