Active vs. inactive in the ranker's read
TikTok's FYP ranker uses two follower signals: total count (visible) and active-engagement weight (invisible). The invisible signal is what actually drives distribution. The ranker calculates an engagement-baseline for your account — the expected likes, comments, completions per video — and uses that baseline to grade each new video's first-2-hour performance. Inactive followers don't contribute to the baseline; the ranker effectively ignores them. A 50,000-follower account with 5,000 active followers gets graded against the 5,000 baseline, not the 50,000 one.
