An Instagram affiliate disclosure is a plain sentence, placed where people see it without tapping "more", that says you earn a commission when they buy through your link. The FTC says the words "affiliate link" alone may not be understood, and Instagram also asks for its paid partnership label on any post with an affiliate link.

This page covers United States guidance only, and it is not legal advice. Every rule below was read on 23 October 2026 from the FTC's own pages or Instagram's Help Center.

What are the FTC's rules for an affiliate disclosure on Instagram?

The FTC says to disclose a financial relationship with a brand, and its staff guidance treats commissions on purchases as something to disclose beside the link. Its influencer guide, Disclosures 101 (dated November 2019), puts the duty on you: it is your responsibility to make the disclosure, and you should not rely on a brand or a platform to do it. Its question-and-answer page on the Endorsement Guides, which the FTC revised in 2023, says a connection should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when a significant minority of people would not expect it. If you earn from an affiliate link, that is the connection.

Placement matters as much as the words. The FTC says a disclosure is likely to be missed on a profile page, at the end of a post or video, or anywhere people must tap "more", and it says not to mix a disclosure into a group of hashtags or links. The revised Guides add a definition of "clear and conspicuous" and say a platform's built-in disclosure tool might not be an adequate disclosure (FTC press release, 29 June 2023).

The FTC says the Guides themselves do not have the force of law, and that it usually looks first at advertisers and their ad agencies, though action against an individual endorser might be appropriate in certain circumstances. The pages we read state no fine amount, so we give none.

Put one plain sentence where people see it first, on the picture or video itself when the post is visual, and again in any message that carries the link. The FTC's pages give a rule for each place:

Where the link appears Where the disclosure goes What the FTC's pages say
Feed post The first line of the caption A disclosure in the middle or at the end of a post is easier to miss, and any required disclosure should show without tapping "more".
Reel or video On screen, inside the video If the endorsement is visual, the disclosure should be visual too. A disclosure only in the description is unlikely to be clear, and an audio-only one is missed by people watching without sound.
Story On the picture, readable in the time viewers have Superimpose it over the picture and leave enough time to notice and read it.
Profile A line in your bio, plus a disclosure on each post A disclosure that appears only on a profile page is likely to be missed.
Direct message In the message, next to the link The FTC pages we read do not mention direct messages. See the section on DMs below.

Write the disclosure in the same language as the post. The FTC says it should be made in whatever language the endorsement is made in.

Instagram requires its paid partnership label on branded content, and it counts a post with an affiliate link as branded content. Instagram's Help Center says its Branded Content Policies require the label whenever you post branded content. Its guide to common cases lists a post with an affiliate product link: the post should carry the label, but you do not need to tag a business partner. A post that promotes your own products does not need the label, and Instagram reminds creators that their legal disclosure duties still apply.

To switch the tools on, open your profile, tap Menu, then Creator tools and controls (Business tools and controls on a business account), then Branded content, then Set up branded content tools, and tap Enable if you are eligible. Instagram says you must add the label every time you post branded content, that you can use it in Feed, Stories, broadcast channels, Live, Reels and Instagram videos, and that adding it works only in the Instagram app.

The label and the FTC's rule are two different things, so use both. The FTC's question-and-answer page says a platform's tool is not necessarily enough, that the ultimate responsibility for a clear disclosure rests with the influencer and the brand, and that it is best to add your own disclosure. It also says tagging a brand is an endorsement but not a disclosure of your connection. Instagram uses one label for a payment, a gifted product and an affiliate commission, so the label alone does not tell a reader how you earn. Your own sentence does.

Which words work for a disclosure, and which do not?

Plain words that name the payment work, and short codes do not. The FTC's question-and-answer page says starting a post with "Ad:", "Paid ad" or "#ad" would likely be effective, that "paid link" right next to an affiliate link should be adequate, and that "Gifted by" plus a brand name should be sufficient for a free product. Disclosures 101 says a hashtag such as #ad is fine but not necessary.

The same pages mark these as falling short:

  • "Affiliate link" on its own. The FTC says people might not understand that it means you are paid for purchases made through the link.
  • "Commissionable link". The FTC calls it probably not a clear disclosure.
  • "sp", "spon" and "collab". Disclosures 101 calls these vague or confusing terms.
  • "Gifted" with no brand name. The FTC says it is likely to be ambiguous.
  • "Ambassador" or "partner". The FTC calls these ambiguous and confusing.
  • A thank-you to the brand. Asked whether saying thank you is enough, the FTC answers no.

What are some affiliate disclosure examples?

These examples are our own wording, built from the FTC's guidance. Swap in your own details.

  • Caption, first line: "Ad: I get a commission when you buy through my links. This is the notebook I plan my whole week in."
  • Reel, text on screen from the first second: "Ad: I earn commissions on these links"
  • Story, beside the link sticker: "Paid link"
  • A gifted product: "Gifted by [brand name]. The links below are affiliate links too, so I earn a commission."
  • A reply that sends the link: "Here is the link you asked for: [link]. Paid link: I earn a commission if you buy through it."

Each one tells the reader what you earn and where it comes from before they tap.

Put the sentence in the message, next to the link. The FTC pages we read do not mention direct messages, so this is our reading of its test, which is to place a disclosure with the endorsement itself. A reply that carries an affiliate link is a recommendation with a link, and the post it answers may have scrolled out of view, so the sentence belongs in the message too.

Check the program's own link rules before you automate, and send a program's links by DM only if its rules allow it. inDM rewrites every delivered link through its own address to count taps, and some programs restrict that. Amazon's rules are the example, covered in Amazon affiliate links on Instagram, which also gives Amazon's required sentence. For each program's own rules, see affiliate programs for Instagram, compared, and for the wider picture see how Instagram affiliate marketing works.

Where this stops working

  • US guidance only. We read no other country's rules, so an audience elsewhere may be covered by different ones.
  • Not law, and no promise of an outcome. The FTC says the Guides themselves do not have the force of law. Following its wording is not a guarantee of anything.
  • Gaps in the FTC's pages. The pages we read do not name Reels or direct messages, so we applied their guidance on video and on placement. We also found no follower minimum in them.
  • Dates. Disclosures 101 is dated November 2019, and the Guides were revised in 2023. Instagram's menu names can change.
  • Program wording. Amazon and other programs add required sentences of their own.

Now you can write one sentence, put it first, and pair it with Instagram's label, so each post and reply that carries an affiliate link says how you earn. When your link goes out by comment-to-DM reply, inDM lets you write that sentence into the message yourself, and the Free plan includes it.

Sources

All read on 23 October 2026: