The Freecash app does not pay users to scroll TikTok but rewards them for playing games.
In January 2026, Freecash became very popular in the U.S. It jumped to number two on Apple’s free iOS charts, right after ChatGPT. This rise in downloads followed a lot of ads promoting the app.
The Freecash app rewards users for completing tasks like playing mobile games, not just for scrolling on social media. The offers of payments for simply watching TikTok videos sound amazing, but they are not true.
Ben Rathe, a TikTok spokesperson, said the ads for Freecash broke TikTok’s rules about honest advertising. He mentioned that TikTok removed the ads after WIRED contacted them for being misleading. TikTok does not allow ads that could trick people out of money or personal details.
The company behind Freecash, Almedia, stated that they did not create the TikTok ads. Instead, third-party partners made these ads. A spokesperson said they are checking these activities and will tighten their monitoring.
After I clicked on that first TikTok ad, I saw many more ads about Freecash. One ad showed a mom and her son shopping because she was “paid to watch TikTok.” Other videos showed people happy about cash they said they earned from scrolling.
It’s unclear if the people in those ads are real and getting paid. Many of the ads came from TikTok accounts with very few followers or no other videos.
When I downloaded the Freecash app, I didn’t find any payment options for just scrolling. Instead, I was asked to download mobile games like Monopoly Go and Disney Solitaire.
After that, I could finish challenges to earn money. For example, in Monopoly Go, I could earn $0.01 for playing for two minutes and up to $123 for reaching level 300 in under three months.
Almedia, based in Berlin, runs Freecash as an ad platform to connect game developers with new users who will install apps and spend money.