In an in-app notice, TikTok has suspended access to its LIVE features for Nigerians during late-night hours from 11pm to 5am as part of an ongoing safety investigation. The temporary restriction, which prevented users from hosting or viewing LIVE sessions, including broadcasts from other countries, began on Sunday at midnight. TikTok wrote to creators We’re temporarily limiting LIVE late at night in Nigeria as part of our investigation to ensure our platform remains safe and our community stays protected.”
Reports showed that only creators with at least 1,000 followers received the notice, since they are the only ones allowed to host LIVE sessions on the platform. Several of them confirmed that all LIVE activities stopped throughout the night, and no one could even view broadcasts from other countries during the restriction.
TikTok users who earn money through LIVE gifting said their balances were not touched, easing fears of sudden financial loss.
By Monday morning, LIVE access returned, but the whole situation triggered long conversations on social media as Nigerians questioned why the company picked late-night hours, which usually record the highest traffic for match streams, entertainment shows, and interactive trends.
TikTok’s latest move came a few weeks after the platform released fresh safety figures for West Africa at its Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal.
The company revealed that in the second quarter of 2025, it took action against 2,321,813 LIVE sessions and 1,040,356 creators worldwide for breaking LIVE monetisation rules. It was gathered that Nigeria alone recorded 49,512 banned LIVE sessions within the same period.
TikTok added that it removed 3,780,426 Nigerian videos between April and June 2025 for violating community guidelines, noting that 98.7 percent were deleted before anyone viewed them, while 91.9 percent were taken down within 24 hours.
TikTok LIVE remains a popular feature among young users because it allows real-time broadcasting, comments, and gifting, unlike pre-recorded videos. To go LIVE, a creator generally needs at least 1,000 followers and must be above 16 years old to stream and above 18 years old to earn money.
