"Jag äter den."
Translation:I eat it.
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Both work and are accepted. The sentence refers to some object and without context we don't know what gender that object is.
The "tips and hints" thing says to always use Det, if there is not antecedent. Is it wrong?
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It says 'if it does not refer to a previous word'. In this case, den does refer to a previous word, that word is just not in this sentence, but it has been mentioned in the context or it's understood what it is.
The 'tips and hints' refers to expressions like Det är en bok where 'det' does not refer to the book, but is a placeholder subject to say 'the thing I'm now talking about'.
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In the desktop version - go to the duolingo website and there are many more resources
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this refers specifically to objects within reach, in contrast to that.
den and it do not specifically reference something near or far.
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Not to worry! It's when the voice is saying "Jag äter dom" (phonetically; it's spelled "dem") you should be concerned. And even then it could just refer to several food items.
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The gender of what you are referring to differs and also if the object being referred to is unintroduced or unknown, you use det.
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This is where knowing the gender of nouns is extremely important. "Den" refers to an "en" noun (en flicka, en pojke, and so on), whereas "det" is used for "ett" nouns or when the noun isn't known and hasn't yet been mentioned. It is also used for sentences like "it is raining".
Den - I don't see my newspaper. Do you see it? (Jag ser inte min tidning. Ser du den?
Det - My cat likes meat, but I don't like it. (Min katt tycker om kött, men jag tycker om inte det)