What is the TikTok screentime to cash program? Why you should be wary of the pop-up

When scrolling your FYP on TikTok recently, you might have been met with a pop-up advertising a screentime to cash program. But, this is a very good example of when things seem too good to be true, they usually are. 

“Congratulations! You have been selected for our Screentime To Cash program,” is the message users have been getting from within the TikTok app. Users are then urged to “complete setup to start earning” by confirming eligibility, downloading a partner app and claiming cash rewards. 

“I was watching a video when this appeared,” someone on Reddit said, sharing a screenshot of the pop-up. “I verified my age, and afterward it briefly told me to download something, but then it disappeared and the video continued playing. Does anyone know what this popup is for or whether it’s a new feature?”

via TikTok

A further pop-up asks users to confirm their age, saying that in order to be a “screentime to cash creator you must be 13 years or older”. One user complained: “TikTok keeps on asking me for my age and says they chose me for their program ‘screentime to cash’.”

The ‘Screentime To Cash program’ is not a legitimate offering from TikTok 

As I said before, this one is very much too good to be true. As tempting as it might be to turn your screentime into money (of which there is probably lots to be had), it’s not legit. It’s not endorsed by TikTok, at all. 

TikTok does not have a program that pays people for simply using and scrolling through the app. A TikTok spokesperson has said efforts have been made to remove the accounts associated with these messages, but it would seem people are still getting them.

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“We’ve removed content and accounts for violating our policies against deceptive practices and misleading content,” TikTok said in a statement. “TikTok prohibits fraudulent activity in both advertising and user-generated content, and we continuously remove such content and accounts as they’re detected or reported.”

via TikTok

The ads are often run by third parties, and are made to look as though they come from TikTok. The ads redirect to apps that claim users can make money by playing games, watching videos, or filling out forms and surveys. 

In the Reddit thread discussing the pop-up, one user said they were redirected to an app called Playful Rewards when they got to the “downloading a partner app” stage. Playful Rewards is a third-party get-paid-to (GPT) mobile gaming app, rather than an official feature or program run by TikTok.

A Playful Rewards spokesperson told Mashable the ads “are not being run directly by Playful Rewards and may be coming from a third-party advertising source.”

Playful Rewards is listed on a TikTok for Business case study page, on which TikTok said: “Playful Rewards LLC, a US-based rewarded gaming app, provides a fast and enjoyable way for users to earn gift cards and cash debit cards by answering surveys and playing games. Users are rewarded with coins based on the time they dedicate to engaging with the app.”

It’s largely contested whether these apps are a legit source of earning money. Some say they do pay out for game playing, or survey completing, and your data is sometimes shared with third parties for monetisation. However, others have claimed apps like these do not pay out as claimed. 

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