Affiliate Disclosure: What You Actually Have to Say

Most creators assume disclosure is for sponsored posts, and that an affiliate link - no brief, no fee, no free product - is just a link. Every regulator that has written this down disagrees.

ASCI's test is any connection "that may affect the weight or credibility of the representation", and it says explicitly that this "is not limited to monetary compensation". The FTC's is shorter: "Disclose the relationship if you got anything of value to mention a product." The UK goes furthest - the ASA's position is that once you include an affiliate link, you are the advertiser.

#Where the label goes

This is where most disclosures fail, and it is not a close call - the FTC and ASCI reject the same three placements in nearly identical words.

Swipe

So: the label is the first thing in the caption, before the platform truncates it. Two traps -

• A blanket line in your bio does not cover your posts. Both name "ABOUT ME or profile page" specifically.
• The platform's own tag is not enough alone. ASCI's wording is that a platform's disclosure tool "should be considered in addition to an influencer's own disclosure". Use Instagram's Paid Partnership label and your own words.

#The words that pass

The FTC is explicit about what not to use: don't use "sp," "spon," or "collab," or stand-alone terms like "thanks" or "ambassador".

The row worth noticing is "Affiliate". India permits it outright; the ASA ruled a standalone "affiliate" label insufficient because consumers do not reliably understand the word, and the FTC says the same. If your audience spans countries, the safe intersection is small and easy: Ad.

#On video, India puts a stopwatch on it

ASCI is the only one of the three that sets durations: 3 seconds minimum on a video of 15 seconds or less, a third of the runtime up to 2 minutes, and the whole brand section beyond that. Live streams are announced at the start and the end.

The FTC sets no duration but points the same way - a disclosure "should be in the video and not just in the description".

#Does your storefront page need its own line?

Yes, and it is the page where it matters most. Three reasons, in order of how likely they are to bite.

Amazon requires it by contract. The Associates operating agreement is unambiguous:

You must clearly and prominently state the following […] on your Site or any other location where Amazon may authorize your display or other use of Program Content: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."

A creator storefront is that location. Amazon can suspend an account for material breach, and this is the thing people most often miss: they add "#ad" to posts and never put the Associate line anywhere.

In the UK, a page of affiliate links is an advert in its entirety. Where content "wholly concerns affiliate linked products", the ASA treats the whole page as advertising that must disclose "upfront" - and says a disclaimer at the bottom is "unlikely to be sufficient". A storefront is the textbook case.

In the US, proximity is the test. The FTC rejects one home-page disclosure covering a whole site, because people arrive on individual pages without seeing it. What it accepts is a reader who "can see both the review containing that disclosure and the link at the same time" - which a storefront satisfies, if the line sits at the top with the products rather than in the footer. India lands in the same place: disclosure follows the material connection, and the links are right there.

#One line that works almost everywhere

Nothing here is legal advice, and it does not replace your own market's guidance. But the three documents overlap far more than they conflict, and this satisfies the overlap:

#ad - I earn a commission if you buy through my links.

It leads with the one label all three markets accept, says what the connection is in plain words, and is short enough to sit at the front of a caption. Add the Amazon sentence wherever Amazon links appear, and superimpose the same line on a Story.

Audiences are not surprised that creators earn from recommendations. What damages trust is finding out afterwards.

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Sources are the regulators' own documents: the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers and Endorsement Guides FAQ, ASCI's Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media, and the ASA's guidance on online affiliate marketing. Rules change; the date at the top is when we last checked them.

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