TikTok has temporarily limited access to its LIVE feature for users in Nigeria during late-night hours, notifying creators in-app as part of what it called an ongoing safety review.
At midnight Nigerian time on Sunday, the platform issued a system prompt stating, “LIVE⚫ Notices
TikTok LIVE Update in Nigeria
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.”
Checks showed that LIVE broadcasts, which had been running earlier, were disabled from 11pm to 5am, with affected profiles displaying a “No Access” tag.
The restriction also blocked creators from viewing LIVE sessions hosted outside Nigeria.
Only creators who met the 1,000-follower threshold required to host LIVE broadcasts received the message.
Several confirmed that all LIVE activity had been suspended overnight.
Despite the interruption, creators who earn through LIVE gifting retained their balances and previous payouts, easing concerns about income losses.
By Monday morning, LIVE access had resumed, triggering widespread online discussions as users debated the reason behind the nationwide restriction.
Night-time typically marks peak engagement for Nigerian streamers who host game nights, entertainment shows, trends, and other interactive sessions that draw viewers and virtual gifts.
The development follows TikTok’s release of updated safety data for West Africa.
During its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, the platform disclosed that in the second quarter of 2025 it acted against 2,321,813 LIVE sessions and 1,040,356 LIVE creators globally for breaching LIVE Monetisation policies.
In Nigeria alone, 49,512 LIVE sessions were removed during the same period.
TikTok also reported taking down 3,780,426 videos in Nigeria between April and June 2025 for violating Community Guidelines, with 98.7% removed before being viewed and 91.9% pulled within 24 hours.
TikTok LIVE enables users to stream in real time, encouraging direct interaction through comments and virtual gifts, unlike pre-recorded content, creating engagement for Q&As, performances, or casual chats.
To go LIVE, users typically need at least 1,000 followers, must be 16 or older (18 to earn), maintain a clean account, and tap the ‘+’ button to select ‘LIVE’, add a title and effects, and begin streaming.
