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Why am I seeing this?

What is your feed feeding you?

See what fills your YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or X feed, which tricks it uses to hold your attention, and how to change it.

Forward First looks at how content grabs attention (fear, outrage, us-vs-them, selling), never which side it's on. Same yardstick for everyone.

Fastest · 1 minute

Record your screen

No download, no waiting. Works for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.

  1. Open the app on its Home or For You page.
  2. Start a screen recording. iPhone: swipe down from the top right, tap ⏺. Android: swipe down twice, tap Screen record.
  3. Scroll slowly for about 30 seconds, then stop.
  4. Pick the video here. Screenshots work too.

Only about 20 still pictures from the video are sent, not the video itself. Nothing is kept except the summary.

Deeper · takes a day or two

Your full history

A recording shows one moment. Your data download shows months: how the feed changed over time, and what the app thinks you're into. Steps below.

1. Get your data

Each app emails you a download link, usually within minutes to a few days. Choose JSON wherever you're asked for a format.

YouTube (Google Takeout)
  1. Go to takeout.google.com and sign in.
  2. Click Deselect all, then scroll down and tick only YouTube and YouTube Music.
  3. Click Multiple formats and set History to JSON. Click All YouTube data included and keep only history and subscriptions (skip videos, they're huge).
  4. Click Next step → Create export. Download the .zip from the email.
Facebook or Instagram
  1. In the app, open Settings → Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Download your information.
  2. Choose Download or transfer information, pick the account, then Some of your information.
  3. Tick Ads information, Your activity / Logged information (posts and videos viewed), and Connections / Following.
  4. Choose Download to device, Format: JSON, any date range, and create the file. Download the .zip when it's ready.
TikTok
  1. Profile → menu (☰) → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data.
  2. Choose JSON and Request data.
  3. When it's ready (check the Download data tab), download the file.
X (Twitter)
  1. Settings and privacy → Your account → Download an archive of your data.
  2. Confirm your password and request the archive. It can take a day or more.
  3. Download the .zip from the link X sends you.

2. Upload it

    Your files are opened on this device; only the history files we need are sent. We read them once to make the report and don't keep them. Only the summary report is saved, for 90 days, at a private link.