Can you send photos on TikTok?

Person holding a phone with the TikTok logo on it.Unsplash: Solen Feyissa

The direct messaging feature on TikTok is used by millions of users every day to interact with others on the app. However, many people often wonder if there is a way to send pictures to others through the app.

If you’re anything like us, you spend a good amount of time scrolling through your FYP on TikTok. Sometimes, you come across a video that reminds you of someone, so you naturally head to the DMs to share it with them.

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Sometimes, the conversations might lead you to want to send a photo of something that is relevant to the conversation – but is there a way to send photos in the TikTok app?

TikTok as shown on a smartphone.Unsplash.com: Nik
TikTok users are wondering how to send photos on the app.

Can you send photos in TikTok messages?

No, it is not possible to send photos to other users on TikTok. The platform only allows users to communicate through text messages or by sending TikTok videos to each other.

However, it is possible to send GIFs through the messaging feature. So if you want to express a certain emotion, you can use those. TikTok also has a large collection of stickers and exclusive emojis you can send to users.

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While TikTok hasn’t revealed the reason why you can’t send photos on the app, they’re not the only platform to not allow it. The main reason for this is to protect users from receiving unwanted photos from people they do not know.

It’s not clear whether the ability to send a photo through the messaging feature will be made available in the future, but for now, you’ll only be able to send someone a photo by using a different platform, such as Instagram, Snapchat or X.

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If you want to learn more about how to use TikTok, you can check out our other guides, including how to block someone on TikTok and how to delete TikTok search history.