Never tip. Never send gifts. Ever.
First off, most creators are already making plenty from their content. Unless someone is selling an actual thing — a product you can hold — you shouldn’t be giving anyone on the internet money.
Second, TikTok gifts are a scam designed to benefit TikTok, not creators. Whatever you send, TikTok takes about half. That’s why creators beg for “galaxies.” You spend $13, they get about $7.50. The rest goes straight to TikTok.
You’ve probably seen that guy who sells candles on live and freaks out when people send him goofy filters — hats, mustaches, whatever. People think he’s genuinely losing it, so they spend more to watch the meltdown. But it’s all staged. Afterward, he makes a follow-up video calling everyone dumb for believing it, then promotes his candle business. And somehow, people still fall for it.
TikTok Live has basically turned into QVC with filters. If you’re not selling something, you’re begging — because you made the mistake of thinking you could turn this app into a career.
TikTok should be for fun. That’s it. If you happen to make a few bucks, great. But if you’re trying to make this your life, you’re already too late. The people who actually made money off TikTok were the early ones, and most of them blew it trying to maintain the fake lifestyle that got them paid in the first place. It’s sad. It’s not something to chase.
So please — whatever you do, do not give anyone on TikTok your money. Especially not your real money.