• by Colin Kirkland , October 2, 2023

TikTok has begun testing an ad-free subscription tier for users in one unidentified English-speaking market outside the United States. For $4.99 per month, eligible subscribers will be able to explore the popular social media platform without the interruption of ads served by TikTok.

The company has confirmed the test, but clarified that the test is only running in a single English-speaking market, not in the U.S, which disputes the first report made by the Android Authority blog. 

The testing tier will allow paying subscribers to bypass ads served by TikTok itself. But the platform won’t be blocking influencer-run marketing campaigns that keep their brand sponsorships undisclosed. These type of ads make up a sizable portion of ads viewers see on the short-video feed. 

Even though the test is limited, it marks the first time TikTok has ever accepted money for an ad-free user experience.

Other leading social platforms have already announced plans to do the same. Like Meta, which may use a paid subscription model to allow users living in the European Union to avoid seeing ads on Instagram and Facebook in an effort to relieve regulatory scrutiny over ad-tracking data-privacy concerns.

X has also made headlines for its ad-free tier, alongside YouTube, both of which offer premium options that include additional benefits, such as access to in-app monetization and offline downloads. <