MTN South Africa has introduced free weekly TikTok access for its customers, offering one hour of uninterrupted usage every Sunday at no data cost.

According to an official statement from MTN South Africa on Tuesday, the free access is available through the MyGifts tab on the MTN app and is designed to reward customers who have the app installed.

The telecom operator said the initiative builds on the momentum of MTN Yiyo, its campaign positioning MTN as the only SIM a South African customer needs.

"MTN is making it easier for customers to unlock more value, more rewards, and greater convenience from a single MTN SIM instead of juggling multiple networks to chase different deals," the company stated.

TikTok's selection as MTN South Africa's first Open Time partner reflects the platform's rapid growth in the country. TikTok has become one of South Africa's most dominant digital platforms, boasting over 17 million active users as of mid-2025, up from just 4 million in early 2023. The platform currently has a penetration rate of around 30% among smartphone users, making it the second most-used social media network in the country after Facebook.

The partnership also fits a broader pattern across African telecom markets, where operators have increasingly used sponsored or zero-rated data tied to popular platforms to drive customer acquisition and reduce churn. For MTN, which competes with Vodacom for South Africa's largest mobile subscriber base, app-based loyalty programmes offer a way to differentiate beyond price-led data bundles in a market where the prepaid segment accounts for the overwhelming majority of users.

MTN said the free hour is designed to give customers uninterrupted time to scroll, share, and create on the platform, whether they are catching up on trending videos, supporting local creators, or producing their own content.

Muyiwa Lapido, Chief Consumer Officer for Prepaid at MTN South Africa, noted that South Africans were creating and consuming more content online than ever before.

"We're giving them experiences that are relevant, rewarding, and effortless. TikTok Open Time delivers exclusive digital perks every week, which customers can claim through the MTN app," he said.

TikTok Open Time represents MTN's first move under its broader Open Time rewards architecture, signalling a structured loyalty strategy for prepaid customers rather than a one-off promotion. Whether the operator expands Open Time to additional platforms or time slots will indicate how central app-driven rewards become to its competitive positioning against rival networks.

In a region where mobile data costs remain a significant barrier to digital access, a free weekly hour on one of Africa's most popular apps represents a meaningful offering for consumers.