‘It knows too much’: TikTok’s red flag filter may have become fully sentient solely to expose us

TikTok undoubtedly has plenty to offer its users, but it’s the platform’s appealing filters that arguably keep TikTokers coming back for more. Well… maybe that was the case before the new “Red Flag” phenomenon left our jaws on the floor.

The head-turning phenomenon is just the latest trend taking the app by storm — much like aging and face morphing filters have done before it. In fact, the craze has become so explosive on the app that a recent compilation of various TikTokers utilizing the filter has gone viral. But, be warned, if you definitely aren’t ready to face the glaring red flags about yourself — it’s probably best to not try out the filter.

In the aforementioned video, several platform users were shellshocked at the pure accuracy of which the filter determined the red flags that were specific to each individual poster. One user, with a tattooed line going from the bottom of their lower lip to the end of their neck, was immediately met with a “weird tattoos” red flag. Another user began their TikTok video sneezing, which led to their first red flag to show up as “allergic to everything.” How’s that for irony?

Interestingly enough, one user insisted that the accuracy of the filter must be due to China, who owns TikTok, possessing our personal data. And, wouldn’t you know, the first red flag to show up was “conspiracy theorist.” Now, that’s not to say that any of these red flags are necessarily accurate beyond pure irony, but the red flags appropriately matching each person is certainly enough to raise some eyebrows.

Then again, we are far from a perfect people, and many of us possess plenty of red flags that a large portion of us are trying to reverse in our daily lives. Still, having red flags is nothing out of the ordinary, because, again, we are far from a flawless species. And while it’s hard to slap an outright statistic on red flags and determine all of them in every person, models such as Change Research (via Upworthy) have attempted to lay out the data in regards to red flags in relationships, and which red flags potential partners look out for.

Naturally, however, these series of TikTok videos gained a plethora of attention on the social platform, with one user suggesting that the red flag filter is simply “getting a little too serious,” while another flat-out insisted that the filter is showing no mercy upon those that decide to try it out just to have a little fun. In the end, these users are met with red flags that hit a bit too close to home — perhaps it’s time to work on fixing up our red flags, folks.

If you don’t believe us, then hey, open up the red flag filter the next time you’re doom scrolling on the app and find out for yourself. I guarantee it’ll only take a few seconds before you’re immediately humbled and mapping out your own red flags in your head and analyzing how you can fix them. Dang, TikTok, you didn’t have to read us all for filth like this. Maybe our phones really are listening after all.