How to Go Live on TikTok
Go live on TikTok from your phone or computer. Check that your account qualifies, set up the stream and its comment filters, bring in guests, and find your stats and replay afterward.
You will end up live on TikTok from your phone, with comment filters and moderators in place, and with a way to go live from a computer once your account qualifies.
TikTok LIVE has a large audience. Streams Charts, an analytics company that tracks livestreaming platforms, counted over 8 billion hours of TikTok Live watch time in the first quarter of 2025, a 30% increase from the previous quarter, which put it second behind YouTube Live.
We checked every requirement, limit, and button path against TikTok's help center, its LIVE Safety Guide, and its LIVE Studio Help Center in October 2026, not on a test account.
A TikTok account with 1,000 followers, the figure TikTok gives (it may vary by region) A stable internet connection A phone mount or tripod for a steady shot A light in front of you, such as a ring light or a window A Windows computer or a Mac, for going live from a computer in step 5 (optional)
Make sure you meet the requirements
TikTok does not let everyone go live. You need three things before the option shows up in the app. First, you need to be at least 18 years old. TikTok raised the minimum age for hosting a LIVE from 16 to 18 on November 23, 2022. TikTok may ask you to confirm your age when you start a LIVE. Depending on where you live, you do it with a photo ID and selfies, a small temporary credit card charge, or a selfie for facial age estimation. If TikTok cannot confirm that you are 18 or older, you cannot go live. Second, you need 1,000 followers. TikTok's help article on LIVE gives that figure and says it may vary across regions. Third, your account needs to be in good standing. TikTok's LIVE Safety Guide says that if you break TikTok's Community Guidelines or its Creator Code of Conduct, TikTok can close your LIVE room and restrict your LIVE features or your account. Once you have LIVE access, the LIVE Safety Education Center, under Creator tools and then Rules and guidance, lists any potential violations. When you first get access, some LIVE features may be missing. The guide says you gain the full LIVE experience over time, as long as you follow TikTok's safety policies.
Good to know: To see which requirements you still miss, tap + at the bottom of the app, swipe to the LIVE section, and tap Get access to go LIVE. TikTok's LIVE Studio Help Center says any requirement you do not meet appears in gray at the top, and that you can reapply once you meet it.
Start your live stream
Open TikTok and tap the + button at the bottom center of the screen. This is the same button you use to create a regular video. Tap LIVE at the bottom of the screen. You may need to scroll across the options to find it. Now set up your stream before going on air. Type in a title that tells people what the stream is about. Pick a cover image by tapping the thumbnail area. Choose a topic category from the dropdown. TikTok's LIVE Studio Help Center says the topic, description, and cover help attract viewers who are interested in your content. Before you tap Go LIVE, tap Settings on the LIVE screen. From there you can add moderators, turn LIVE Gifts on or off, and open Comment settings to block keywords (step 3 covers the limits). Check what the camera can see first. The LIVE Safety Guide says a LIVE is broadcast in real time and cannot be edited, and to keep personal information such as your home address or employer out of the background. If your content is not suitable for teens, turn on Audience controls in the same Settings to limit the LIVE to viewers who are at least 18. When everything looks good, tap Go LIVE. A short countdown starts, and then you are live.
Use the tools available during your stream
Once you are live, the controls sit along the bottom of the screen. To change LIVE tools and settings during the stream, including safety settings, tap More (...) at the bottom and then Settings. Tap any comment in the chat to manage it. You can pin it to the top of the chat for a short time, reply to it, translate it, mute the account, block the viewer, or report the comment. TikTok's help article on LIVE comments says a muted viewer cannot comment until the mute ends, and a blocked viewer cannot comment or watch any of your LIVE videos until you unblock them. You can assign up to 30 moderators for a stream, and each one has to be a friend, meaning you follow each other. Moderators can mute or block viewers, filter comments, and pin comments, but only with the permissions you give them. TikTok's help article says moderators can use comment settings only if you grant them comment permissions. Under Comment settings, Blocked keywords takes up to 500 keywords or phrases of up to 30 characters each. Comments containing them are hidden from you and your viewers, and by default similar versions are blocked too, so blocking "bad" also hides "badness". The Safety Guide says your moderators can add to the list during the stream. The camera flip button lets you switch between front and back cameras.
Good to know: Pin a comment with your topic or a call to action right after you go live. TikTok says a pinned comment stays at the top of the chat for a brief period of time, so pin it again later in the stream for viewers who join mid-stream.
Bring guests into your live
TikTok's help article on multi-guest LIVE says you can invite a limited number of guests, in audio or video mode. It does not give a number. To invite someone, tap Guests at the bottom during your stream, then Invite, and pick other creators or friends. To let viewers ask to join, tap Guests, then the Settings button, and allow requests from all viewers or from followers only. In the same Settings, pick a layout. Panel keeps you on the main screen, and Grid gives your guests more of the screen. To remove a guest, tap Guests, then Disconnect next to their name. There is also co-hosting, where you go live together with other creators. Tap +Hosts at the bottom, then Invite to ask a friend (a follower you follow back), or Send to invite a creator TikTok recommends. Remove anyone who breaks the rules, because the LIVE Safety Guide makes the host responsible for what is streamed in their LIVE. If TikTok flags a guest's or co-host's content as age-restricted, it notifies you so you can remove them.
Go live from your computer
If you want better production quality, you can go live from a desktop instead of your phone. TikTok offers two ways to do this. The first is TikTok LIVE Studio, a free desktop app built by TikTok. Download it from tiktok.com/studio/download and log in with your account. The LIVE Studio FAQ says it runs on Windows and macOS. LIVE Studio gives you scenes you can switch between, sharing of your computer or phone screen, and a dual layout that streams in portrait and landscape at the same time. LIVE Studio has its own access check. TikTok's Help Center lists how long ago the account was created, how much you have gone LIVE recently, your followers, and no recent suspension, and says the requirements vary by country or region. If you get trial access, go LIVE for at least 25 minutes, twice during your first week, because the FAQ says TikTok revokes the trial otherwise. The second option is using OBS Studio or Streamlabs, which work on Windows and Mac (OBS Studio also runs on Linux), but only if TikTok has given your account a stream key. To get it, go to livecenter.tiktok.com, create a LIVE room, add your title and topic, and save. Your stream key and RTMP server URL will appear. Paste those into OBS under Settings > Stream. TikTok's LIVE kit guide pairs 720p at 30 FPS with an entry-level computer and 1080p at 30 or 60 FPS with faster ones. If viewers see lag, TikTok's troubleshooting guide says to stop any background downloads first, then lower the video bitrate or the resolution.
End your stream and review your stats
When you are ready to wrap up, tap the End LIVE button at the top of the screen, then tap End now to confirm. After you end the stream, TikTok shows a performance summary with your viewers, the new followers you gained during the stream, and the Diamonds you collected from gifts. Take a screenshot of this or check it later in TikTok Studio, which you open from the menu on your profile, under the LIVE tab. TikTok's help article on LIVE replays says your replays are available to view and download for 30 days. To find them, tap Profile, the Menu button at the top, TikTok Studio, LIVE, and then LIVE recordings. Tap Download to save a replay, or Clip to cut a part of it and post it. Save anything you want to keep before the 30 days are up.
If the LIVE option is missing, run the Get access check from step 1, and FAQ 2 below covers the other causes. If a desktop stream lags, follow the bitrate and resolution advice in step 5. If you run into trouble with specific viewers during a stream, mute or block them from their comment (step 3). To block an account from its profile, comments, or DMs, see our guide on how to block someone on TikTok. If you decide TikTok is not for you, our guide on how to delete your TikTok account walks through the full process.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
You need 1,000 followers. TikTok's help article on LIVE gives that figure and says it may vary across regions. You also need to be at least 18. To see where your own account stands, use the Get access to go LIVE check in step 1.
The usual reasons are having fewer followers than TikTok requires in your market, being under 18 (or having an account registered as under 18), having active community guideline violations, or running an outdated version of the app. Update TikTok to the latest version, then run the Get access to go LIVE check from step 1, which shows any requirement you still miss in gray. If you meet all of them and still do not see the button, tap Profile, tap the Menu button at the top, tap Settings and privacy, and then tap Report a problem.
We could not find a maximum length on any TikTok page we read, including its help center, the LIVE Safety Guide, and the LIVE Studio Help Center. There is a minimum for LIVE Studio trial access, which step 5 covers. Your post-stream stats in step 6 show how long your own audience stays, so start with something manageable and adjust from there.
Yes, through LIVE Gifts. Viewers buy Coins with real money and send virtual Gifts during your stream. TikTok's help article on LIVE Gifts says it awards you Diamonds based on how popular your LIVE is, and Gifts are one of the ways viewers make it popular. Diamonds can make you eligible for rewards, and you can see your total under Profile, Menu, Balance, and LIVE rewards. To turn on LIVE Gifts, you must live where they are available, be 18 or older (19 in South Korea), be eligible to go live, and have an account in good standing. Government, politician, and political party accounts cannot collect Diamonds, and TikTok says withdrawals are not available in some regions. Check the LIVE Gifts terms in the app before you plan around the income.
Yes, with a LIVE Event. Tap + at the bottom, tap LIVE, then LIVE Center, LIVE Events, and Create an event. You can also start from TikTok Studio by tapping LIVE and then LIVE Events. TikTok's help article on LIVE Events says viewers can register for your event and receive notifications about it, and that they see its time in their own local time. TikTok's LIVE Studio Help Center suggests posting a teaser video with the event information to raise the turnout.