Fans and messaging

Sending a gift in chat

For fans sending money in a chat and creators waiting on it — amounts, what “not settled yet” means, and how a gift opens a restricted inbox.

A gift is money you send a creator inside a chat. Sending it is two steps: the gift appears in the chat first, and the payment happens after.

Sending one

  1. Open the chat and press the gift icon in the composer.
  2. Enter an amount. Gifts are in US dollars, from 1.00∗∗to∗∗1.00** to **10,000.00. You choose the amount; there are no fixed tiers.
  3. Add a note if you want.
  4. Pay.

A malformed amount is named: “Enter an amount in whole cents, with no decimal point.”, “Amounts in chat are in USD.”, “The smallest amount is 1.00.","Thelargestamountis1.00.", "The largest amount is 10,000.00.”

Why the creator does not see the money yet

The gift bubble appearing in the chat does not move money. It records what you intend to send. The payment is a separate step, and until that payment settles the bubble is marked as not settled yet.

Both of you see the same thing. A creator is never shown a gift as received while the payment is still in the air, because a fan who abandoned the payment would otherwise look like a fan who paid.

So “I sent a gift” and “the creator was paid” are two different facts, a short time apart. If the bubble stays unsettled, the payment did not complete — send it again.

A gift as the key to a restricted inbox

Some creators set their inbox to Fans who send a gift. In that case:

  • Your gift is always let through, even though ordinary messages are not. This is the only way that inbox opens.
  • Once the gift has settled, you can write ordinary messages in the chat as normal.

Before that, the chat shows a pill reading “To message [creator], send a gift”, with a Send a gift action. See Choosing who can message you.

For creators: the thank-you

You can set up a rule that replies automatically when a fan sends you a gift. It is the one automated message that still reaches fans who have opted out of promotional messages, because a thank-you for money received is not promotion.

It does not reach someone who has muted or blocked you. See Automated messages.

Paid messages
Selling a file rather than receiving a gift.
Choosing who can message you
The gift-first inbox setting.
Automated messages
The automatic thank-you rule.
Sending a direct message
Limits and files in a chat.