Twitter “Tip Jar” feature uses mainstream, anti-sex-worker payment platforms for fans to pay creators

If you’ve been excited about the news that Twitter has launched a “Tip Jar” for creators to receive money from their fans and followers, I’ve got bad news for you: as a sex worker, you DO NOT want to activate this feature. Twitter has not created a payment processing platform to power the Tip Jar, instead they are piggybacking on platforms including Cash App, Patreon, PayPal, and Venmo to process transactions.

PayPal is well-known for its anti-sex work Terms of Service, but most people don’t know that both Venmo and Cashapp also ban transactions related to “adult entertainment and services” on their platforms. Patreon purged adult content back in 2017, so that’s a non-starter too. Performers who already use these platforms to take payments are likely to run a higher risk of getting caught by linking their account to Twitter, as Twitter and the payment platforms are likely to be closely monitoring the uptake of the new feature.