Cheelee: A New Approach to Attention Economy and Fair Play
Hi, my name is Amara Nwosu, I’m 24 years old, and I live in Lagos, Nigeria. I work as a junior digital marketing specialist for a small lifestyle startup. It’s a creative job, and I love it, but honestly, the salary isn’t great. Like most young people around me, I’ve always been looking for ways to make some extra cash on the side.
At the same time, I spend a lot of my free time online. I’m a huge fan of fashion, cooking, and travel content. Most evenings after work, you’ll find me watching makeup tutorials from Dimma Umeh, styling tips from Kiitana, or trying new recipes from Sisi Yemmie. And, of course, I never miss Nigerian comedy skits from Mr Macaroni and Taaooma — their humor always cracks me up! Watching videos has been my escape, my way to relax and stay connected to trends.
But one day, I came across a short TikTok video from a Nigerian crypto blogger talking about Cheelee. He explained it as an app where you can earn tokens just by watching videos — basically the same content I already loved, but this time I’d be rewarded for my time.
At first, I didn’t believe him. Sounds too sweet, abi? But I decided to do my own digging. I checked the FAQ, read several user reviews, and even looked through their whitepaper. The more I read, the more it made sense. Cheelee is built on something called an “attention-to-earn” model, where your time has value. Instead of platforms taking 100% of the profit, you get a share of it. That idea hooked me, and I decided to give it a try.
At first glance, Cheelee looks like a regular social network. It’s a short-video platform with an endless feed of vertical videos that you can scroll through, like, comment on, and share — just like TikTok or Instagram Reels. But here’s where it gets different: on Cheelee, your time can actually make you money.
The thing is that the app has one unique feature that makes it stand out: if you have special tools called “Cheelee Glasses,” you can actually earn money just by watching videos. Glasses differ in price and rarity. The rarer your glasses, the minutes during which you receive rewards the app gives you per day.
Rewards come from special reward boxes and are called $LEE tokens — Cheelee’s in-app currency. These tokens are automatically credited to your built-in wallet inside the app. Later, you can withdraw them as real money or use them for purchases within Cheelee.
When I first registered, I received a free pair of Starting Glasses worth about $3. With them, I got 5 minutes of paid watching per day for 3 days. During those three days, I simply watched videos. Every two minutes, a reward box appeared on the screen; I tapped it and collected $LEE tokens. By the end of the trial, I had earned about $9 worth of tokens — without spending a single naira.
Upgrading to Smart Glasses
After the free trial, I decided to take the next step. According to Cheelee’s FAQ, the better your glasses, the more minutes you get and the higher your earnings. I started with the Smart Glasses, which cost around $12.30 and give you 25 minutes.
I made it part of my daily routine. In the mornings, I’d catch up on travel vlogs; during lunch, I’d watch short comedy skits; and in the evenings, I’d scroll through fashion tips and cooking hacks. By the end of my first full month, I earned about $38.
For me, that was impressive. It wasn’t “get-rich-quick” money, but it was real, steady cash for something I was already doing for free.
Moving Up to Classic Glasses
After seeing how well the Smart Glasses worked, I wanted to scale up a bit. I went for a pair of Classic Glasses, which cost about $20.60 and give you 30 minutes of paid watching per day.
With the extra five minutes daily and higher-value boxes, my earnings jumped. By the end of my first month with Classic Glasses, I made around $64. That’s almost double what I earned with Smart Glasses, and again — I didn’t have to change my habits. I was still watching the same creators and the same kind of videos I’ve always enjoyed.
Exploring More Earning Options
After upgrading my glasses, I started exploring other ways to earn on Cheelee. The Task Center became one of my favorites — you complete simple daily activities like checking in or watching certain videos and get extra coins called EASY — they can’t be withdrawn now but the app claims to make them valuable soon.
I also joined the Referral Program: I invited two of my friends, and they each bought a pair of glasses. One friend picked Lite glasses, and the other chose Smart glasses. For their registration, I earned $0.30 (2 × $0.15) plus some EASY coins. From their glasses purchases, I earned $2.5 from Lite and $1.5 from Smart. So in total, I made $4.30 plus EASY coins.
I really love how Cheelee supports creators. They help you get donations, grow your audience with some special booster, and give practical tips for success — like posting regularly, being active in comments, getting inspired by other creators, engaging with your audience, getting verified, and putting effort into improving your content.
One feature I’m especially excited about is the Content Star. It increases the chance of content being recommended. Since I love cooking, I might start uploading my own recipe videos and see if viewers will support me directly.
Cheelee has become part of my daily routine. I still watch videos, but now I’m getting paid while doing it. My next goal is to upgrade to Lite Glasses, which cost about $30.90 but can bring in over $100 a month. I’m also planning to focus more on uploading my own cooking videos to grow donation income.
For me, Cheelee has turned my daily scrolling into a small, steady side hustle. It hasn’t replaced my job, but it’s added real value to my online time. And in a world where most platforms see users as numbers, Cheelee feels refreshing because it shares the benefits fairly. Also, it feels exciting to have so many ways to earn within one app. I hope to test options like Risk glasses soon. Also, I do recommend you to join the app — just use my link!
