Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Twitter adds 'tip jar' to pay for good tweeting

Twitter has launched a new "tip jar" feature that lets people send money to others on the social network.

Twitter has launched a new "tip jar" feature that lets people send money to others on the social network.

The company says the feature is "an easy way to support the incredible voices that make up the conversation".

To begin with, only a select group of people can receive tips - a group Twitter said was made up of "creators", journalists, experts, and non-profits.

But the feature has also been criticised for exposing personal information such as email addresses.

The tip jar function essentially adds a small icon to a user's profile - on mobile devices only for now - with a drop-down menu for other payment providers such as PayPal, Venmo, or the Cash App, the latter two of which are popular in the United States.

But because the payment is made through those external systems, some Twitter users noticed that tipping a PayPal account lets the recipient know the postal address of the tip sender.

In other cases, the recipient's email address could be seen, whether or not any money was sent.


After security expert Rachel Tobac highlighted the issue, Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour thanked her for the "good catch" - but said Twitter could not control how PayPal handled that information.

Instead, Twitter said it was updating the information around the tip jar to make clear that some details might be shared.

PayPal, meanwhile, said the issue arose because the Twitter tip jar was using its "goods and services" payment option - which shares details for shipping those goods. It said people can toggle to the "friends and family" option during payment to avoid the issue.

The tip jar function also has support for Bandcamp - widely used by musicians - and Patreon, used by all sorts of independent digital creators such as YouTubers and podcasters.

Twitter says the addition was inspired by people who added payment links or Patreon ads in replies to viral tweets.

"We $ee you - 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," wrote Twitter's senior product manager Esther Crawford in the blog post announcing the feature.

It said more people would be able to add the function to their profile "soon".

But there are some concerns about the way the function will be used.

Journalists, in particular, are often banned from accepting gifts - and it's not clear how "tips" will be treated by news organisations.

"Seems like Twitter's tip jar feature is going to raise some issues for newsrooms," tweeted Ryan Lizza, Politico's Washington correspondent.


"Should reporters at your favourite [publications] and networks be allowed to accept money from anyone on the internet?" he asked.

Another reporter writing for a US-based newspaper wrote: "On the one hand... seems ripe for creating unethical situations.

"On the other hand... I don't make a lot of money and it's a tough world out there."

The tip jar is the latest in a string of experiments from the social network, which has seen user growth slow in recent years.

Earlier this month, it acquired Scroll, a subscription service that removes adverts from participating news websites - and announced it would be part of Twitter's upcoming subscription service.

As part of that deal, Twitter also pitched paying Twitter as a way of supporting journalism.

"As a Twitter subscriber, picture getting access to premium features where you can easily read articles from your favourite news outlet or a writer's newsletter from Revue, with a portion of your subscription going to the publishers and writers creating the content," it said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
×