How to Disclose Affiliate Links and Sponsorships: 2026 Creator Guide

Most creators who get disclosure wrong aren’t trying to hide anything. They put “#ad” at the bottom of a description, tick YouTube’s paid-promotion box and assume that covers it, or don’t realise that a free product counts. This guide is for creators of any size who work with brands, get sent products, or earn affiliate commissions, and want to get it right on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

It’s built on the primary sources: the US Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guides and its answers to creators’ questions, each platform’s own help pages, and UK and EU guidance for creators with audiences there. Where the FTC has said something directly, we quote it. It reflects the rules as of October 2026, and it isn’t legal advice.

When do you need to disclose?

You need to disclose whenever you have a material connection to a brand you mention: a relationship that your audience wouldn’t expect and that could affect how much weight they give your opinion. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023, spell out what counts. A material connection can be “a business, family, or personal relationship”, or “monetary payment or the provision of free or discounted products (including products unrelated to the endorsed product)”. It also includes “early access to a product or the possibility of being paid, of winning a prize”.

In practice, you need a disclosure when any of these is true:

• A brand paid you, in money or anything else, for a video, a post, a mention or a segment.
• You got the product free or discounted. This applies “regardless of whether the advertiser requires an endorsement in return”, according to the Endorsement Guides. An unsolicited package still counts.
• You earn a commission from a link or a code.
• You got early access, a free pro account, credits, or a chance at a prize.
• You have a personal or work relationship with the company: it’s your employer, your partner’s business or a friend’s product.

What “clear and conspicuous” means

Disclosing isn’t enough on its own; the disclosure has to be noticed. The Endorsement Guides define “clear and conspicuous” as “difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable) and easily understandable by ordinary consumers”. On social media the bar is higher: “the disclosure should be unavoidable.”

Three rules follow from that:

1. Match the format. A visual endorsement needs at least a visual disclosure, and a spoken one needs at least a spoken disclosure. The Guides note that a disclosure in both “is more likely to be clear and conspicuous.”
2. Don’t make people dig. A disclosure hidden behind “more” is, in the FTC’s words, “not unavoidable and thus is not clear and conspicuous.” Neither is one that only appears on your profile page, or in the comments.
3. Use words people understand. Vague tags and in-group abbreviations don’t count, as the table further down shows.

How to disclose on YouTube

YouTube is where most disclosure goes wrong, because the description box feels like the natural place for it. The FTC is direct about that: a disclosure only in the description is “not enough on its own because consumers can easily miss disclosures in the video description.”

Say it and show it at the start of the endorsement

For a fully sponsored video, disclose at the beginning. The FTC’s answers to creators put it this way: “Having it at the beginning of the review would be better. Having multiple disclosures during the video would be even better.” For a sponsored segment in the middle of a longer video, “the best place for the disclosure would be right before or at the beginning of the actual endorsement.”

A good pattern looks like this: “This video is sponsored by [brand]”, said out loud, with the same words on screen, in the first seconds of the sponsored section. Two more details matter:

• Mid-roll ads. If a YouTube ad lands on top of your disclosure, the FTC says “a disclosure that is obscured by ads isn’t clear and conspicuous.” Place the disclosure where an ad break won’t cover it.
• Timestamp links. Don’t share links that skip past a disclosure you only made at the start.

Tick the paid-promotion box, but don’t stop there

YouTube asks you to declare branded content in YouTube Studio: open the video’s details and tick the box saying it contains paid promotion such as a product placement, sponsorship or endorsement. YouTube then shows viewers a disclosure at the start of the video, may avoid showing ads from your sponsor’s competitors, and keeps the video off YouTube Kids. The steps are on YouTube’s branded content help page.

YouTube’s own policy says you remain responsible for clear disclosure and for following the law, and the FTC agrees: “it’s always best to add your own disclosure even if a platform offers its own disclosure tool.” In 2026 YouTube’s policy also says it may apply the label itself if its systems detect undisclosed branded content, so skipping the box is getting harder to get away with.

How to disclose on TikTok

TikTok requires you to turn on its commercial content disclosure setting for any post that promotes a brand, product or service. You choose between two labels. “Your brand” (promoting your own business) labels the post “Promotional content”, and “Branded content” (promoting someone else’s) labels it “Paid partnership” and lets you tag the brand. The setting works for regular posts, LIVE and web uploads, and you can switch it on after posting. TikTok’s creator help page covers the details.

Three things are easy to miss:

• The label can’t be changed once a post is published. If you pick the wrong one, you have to delete and repost.
• TikTok looks for undisclosed promotion using signals such as promo codes, links and brand tags. If it flags a post, you get a notification and a short window to respond before the video loses eligibility for the For You feed.
• The policy got broader in 2026. TikTok’s updated Branded Content Policy, in effect since 31 August 2026, explicitly counts gifted products, affiliate links, promo codes and past brand relationships as branded content.

The FTC adds that a disclosure only in a TikTok caption is “very unlikely to be clear and conspicuous”, so say it in the video too.

How to disclose on Instagram

Instagram’s “Paid partnership” label sits above the post, where it’s hard to miss. You add it with the branded content tool when you create a post, story, reel or live video in the app, and tag the brand partner, who has to approve. Content with an affiliate link should carry the label too, though you don’t need to tag a partner for it. Instagram’s paid partnership help page explains the setup.

Two catches. Until the brand approves you, the label shows without their name, and if the brand turns the request down, the label comes off your post entirely. And Instagram, like YouTube, says you’re still responsible for any disclosure the law requires. For the caption, the FTC says “any required disclosure should be presented without having to click ‘more.’” Put it in the first line.

Words that work, and words that don’t

The FTC has been specific about wording. Starting a post with “Ad:”, “Paid ad”, “#ad”, “Advertising:” or “Advertisement” “would likely be effective”. “Sponsored by XYZ” or “Promotion by XYZ” is clearer than “Sponsored” alone. Its model sentences are “This is an ad for BRAND”, “This video is paid for by BRAND” and “BRAND paid me to tell you about it.”

Two notes on the table. The FTC confirms that “#ad” covers both payment and free products. And while “Gifted by [brand]” is acceptable in the US when the product is all you received, UK guidance says to avoid it (more on that below).

Affiliate links: the rule most creators get wrong

Affiliate links are where disclosure fails most often, and it isn’t close. A 2026 study of YouTube’s influencer economy, “Turning Trust to Transactions”, looked at about 140,000 English-language videos with affiliate links. Only 45.52% had any disclosure at all, and just 12.20% clearly met the FTC’s guidelines. That’s a big gap, and it’s an easy one for you to close.

The FTC’s guidance for video reviewers with affiliate links is: “You should disclose the affiliate relationship both in the videos and in the description near the links.” Two details matter:

• Spell out what it means. The FTC warns that people may not understand that “affiliate link” means the person sharing it is getting paid. Its suggested wording is “I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.” “Paid link” right next to the link should also work.
• Put it next to the link, not at the bottom. A disclosure 30 lines below the links isn’t next to them.

If you’re in Amazon’s Associates program, its operating agreement also requires you to state clearly that “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases” (or a substantially similar sentence). That satisfies Amazon’s contract, but the FTC’s rules still apply: you still need the disclosure in the video and next to the links.

Livestreams, Shorts and non-English audiences

Livestreams. People join a stream partway through, so a disclosure at the start isn’t enough. The FTC suggests “a continuous, clear and conspicuous disclosure” throughout the stream, such as an on-screen banner, plus a disclosure in the stream’s description, repeated out loud from time to time.

Shorts and reels. Short videos have no “start of the segment” to hide in: the whole video is the endorsement. Put the disclosure on screen from the first second, and use the platform label as well.

Language. Disclose “in whatever language or languages the endorsement is made”, says the FTC. A video in Spanish needs a Spanish disclosure.

Creators outside the US. If it’s reasonably foreseeable that US viewers will see your videos and be influenced by them, the FTC says US law applies to you.

If part of your audience is in the UK or EU

The UK is stricter about wording than the US. Guidance from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the Advertising Standards Authority says:

• Use “Ad” upfront. Paid deals, gifts, affiliate links and discount codes should all be labelled with “Ad” (or “Advert”, “Advertising” or “Advertisement”) before people see the content.
• Avoid softer labels. #gifted, #aff, #affiliate, #collab, #spon, #sponsored and “thank you” aren’t enough.
• Disclose at the start of videos. For video and audio, the disclosure belongs at the beginning.
• Size doesn’t matter. It applies whatever your follower count, and to both you and the brand.

The CMA’s guidance for content creators was updated in 2025, after new consumer law gave the CMA power to fine companies directly.

In the EU, the European Commission’s Influencer Legal Hub makes similar points: commercial content must be identifiable without scrolling or clicking “read more”, and platform labels should be used for gifts and affiliate deals too.

What happens if you don’t disclose?

The FTC’s Endorsement Guides “don’t have the force of law” by themselves, but they describe what the FTC considers deceptive under the FTC Act, which does. The FTC says its enforcement focus “usually will be on advertisers or their ad agencies and public relations firms”, but action against an individual creator “might be appropriate” when they haven’t disclosed “despite warnings.” The Guides make both the brand and the creator potentially liable.

Civil penalties, currently up to $53,088 per violation, apply when someone breaks an FTC rule, or repeats conduct after the FTC has formally notified them it’s unlawful. The FTC didn’t raise the figure for 2026. One rule creators should know is the Consumer Review and Testimonial Rule, in force since October 2024. It bans fake reviews and testimonials, and buying or selling fake followers, views or likes to misrepresent your influence for a commercial purpose. In December 2025, FTC staff sent warning letters to ten companies about possible violations of it.

Platforms act faster than regulators. YouTube can now label branded content you didn’t declare, and TikTok can limit the reach of promotional posts that aren’t disclosed.

The biggest cost is trust. In BBB National Programs’ 2025 Influencer Trust Index, a US survey with a mostly female sample, 70% of respondents said they’d feel negative about an influencer who was paid or got free product and didn’t disclose it. Disclosing costs you a sentence. Getting caught not disclosing costs you your audience’s trust.

A disclosure checklist for every sponsored or affiliate video

Run through this before you publish:

1. Name the connection. Paid, free product, commission, early access, or a personal relationship.
2. Say it out loud at the start of the video or the sponsored segment, in the language of the video.
3. Show it on screen at the same moment, large enough to read on a phone.
4. Use plain words: “Ad”, “Sponsored by [brand]”, “[Brand] sent me this for free” or “I earn a commission”.
5. Repeat it next to the links in the description, in the first lines rather than below the fold.
6. Turn on the platform label: YouTube’s paid-promotion box, TikTok’s disclosure setting or Instagram’s Paid partnership label.
7. For UK audiences, lead with “Ad”.
8. For livestreams, keep it on screen throughout and repeat it out loud.

What to do next

If you review tools for a living, see how the creators on our list of AI tool reviewers worth following handle sponsors in practice: several declare them with YouTube’s label, a spoken mention and a dedicated chapter. Brands that work with you are checking this too, as our guide to vetting a YouTube creator before a sponsorship explains. Viewers are learning to look for it: see how to tell if a YouTube AI tool review is honest.

If you’re featured on one of our lists, the FAQ covers how to update or claim your entry, and our methodology explains why nobody can pay to be on one.