You Can Now Tip Your Faves On Twitter

The live Tweets of your puppy’s encounter with the raccoon next door have blown up beyond what you ever expected, so you figured you’d follow the trend — extend the thread to ask people to drop some coffee money into your Venmo account. But now, Twitter’s making it easier to accept donations for your wittiness, or to send cash to that author whose Tweets always make your day. Figuring out how to use the new Tip Jar on Twitter can help streamline monetary exchanges on the platform — though it may also come with some risks.

What Is The Twitter Tip Jar?

According to a post from the company’s blog, Twitter is making a Tip Jar function available in people’s profile because the platform is already being used to request cash. “We $ee you,” the post says, “sharing your PayPal link after your Tweet goes viral, adding your $Cashtag to your profile so people can support your work, dropping your Venmo handle on your birthday or if you just need some extra help.” The Tip Jar is meant to make that process a lot simpler.

When you pay someone (or get paid) through Tip Jar, the money won’t go through Twitter (and the platform doesn’t take a cut). You’ll be prompted to select one of Twitter’s partners in the project: Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, PayPal, and Venmo. Once you choose a way to tip your fave queer celeb or send a birthday treat your mutual’s way, you’ll be whisked away from Twitter onto one of those financial platforms to complete the transaction.

How Do You Use The Tip Jar On Twitter?

If you’re wondering “Why don’t I have Tip Jar on Twitter yet?” so far, a limited number of folks — primarily creators, journalists, experts, and nonprofits, according to Twitter — are able to receive tips. If you fall into that category and you’re churning out content that your followers will want to thank you for in cash, you can enable the new Twitter Tip Jar pretty easily. Go to “edit profile” and look for the “Tip Jar” option toward the bottom of your screen. Click it to toggle it from off to on by clicking “Allow tips.” You’ll be prompted to add your handles for your favorite money-exchange apps and platforms. Don’t have a Patreon? No problem. Put in your Venmo ID instead. Save your changes and the option to send you a tip for existing will be visible on your profile.

Everyone using Twitter in English can now use the feature to send tips. If you’re looking to send someone money, check to see if they’ve enabled the option on their profile — it’ll be toward the top of their page, on the left of their DM and notification icons. You’ll see which options they’ve enabled for payment and can pick your poison from there. Twitter will redirect you to PayPal or whichever option you choose and you can complete your payment as you normally would.

Is Twitter’s Tip Jar Safe To Use?

Be mindful about what information gets shared when you use Tip Jar. According to Vice, if you send someone a tip through PayPal, you’ll be giving them more than some coffee money — they may also be able to see your physical address in their receipt if your PayPal account is set to send money in the “Goods and Services” setting. If you’d like to avoid sharing your address through PayPal, make sure you’re sending your tip through the “Friends and Family” setting. Even if you don’t send someone money, Tip Jar may reveal their email address when you click to view their PayPal page, privacy and security researcher Ashkan Soltani pointed out. Kayvon Beykpour, product lead at Twitter, tweeted that the platform will add a warning about this privacy issue to people giving tips via PayPal.

Before sending money through Twitter’s Tip Jar, make sure you’re super familiar with the monetary apps you’re syncing up with. That way, you can be certain that you’re only sending tips, and nothing else.