No more TikTok night-time livestreaming for Nigerians — for now

TikTok, a popular short-form video app owned by ByteDance, has temporarily disabled access to its live-streaming feature for users in Nigeria during late-night hours. The company states that the move is part of an ongoing safety review, which comes only weeks after it released updated safety statistics for West Africa.

The late-night period is the busiest time for Nigerian creators who host matches, entertainment sessions, trends, and other interactive shows that draw viewers and rewards. TikTok communicated the change through an in-app notification over the weekend. Only creators with at least 1,000 followers, the minimum required to host a LIVE session, received the alert.

Under the new measure, users in Nigeria are prohibited from hosting or watching livestreams between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Accounts affected by the restriction now display a “No Access” label during those hours.

 “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,” an update titled “TikTok LIVE Update in Nigeria” stated.

No further details have been shared about the nature of the investigation or when the restriction may be lifted.

During its West Africa Safety Summit held in Dakar, Senegal, TikTok revealed significant enforcement actions already taken in the region. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, 49,512 LIVE sessions were banned in Nigeria for violating monetisation rules. The company also removed 3,780,426 videos for breaking its Community Guidelines, with 98.7% taken down before they were viewed.

The news has raised concerns about the impact on creators who rely on late-night livestreams. Popular TikToker Peller, reacting in a video, addressed critics who assumed he would be financially affected. He noted that he earns from multiple brand deals and ambassadorships but admitted that the restrictions could still disrupt engagement and income for many creators.

Some users believe the temporary ban is linked to a spike in livestreams featuring explicit sexual content, including reported cases of users engaging in real-time sex acts before large audiences. The nighttime restriction now blocks Nigerians from hosting or accessing LIVE sessions during the hours that have recently seen the highest spread of such content.

For now, Nigerian creators and viewers will have to wait for TikTok’s investigation to conclude and for normal late-night LIVE activity to hopefully resume.