Paid partnership rules on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and more, side by side
The short answer
Mark every paid, gifted or affiliate post with the platform's own label: TikTok's Disclose commercial content setting, YouTube's paid promotion box, the Paid partnership label on Instagram and Facebook, and the paid partnership labels on X, Snapchat and Pinterest.
- Free products, discount codes and affiliate links count, not just cash.
- TikTok's setting also covers promoting your own business, and an account that keeps skipping it can be restricted from posting or banned.
- TikTok also wants the product named in the video or caption, not only behind a link.
- Keep ready-made ads out of the video: YouTube doesn't allow burned-in advertiser ads, X needs its consent for pre-roll ads or sponsor graphics, and Meta doesn't allow a title card in a sponsored video's first three seconds.
- In the US, the FTC wants the disclosure in the video itself, not just in the description.
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X
- Snapchat
At a glance
| Platform | What can happen | Its strictest rule |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Taken down, Labeled or needs a disclosure | Repeatedly skipping the commercial disclosure |
| YouTube | Taken down, Labeled or needs a disclosure | Advertiser's ready-made ad edited into the video |
| Labeled or needs a disclosure | Sponsored or gifted post without Paid partnership tag | |
| Labeled or needs a disclosure | Sponsored or gifted post without Paid partnership tag | |
| X | Labeled or needs a disclosure | Sponsored post without the Paid Partnership label |
| Snapchat | Labeled or needs a disclosure | Sponsored or gifted Snap without Paid Partnership label |
| Labeled or needs a disclosure | Paid partnership without #ad or label | |
| Labeled or needs a disclosure | Paid or gifted endorsement without disclosure |
The rules, side by side
Each row is a platform's own rule: what it means, what the platform says, how to fix it, and where to read it in full.
| Platform | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Repeatedly skipping the commercial disclosureAccount strikeA pattern of posting commercial content without the disclosure setting.Fix: Disclose every commercial post, including past ones (the setting can be turned on from the post's Ad settings). | “Repeated failure to make a disclosure can lead to your account being temporarily restricted from posting content, or can lead to an account ban.” | |
| TikTok | Sponsored post that hides the product or overclaimsRemovalBranded content where the product isn't named in the video or caption (only via profile or link), makes false or misleading claims, promotes negative body image or an unhealthy relationship with food or exercise, urges children to buy or pester parents, shows children in danger, uses subliminal techniques, or discriminates.Fix: Say the brand and product out loud or in the caption, remove unsupported claims, and don't target children. | “You must ensure that the product or service you are promoting is sufficiently clear, without requiring viewers to access your profile page or any links.” | |
| TikTok | Ad, sponsored or own-business post not disclosedNeeds a disclosure labelPromoting your own business, product or service, or posting branded content (review, endorsement, gifted product, paid deal, affiliate link or code, ambassador) without turning on the 'Disclose commercial content' setting.Fix: Turn on 'Disclose commercial content' (Your brand = 'Promotional content'; Branded content = 'Paid partnership') and tag the brand. | “If you’re posting commercial content on TikTok, you must clearly disclose it using the content disclosure setting.” | |
| YouTube | Advertiser's ready-made ad edited into the videoRemovalEmbedding an advertiser-created and supplied video ad (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll style commercial break) into the video itself.Fix: Replace the supplied ad with your own sponsor read, or remove it. | “YouTube's ads policies don’t let you burn or embed advertiser-created and supplied video ads or other commercial breaks into your content.” | |
| YouTube | Sponsorship not declared as paid promotionNeeds a disclosure labelSponsorship, product placement, endorsement, free products, affiliate deal or any brand influence in exchange for something of value, without ticking 'paid promotion' in Studio.Fix: Turn on 'paid promotion' in Studio and also say it clearly in the video (spoken and on screen); the creator is responsible for a clear, prominent disclosure. | “If your video contains branded content, you must let us know using the paid promotion declaration in Studio.” | |
| InstagramFacebook | Sponsored or gifted post without Paid partnership tagNeeds a disclosure labelContent that features or is influenced by a business partner in exchange for money or free gifts (sponsorship, gifted product, discount code, affiliate deal) posted without the branded content tool ('Paid partnership' label) tagging the partner.Fix: Turn on the Paid partnership label and tag the brand (with its permission); also say 'ad' or 'sponsored' in the video and caption. | “Branded content may only be posted with the use of the branded content tool, and creators must use the branded content tool to tag the featured third party product, brand, or business partner with their prior permission.” | |
| InstagramFacebook | Ad-style inserts in a sponsored videoA branded content video containing pre-, mid- or post-roll ads, banner ads, a title card in the first 3 seconds, or interstitial cards that stay on screen longer than 3 consecutive seconds.Fix: Open with content, not a sponsor card; keep any sponsor cards to 3 seconds or less. | “Don't include title cards within a video's first three seconds.” | |
| X | Sponsored post without the Paid Partnership labelNeeds a disclosure labelA post that promotes a brand that paid you, gifted you the product, gives you affiliate commission or a discount code, or has you as an ambassador, posted without the Paid Partnership disclosure.Fix: Turn on Content Disclosure, then Paid Partnership, when posting. | “Posts that are part of a Paid Partnership published as an organic Post must have the "Paid Partnership" disclosure on.” | |
| X | Pre-roll ads or sponsor slates baked into the videoUploaded video that contains third-party advertising, such as pre-roll video ads, sponsor bumpers or sponsorship graphics, without X's prior consent.Fix: Cut ad bumpers, pre-rolls and sponsor slates before posting to X. | “You may not submit, post, or display any video content on or through our services that includes third-party advertising, such as pre-roll video ads or sponsorship graphics, without our prior consent.” | |
| Snapchat | Sponsored or gifted Snap without Paid Partnership labelNeeds a disclosure labelContent that promotes a brand, product or service (including your own business, or anything you were paid or gifted for) without identifying it as commercial and using Snap's paid partnership tool on every Snap.Fix: Turn on the Paid Partnership label, say 'ad' or 'sponsored' in the Snap, and disclose on every Snap of a multi-Snap promo. | “Commercial content must identify the commercial nature of the content, and any promoted brand. You must also use Snap's paid partnership tool to label this content” | |
| Paid partnership without #ad or labelNeeds a disclosure labelSponsored, gifted or otherwise incentivized content with no clear disclosure (#ad or Pinterest's paid partnership label).Fix: Turn on the paid partnership label when publishing (it can't be added later) and add #ad. | “Include a clear disclosure to indicate the commercial nature of your content (such as the use of #ad to indicate that your content is a paid partnership, or applying a label to your content using Pinterest’s paid partnership tool)” | ||
| Paid or gifted endorsement without disclosureNeeds a disclosure labelEndorsing a product, service or person in exchange for money, free products or services, or a personal or family relationship, without a clear and conspicuous notice.Fix: Say clearly at the start and in the post text that it is sponsored, gifted or that you have a personal connection. | “Do not share content or endorse someone or something in exchange for personal benefit (including personal or family relationships, monetary payment, free products or services, or other value), unless you have included a clear and...” |
Laws that apply on every platform
These come from laws and advertising regulators, not from a platform, so they follow you to every app in the places they cover.
| Where | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Sponsored video without an in-video ad disclosure (US)Needs a disclosure labelThe creator has a material connection to a brand they mention or show (paid deal, free or discounted product, affiliate link or code, employment, family or personal tie) and the video itself has no clear disclosure. A disclosure that is only in the caption or description, only at the end, hidden among hashtags, or uses vague words like 'sp', 'spon', 'collab', 'thanks' or 'ambassador' does not count.Fix: Say it and show it at the start of the video, in the same language as the video: for example say 'This video is sponsored by X' and put 'Ad' or 'Paid partnership with X' on screen long enough to read. Keep the caption disclosure too, and also switch on the platform's paid-partnership label, but do not rely on the label alone. On a livestream, repeat it every so often. | “the disclosure should be in the video and not just in the description uploaded with the video.” | |
| UK | Ad not labelled 'Ad' upfront (UK)Needs a disclosure labelContent the creator was paid for, given free products for, or earns affiliate commission on is not clearly labelled as an ad from the very start. In the UK, labels such as 'sponsored', 'gifted', 'in partnership with', 'thanks to X', 'PR', 'collab', 'aff' or just tagging the brand are advised against, and a disclosure only part-way through a video or behind 'more' does not count.Fix: Put 'Ad' on screen in the first seconds (and at the start of the caption), and say it. Swap 'gifted' or 'sponsored' for 'Ad'. Keep labelling content about that brand for 12 months after the deal ends. | “include a clear and prominent ‘Ad’ label upfront before people view the rest of the content” | |
| EU | Paid promotion not recognisable as an ad (EU)Needs a disclosure labelA video promotes a product or brand that paid for it (money, free products, affiliate deal) but presents it as ordinary content, without making the paid nature clear in the video by words, images or sounds. Also covers a business posing as an ordinary consumer.Fix: Add a clear spoken and on-screen disclosure at the start in the local language, and use the platform's 'commercial content' / 'paid partnership' toggle, which EU platforms must offer under the Digital Services Act (Art. 26(2)). | “Using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer (advertorial).” |
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