Twitter has on Thursday announced that it will be integrating a brand new Tip Jar feature into its platform, which seems like the latest move in its attempt to find additional revenue sources. This is being done to promote Creators who use the platform to share their creations, and to help them earn that extra buck for their hard work.
Once the feature is launched, users will have the option of turning it on and enabling it to their account. This will in turn allow other users to make tips or donations to their account by sending money through a number of payment platforms. A Tip Jar icon/button will be enabled in the Twitter profiles of the users who have turned the feature on. The feature is being rolled out both for users of the iOS and Android systems.
This is not the first time that this feature has surfaced, as it was revealed earlier this year that Twitter was in fact, seeking to integrate the same Tip Jar into Spaces, its audio based platform. Back then, the company had agreed that the feature would allow users to make donations to creators on the platform through payment platforms including PayPal, Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, and Venmo. All of these portals will function in a region-dependent manner. The coming months may see the payment options becoming more varied, allowing users from other regions to participate as well.
Following this revelation for Spaces, Jane Munchun Wong, a data researcher famed for finding hidden features in platforms, last month came up with the news that Twitter was also planning to integrate this Tip Jar into its main service as well, and was in the process of testing it through user profiles.
Now, Twitter Inc. has finally announced the launch of the feature, through its official Twitter account, saying:
show your love, leave a tip
now testing Tip Jar, a new way to give and receive money on Twitter 💸
more coming soon… pic.twitter.com/7vyCzlRIFc
— Twitter (@Twitter) May 6, 2021
This Tweet is not very informative, and so, Twitter also announced the feature via a blog post, saying, “Tip Jar is an easy way to support the incredible voices that make up the conversation on Twitter. This is a first step in our work to create new ways for people to receive and show support on Twitter — with money.”
In news which might concern iOS users of the Twitter app (or actually, might concern Apple Inc. itself), the payment will directly be made from the payment portal through to the recipient account, without passing through the customary Purchases System of the Apple App Store. What this implies if that Twitter will be maneuvering around having to pay a commission of 30% to Apple.
The Tip Jar button will be available on the Edit Profile button of the user’s account. To enable it, the Tip Jar button will have to be tapped, and the user will then be asked into one of the payment portals available.
The move to launch the Tip Jar feature is another step in Twitter’s recent agenda to make its platform more user-friendly, and generate new sources of revenue. The app recently announced the Reply Prompts feature to make users reconsider their tweets should they contain any offensive content. Additionally, the platform will also soon be rolling out its Super Follow feature, which will give users the option to subscribe to (or Super Follow) certain creators, and pay a requisite amount in order to gain VIP access to subscription only-content, including tweets and fleets.
The Tip Jar feature will, for now, be made available only to a section of Twitter users, and Twitterati will have to see whether they are eligible for enabling the feature, by paying their Edit Profile segment a visit. Moreover, as of now, only users who have English set as their default language, will be able to make payments.
