An
Information filtering system is a system that removes
redundant or unwanted
information from an information stream using (semi)automated or computerized methods prior to presentation to a human user. Its main goal is the management of the
information overload and increment of the
semantic signal-to-noise ratio. To do this the user's profile is compared to some reference characteristics. These characteristics may originate from the information item (the content-based approach) or the user's social environment (the
collaborative filtering approach).