Advertising Guidelines for TikTok ads

1. General Information

TikTok is a destination for short-form mobile videos. Our mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge, and precious life moments, directly from the mobile phone. We aim to foster a welcoming community and our Advertising Guidelines aim to ensure we can achieve those goals.

Advertisers must agree with TikTok’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, as well as these Advertising Guidelines. These terms, guidelines, and policies may be updated from time to time, so please review them regularly.

Advertisers are responsible for ensuring that the advertisements they place on TikTok are suitable for users aged 13 and over, or if not suitable for users between 13 and 18, are targeted at users of 18 and over.

2. Ad Review Process

TikTok’s ad review team uses these Advertising Guidelines to evaluate each ad campaign presented for review. TikTok reserves the right to reject ad campaigns from running or remove any ads at TikTok’s sole discretion, including, without limitation, if they violate the Terms of Service, the Community Guidelines, these Advertising Guidelines or any other TikTok policies. TikTok also reserves the right to remove a business account if it violates any of the above.

3. Compliance with local requirements

Advertisers are responsible for ensuring that their advertisements comply with all applicable laws, local language requirements, rules and regulations, and self-regulatory guidelines, rules, and codes.

4. Disclosures

All advertisements must include any mandatory disclosures, and all disclosures must be clear and prominent. Any advertisements without mandatory disclosures will be suspended.

5. Prohibited Content

The following list includes products and services that cannot be advertised on TikTok:

  • Drugs - Ads that depict or encourage the use of illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, and recreational drugs.
  • Alcohol - Ads promoting alcoholic beverages, (wine, beer, spirits etc) alcohol clubs/subscription services and alcohol making kits are not permitted.
  • Cigarettes and tobacco products - Ads promoting cigarettes (including e-cigarettes and vaping products), cigars, tobacco, or any related products.
  • Sexual content and products- Ads that depict nudity (including blurred or pixilated nudity) or sexual content, including sexually suggestive acts or other sexually provocative content and language. Adult entertainment and paraphernalia including pornography, sex toys, lubricants, fetish costumes are also not permitted.
  • Illegal Products, Services or Activities - Ads that promote illegal products/services or promote illegal or inappropriate activities.
  • Gambling and Lotteries - Ads that promote online gambling, lotteries, casinos, sports bookings, fantasy sports, bingo, poker, or simulated gambling.
  • Infringing Content - Ads that include content that infringes or violates third party rights, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other personal or proprietary rights. Services that enable infringement such as software to circumvent usage restrictions are also prohibited. All aspects of the ad including talent, music, and logos must either be owned by the advertiser or properly licensed. We do not allow user generated content in ads unless the advertiser has explicit permissions to do so.
  • Shocking, Graphic or Sensational Content - Ads that contain real or dramatized graphic violence, gore, or gruesome imagery; ads that intend to shock or evoke distress; ads that contain profanity, shocking, sensational, vulgar, or lewd references.
  • Hate Speech or Violence - Ads that promote or encourage violence or hate speech.
  • Discrimination - Ads that discriminate or encourage discrimination against people based on personal attributes such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, disability, medical or genetic condition.
  • Weapons - Ads that promote or encourage the use of dangerous weapons, including guns, explosives, knives, swords and other objects that are designed to cause harm to individuals.
  • Counterfeit Goods - Ads that promote the sale of counterfeit goods.
  • Spyware and Malware - Ads must not contain, or link to sites containing any spyware, malware, or other harmful codes or sites.
  • Political ads - Ads that promote or oppose a candidate for public office, current or former political leader, political party or political group, or contain content regarding a local, state, or federal issue of public importance.
  • Children's Products or Services - Ads for products or services that are specifically intended for or appeal to children including toys, games, apps, clothing, etc. Advertisements marketed specifically toward children, even if the product may be for a general audience, are also prohibited.

6. Restricted Content

The following list includes content that TikTok may allow at its discretion if the content complies with all applicable laws, rules and regulations:

  • Financial Services - Ads related to the exchange, management or investment of funds (fiat or virtual) must comply with applicable laws, regulations, licensing obligations, and industry requirements. For all ads within this category, we may ask for disclosures and evidence of appropriate regulator and/or third-party accreditations or certifications.
  • The following types of financial services/products are not allowed: single securities or other tradable financial assets, bail bonds, debt assistance programs, get rich quick schemes, pyramid schemes (including non-financial pyramid schemes) and multi-level marketing, penny auctions, binary options, cryptocurrency wallets, unaccredited digital banks that perform any traditional bank-like function, cryptocurrency credit or debit cards, initial coin offerings, token sales, or other means of promotion or advertisement of individual digital currencies or tokens.
  • Ads may only target 18+ and must include proper disclaimers.
  • Foods and drinks - Ads promoting foods or drinks high in fat, salt or sugar as identified using nutrient profiling, may be subject to restrictions.
  • Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Medicines - Ads for pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and medicines must target 18+ users and must comply with local laws of the target country. All pharmaceuticals including prescription and over-the-counter drugs must be approved by the regional regulating authority and may not contain misleading or inaccurate claims. Please note that ads for prescription drugs in the EU are prohibited.
  • We do allow advertisements for brick and mortar pharmacies and online pharmacies that are certified by a third-party licensing organization such as the NABP or LegitScript or regional equivalent. Proof of licensing may be necessary for approval.
  • Dating Applications or Services - Ads that promote dating applications or services must target 18+. Such ads must not be overtly sexual or reference transactional companionship or cheating, etc. Dating ads should not be sexually gratifying in nature (e.g., focusing on bodies, sexual language or innuendo, etc.)
  • Media and Entertainment - Ads that promote films, TV-shows, or games must not contain profanity and crude language; sexually gratifying language or images; graphic violence or shocking content or drug use.

7. Prohibited Practices

  • Misleading Claims - Ads must not promise or exaggerate results or make claims that cannot be substantiated. Superlatives such as "#1," "Best Selling," "Most Popular" cannot be used unless the claim can be verified by a trusted third party. Advertisers may need to provide documentation to support the claim or link to the verifying source on the landing page.
  • Misleading functionality- Ads may not include elements that mislead or trick the user into interacting with the ad. This includes non-functioning buttons as well as calls to action that do not allow the user to take said action such as "swipe up."
  • TikTok Watermark - Ads must not include the use of the TikTok watermark within their ads or on the landing page.
  • Mute or still ads - Ads must contain high quality audio and video. Ads without sound or ads that contain static images will be disapproved.
  • Data collection - If you have a questionnaire or request for user data, it should appear only on out-of-app links. Links to such landing pages are allowed but it should be made clear to the user that they are leaving the in-app experience. Your privacy policy should be accessible to ay individual whose data you are processing. Any data collected, received, or derived from a TikTok ad may only be shared with the advertiser's service providers. You are responsible for ensuring that any personal information you collect is collected and processed securely and in accordance with local laws.

8. Use of TikTok Brand Assets

Ads should not imply a TikTok endorsement, partnership, or association of any kind, or the same for any other TikTok affiliated company.

9. Promotions

Any promotions, sweepstakes, or contests (collectively, "Promotions") you run on TikTok must comply with all legal requirements for the territories in which you plan to run the Promotions. This includes, posting official rules, disclaimers, and other terms, and complying with marketing regulations.

Unless we agree otherwise, your Promotion must not imply a TikTok endorsement, partnership, or association of any kind, or the same for any other TikTok affiliated company.

10. Relevance and Appropriateness

All elements of ads, including any text, images, or other media, must be relevant and appropriate to the product or service being offered and the audience viewing the ad.

Ads should not be composed of text only.

11. Other Ad Specifications for Ad Review

We may provide you with a rate card that outlines certain additional ad specifications, such as:

  • Limitation on text in certain ad formats
  • Specific disclosure requirements
  • Limitations on use of external links
  • Specific limitations and requirements of video length
  • We reserve the right to reject, approve, or remove any ad for any reason, in our sole discretion, including ads that negatively affect our relationship with our users or that promote content, services, or activities, contrary to our competitive position, interests, or advertising philosophy.

12. These guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice.