티스토리 (Tistory)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
티스토리 (Tistory) is a Korean blog host run by Daum (다음), a company within the Kakao group. What sets it apart from neighbouring Korean platforms is that it gives a blogger not a feed but a site: a domain of their own, an editable design template and the ability to plug ad networks into their own page.
The platform describes itself like this: «좀 아는 블로거들의 유용한 이야기, 티스토리. 블로그, 포트폴리오, 웹사이트까지 티스토리에서 나를 표현해 보세요» — "useful stories from bloggers in the know; express yourself in a blog, a portfolio and even a whole website".
For SMM this is a platform with a single scenario: a content site built for search that lives on someone else's hosting and earns from advertising. There are no tools for brands here, but the rights to your texts and the procedure for exporting data are described in detail.
Who's here
The platform discloses no audience: neither the number of blogs, nor the number of readers, nor any country breakdown appears on the pages we checked.
The interface language is Korean; the markup of the home page declares no other language versions. The legal anchoring is unambiguous: the terms of use are governed by the law of the Republic of Korea. An indirect sign of who the service is aimed at is the sign-in: the home page offers exactly one button, «카카오계정으로 시작하기» — "start with a Kakao account".
Getting started
Registration goes through a Kakao account from the home page. The blog address takes the form name.tistory.com, and the design is set by a "skin", an editable template. Note that the help pages still carry instructions about invitations that used to be issued to active bloggers, and the dates of those entries are not shown in the listing — rely on the sign-in button on the home page rather than on the old guides.
Your own domain is connected straight away: the platform calls this «개인 도메인» — a personal domain — and explains that setup is done in the «환경설정 > 블로그 정보» section, but entering the address is not enough on its own: you first have to add a CNAME or A record at your registrar.
There is also a team mode — «팀블로그» (team blog) with owner, administrator, editor and author roles. An important caveat here in the rules: material posted by an author in a team blog is, for public posts, attributed to the team blog itself, and it is not deleted when a member leaves.
What you can publish
The formats are text, images, video and attachments. There are two editors, a new one and an old one; the content settings let you set the default save state, the spacing between paragraphs and the default licence for a work, and there is a code block and draft autosaving.
One substantial practical limitation: video hosting is being wound down. In its news digest the platform apologizes for the inconvenience and announces an extension of the video backup period and an improvement to the download process. If you are planning video, count on external hosting.
What is prohibited. The operational policy lists false profile data, spam, material harmful to minors, impersonating a member of the service's staff, malicious code and the collection of other people's personal data. Two clauses are critical for marketing: it is prohibited to place advertising or campaigning addressed to an indefinite range of members, or to carry on profit-making activity on the service, and it is prohibited by any means other than the domain connection feature provided by the platform to forcibly redirect an address to another site.
A separate rule is statutory: the platform states that as an "operator with a duty of preventive measures" it extends technical measures against illegally filmed material from video files to images as well.
How to grow
The platform does not publish its ranking mechanics. The internal channels are the «피드» (feed) section and the home page with its selection of popular material; there are no rules in the public documents about how to get there. The main traffic comes from search, which is why your own domain here is a working tool rather than a cosmetic detail.
The design tool is skins, and they have open documentation: templates are built on «치환자» — substitution variables into which blog data is inserted; among them is a visit counter, which means basic statistics are an element of the template. The platform has no separate ad manager for promoting your own posts: you cannot buy impressions inside Tistory.
Path to monetization
The platform itself does not pay authors. It offers something else: a «수익» (income) section in the control panel where external ad networks are connected.
Google AdSense is the main route, and Google confirms it itself. The AdSense help has a dedicated page for Tistory publishers, which says that Google works with Tistory in a close partnership so that publishers can earn without touching code, and that when a Korean IP address is used, a subdomain of the form "example.tistory.com" can be registered as the site address. In other words, your own domain is not required to get into AdSense.
Kakao AdFit (카카오 애드핏), the Korean Kakao network, is on its way out of the list. The platform gave notice: from 29 June 2026 new applications to connect Kakao AdFit are no longer accepted; for those who connected earlier the link is preserved and settlements do not change.
Tenping (텐핑) is an affiliate network paying per action, and Dable (데이블) is a network of recommendation widgets; both are connected in the same section. Tenping has a "one person, one account" rule, and Dable's widget sizes are 728 × 170 and 320 × 100 above the text and 300 × 250 in the middle.
«밀어주기» (mireojugi, "support") is direct donations from readers: the money is paid out on the 25th of the following month in the form of Daum Cash, and a payment is cancelled if the visitor requested a refund within 7 days. The posts about recruiting for the beta test are dated 2014, so the current status of the feature cannot be considered confirmed.
Tools and automation
There is no open API any more. That is the main thing to know when planning automation. The platform announced: the Tistory Open API is shutting down; through it, creating and editing posts, attaching images and files, and creating and editing comments will become impossible. The announcement is dated 22 December 2023. The documentation confirms the same: «티스토리 Open API 서비스 종료 안내», a phased shutdown up to February 2024. The practical conclusion: scheduling services cannot officially work with Tistory, and publishing has to be done by hand from the editor.
Data. Management is available only to the blog owner: correcting data, backing up the blog, restoring from the backup file of another blog and bulk deletion — that is the standard way to move. When a blog is closed, all posts, comments and trackbacks are deleted with no possibility of recovery, and the address is unavailable for a week; if it is your only blog, closing it turns into deletion of the account.
Rights to content. The operational policy is clear: the rights, including copyright, in material created by a member belong to that member, unless stated otherwise. The caveat comes immediately after: the material may be shown in the company's services, in search and in promotions, and the company and its affiliates may use it to improve services and for research, partly altering and editing it.
Limits and rules
- Inactivity. Two different periods in two of the platform's documents. The operational policy: if there is no login for three years, the data is destroyed, the account is deleted and the blog is closed. The terms of service: if there is no login for one year the member is notified by email, the data is stored separately for four years, after which the account is deleted without notice. We record the discrepancy without choosing between the versions.
- Termination and trading. If a member breaches their obligations the company may terminate the contract unilaterally, and all material is deleted in the process; anyone trading must state information about themselves through a dedicated field in the service, and the right to receive the services cannot itself be transferred.
- Date of the edition. The terms of service are in force from 15 December 2023.
Who it's for
It suits you if you work for a Korean audience and need a content site built for search: your own domain, an editable template, built-in backups and AdSense with an official Google partnership. It suits authors and small editorial teams for whom it matters that the rights to their texts stay with them.
It does not suit automation: there is no open API, and publishing is by hand only. It does not suit video — the platform is winding down its video storage itself. It does not suit direct promotion of services: advertising to "an indefinite range of persons" and profit-making activity are prohibited by the operational policy. And it does not suit you outside Korea: the interface is Korean only, sign-in is through a Kakao account, and the governing law is Korean.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as follows: «좀 아는 블로거들의 유용한 이야기, 티스토리. 블로그, 포트폴리오, 웹사이트까지 티스토리에서 나를 표현해 보세요.»
Self-description: this is the platform's claim about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform belongs to Daum (다음) and identifies itself in the footer as «티스토리는 Daum에서 만듭니다. © Daum Corp.»
Sign-in on the home page is a single button, «카카오계정으로 시작하기» («start with a Kakao account»)
source, checked 2026-07-28
Content
connecting a personal domain is supported: setup is in the «환경설정 > 블로그 정보» section, and a CNAME or A record must be created at the registrar beforehand
source, checked 2026-07-28
the «환경설정 > 데이터 관리» section offers data correction, blog backup, restoring from the backup file of another blog and bulk deletion; management is available only to the blog owner
Backup and restore are the standard way to move between blogs within the platform
source, checked 2026-07-28
when a blog is closed, all posts, comments and trackbacks are deleted with no possibility of recovery; the address of a closed blog cannot be reused for a week
If it is the only blog, closing it turns into deletion of the account
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform announces an extension of the video backup period and an improvement to the download process, apologizing for the inconvenience of moving video files
There is no exact date for the complete shutdown of video storage in the part of the news digest we checked
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
Google confirms the partnership: Tistory publishers can earn through AdSense without touching code; when a Korean IP address is used, a subdomain of the form example.tistory.com can be registered as the site address
Your own domain is not required to get into AdSense
source, checked 2026-07-28
from 29 June 2026 new applications to connect Kakao AdFit are not accepted; for those who connected earlier the link is preserved and settlements do not change
An announcement in the platform's news digest feed
source, checked 2026-07-28
external ad networks are connected in the «수익» section: Google AdSense, Kakao AdFit (only for those who connected earlier), Tenping (텐핑), Dable (데이블)
Tenping — one account per person; Dable widget sizes: 728 × 170 and 320 × 100 above the text, 300 × 250 in the middle
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
the operational policy prohibits placing advertising or campaigning addressed to an indefinite range of members and carrying on profit-making activity on the service
The key restriction for direct promotion of services
source, checked 2026-07-28
forcibly redirecting an address to another site or attempting to take over a site is prohibited by any means other than the domain connection feature provided by the platform
source, checked 2026-07-28
Legal
operational policy: the rights, including copyright, in material created by a member belong to that member unless stated otherwise; material in a team blog is attributed to the team blog
The company and its affiliates may use the material to improve services and for research, partly altering and editing it
source, checked 2026-07-28
the current edition of the terms of service is in force from 15 December 2023 and replaces the edition of 17 October 2023
The governing law is that of the Republic of Korea
source, checked 2026-07-28
Sources diverge: operational policy: if there is no login for three years running, personal data is destroyed, the account is deleted, all blog data is destroyed and the blog is closed
DISCREPANCY between the platform's documents: the terms of service speak of one year without a login, notification by email and separate storage of the data for four years
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
the Tistory Open API has been discontinued: through it, creating and editing posts, attaching images and files, and creating and editing comments became impossible; the shutdown ran in waves until the end of February · the source is dated 2023-12-22
The announcement is dated 22 December 2023; the documentation confirms a phased shutdown up to February 2024
source, checked 2026-07-28
the official Open API documentation is headed «티스토리 Open API 서비스 종료 안내» — a notice that the service is being discontinued
Scheduling through third-party services is officially impossible
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: ko
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
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