Getting paid by brands to try out and post about their products sounds dreamy. A free holiday? Don’t mind if I do! A box of skin-care products landing on your doorstep when you’ve run out of moisturiser? Yes, please! And what about a free meal at London’s hottest new restaurant? That’s your Friday night sorted. But before you start filming an unboxing or arriving with camera in hand to eat up, there’s one slightly less glamorous thing to remember: ad disclosure.
UK influencer marketing regulations mean you need to be clear with your audience when your content is an advert. Here we lay out everything you need to know about ad disclosure rules.
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The basic rule is if your content counts as advertising, people need to be able to recognise that. Under UK consumer protection law and the UK advertising rules set out in the CAP Code, ads must be clearly identifiable as advertising. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enforces consumer protection law, while the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces the CAP Code advertising rules.
A post can count as advertising when there is a commercial relationship between you and a brand. That may include being paid money, but it can also involve receiving products, services, trips, hospitality, discounts, commission, or other benefits.
“Whenever a brand gives an influencer a payment or any other incentive (requested or unsolicited), or an influencer is otherwise personally or commercially connected to the brand (e.g., owner, employee, shareholder, director, or have any other commercial or personal interest), any content featuring or referring to the brand will need to be obviously identifiable as advertising,” according to the advertising regulation board ASA.
If a beauty brand sends you £500 in exchange for reviewing their products, congratulations: You have an ad. If you receive a Deliveroo voucher for a takeaway, that is an ad too. ASA’s current guidance also states that when a brand provides an incentive and you are commercially connected to it – if a beauty brand sends you some products, for example – then any content featuring or referring to that brand needs to be obviously identifiable as advertising.
Gifted products
Gifted products are not automatically ads. But if you receive a product or service with an obligation to promote it, that is advertising. “Gifts can be classed as payment in kind, so if, as a creator, you agree to receive a product and post about it, that is an ad campaign and not a true gifted campaign (where the brand doesn’t ask for editorial control or anything in return),” writes social media strategist Laura Ridgers.
Basically, the brand’s expectations determine whether it’s an ad. That said, influencers have some agency; receiving a product doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve agreed to post about it, and brands may send products without any formal agreement. But if you have agreed to promote a product, whether through a formal contract or another form of commercial arrangement, then the content needs to be clearly identified as advertising.
When in doubt, it is better to make the commercial relationship clear to avoid being caught out!
Affiliate links
Affiliate marketing is advertising too. If you have an agreement with a company to market its products to your following through a personalised link or discount code, you have a commercial incentive to encourage people to purchase. ASA, therefore, expects content that features affiliate products to be identifiable as advertising.
“Individuals who provide affiliate links are effectively acting as a secondary advertiser, since they earn money in direct proportion to the interest they generate in a product,” writes ASA. That means simply writing “affiliate link below” at the bottom of a post isn’t enough. Make it clear by labelling the content as an ad!
ASA recommends clear labels such as “ad,” “advert,” “ad feature,” and “advertising.” A hashtag isn’t necessary, but you can use one if you like. What you can’t do is sneakily hide the word “ad” after multiple other hashtags or make the label very small. “If you’re using a hashtag, make sure it’s clearly visible up front. Don’t hide it away,” adds ASA.
ASA specifically warns against relying on labels such as “gifted,” “sponsored,” “affiliate,” “supported by,” or “in association with” because they may not make the advertising nature of the content sufficiently obvious. “Gifted products and freebies count as payment-in-kind. If your post features a freebie you’ve been given to promote to your followers, you need to label your post as an ad,” according to ASA.
Instagram “paid partnership” labels
Instagram’s “paid partnership” label may be “sufficient if the label is up front, clear, and prominent.” But – and this is a big but – ASA’s 2026 research found that the label may not always be enough on its own. “If you’re not sure – for example, the label is obscured by the background of your image or doesn’t make clear that the content is advertising – you should include an additional ‘ad’ label,” ASA advises.
Think about all platforms
If you’re sharing content across platforms, you have to label it clearly as an ad on each platform. Also, if you make both Reels and Stories – or anything else – each element of your campaign has to be clearly marked as an ad.
Influencers who repeatedly fail to disclose ads can be added to ASA’s public list of noncompliant social media influencers and will be monitored more closely. ASA may also run targeted ads on social platforms such as TikTok or Instagram to warn the influencer’s audience that they may be seeing undisclosed advertising from an influencer who has repeatedly failed to follow the rules.
Failing to make it clear when a post is an ad can also breach consumer protection law, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) or Trading Standards could take action. In short, it’s worth taking the legal small print seriously.
- Is there a commercial relationship?
- If you received money, products, commission, or another incentive for what you’ve been given, then your post about it should be branded as an ad.
- Does the content promote a brand? If yes, then it is probably advertising.
- Is your ad marking obvious enough? Make sure your ad label is in an easy-to-see place.
- Have you labelled every relevant format? Make sure all Reels, Stories, and posts on every platform are clearly labelled as ads.
Stay on the right side of ad disclosure rules, and there is an abundance of perks – from payments to products to press trips – to be enjoyed as an influencer.
