A teen can take tips more safely when the payment link has been approved by a grown-up, a grown-up can see everything on the page and pause it, and nobody can reach the teen until that grown-up has joined. On TYVM, a page for someone 13 to 17 works exactly that way, and none of it is a setting you have to find.
Why this question is hard
Young people make things worth paying for. They walk dogs, babysit, tutor, draw, play gigs. Getting paid online is the hard part, because many tools that take support or tips are for adults only. So a teen is usually shut out, or ends up on an adult tool that was never designed with them in mind.
When I started building TYVM, I wrote one sentence at the top of the plan: a family-friendly page where young people receive money from strangers. That sentence is the reason every safety decision below exists.
Where the money goes
On TYVM, a teen’s tip jar points at a payment account their guardian approves, such as a family Venmo, Cash App or PayPal. The guardian approves the exact payment link before it goes live, and approves it again whenever it changes.
The money goes straight from the supporter to that account. TYVM never holds it, never processes it, and never takes a cut. The payment app may charge its own fee, the same as it would anywhere else.
That means a teen does not need their own bank account, and a grown-up can always see which payment link the page uses.
Nothing switches on until a grown-up joins
A teen, or a grown-up, can start the page. Until a grown-up joins as the teen’s guardian, the page can show what the teen makes or does, but the money and contact features stay locked. That includes the tip jar and the Get in touch box.
Joining means the grown-up makes their own TYVM account and confirms they are the teen’s parent or guardian. We do not check ID, so that part is on the family.
If the last guardian steps back, those features lock again.
Who can get in touch
The scariest part of “money from strangers” is the strangers. On a young person’s page, nobody can get in touch until a guardian has joined.
After that, a teen can add a Get in touch box. A visitor can leave their name, a way to reach them and a short note. Links are taken out, the words are checked, and the note reaches the teen and their guardian at the same moment. If the teen writes back, the guardian can read that too. There is no chat, and the guardian can switch the box off.
A grown-up can pause everything
A guardian can pause a young person’s page at any time, in one tap, with no reason needed. The page hides within a few minutes and only the guardian can bring it back.
What happens at 18?
On their 18th birthday the page becomes fully theirs. The guardian’s role ends by itself, and both of them are told.
Pictures and reports
On a young person’s page, no picture goes up until a person has looked at it. Every page has a Report link in its footer that anyone can use without an account, and a person, not a bot, decides what comes down.
We also run no ads and no trackers on anyone’s page. AI crawlers are asked to stay away from a young person’s page by default. That is a request, not a fence, and if it is ever switched on, their guardian is told.
What about under 13?
TYVM starts at 13. There is no page for anyone under 13 on any account. On their 13th birthday a grown-up can set up a page with them that is theirs from the start, with the grown-up attached as their guardian.
A checklist for any tool
Whatever you use, these are the questions I would ask:
- Do the tool’s own terms allow someone your teen’s age? Many say 18 and over.
- Whose account does the money land in, and can a grown-up see it?
- Can a stranger message your teen directly?
- Can a grown-up pause or take the page down without asking anyone?
- Does the page show ads or load trackers?
- Is there a way for anyone to report a problem, and does a person decide what happens?
If the answer to any of these is “I don’t know”, that is worth finding out before the first tip arrives.
When can my teen start?
TYVM is getting ready to launch. The app opens at tyvm.app at launch, and it will be free to make a page and get support, with no cut taken. Until then, tyvm.us explains how it works, and the page for parents goes into more detail.