Disclosing affiliate and sponsored posts in India

In India, if anything of value connects you to a brand you mention, label the post as an advertisement. ASCI, the advertising industry’s self-regulator, says that covers money, free or discounted products, gifts and family or employment ties. Commission from an affiliate link is compensation, and “Affiliate” is on ASCI’s list of permitted labels. If you bought the product yourself and have no connection to the brand, no label is needed. This is general information, not legal advice, and it summarises ASCI’s 2024 influencer guidelines, which we opened in October 2026. For your own situation, ask a lawyer.

ASCI defines a material connection as any connection between an advertiser and an influencer that may affect the weight or credibility of what the influencer says. Its examples are wider than most creators expect, and the list is not limited to what is written there.

• Money or other compensation.
• Free products, with or without conditions, including ones you received without asking.
• Discounts and gifts.
• Contest and sweepstakes entries.
• Trips or hotel stays, media barters, coverage and awards.
• A family or employment relationship with the advertiser.

Three points from the guidelines catch people out. Disclosure is needed even if your opinion is honest and entirely your own, so long as the connection exists. If a brand gives you a free product and you then mention it, a label is needed even if the brand never asked you to. And the other way round, if you paid for a product and simply like it, the guidelines say that is not an advertisement.

If someone disputes that a post is an advertisement, the guidelines say ASCI will want evidence: a signed declaration from a senior person at the advertiser that no connection existed on the date of the post, or, where the advertiser is hard to trace or several brands appear, the influencer’s proof of purchase. So keep receipts for products you bought and feature.

ASCI’s test is whether an average consumer would notice the label. It says a disclosure should be placed in a manner that is hard to miss, and that it is likely to be missed if it appears only on an “about me” or profile page, in a bio, at the end of a post or video, or anywhere that needs a tap on “more”. It also should not be buried in a group of hashtags or links. The rules change by format.

Tip: A line in your bio is never enough on its own. It can be an extra, but each post that needs a label has to carry its own, in the first line or on screen.

ASCI lists the labels you can use, and says any one or more may be used. The list reads: Advertisement, Ad, Sponsored, Collaboration, Partnership, Employee, Free gift, the “Paid Partnership” tag on Instagram, Affiliate, and the “Includes Paid Promotion” tag on YouTube. Pick the one that tells the truth. “Free gift” suits a product you were sent, “Affiliate” suits commission, and “Ad” or “Sponsored” suits a paid post.

On language, the guidelines say the disclosure should be in English or in the same language as the advertisement, in a way that is easy for an average consumer to understand. So a Hindi Reel can carry an English label or a clear label in Hindi. Don’t use a vague phrase like “thanks to the brand”, which isn’t on the list and doesn’t say what the relationship is.

ASCI’s guidelines name the “Paid Partnership” tag on Instagram as a permitted label. They also say that using a platform’s own disclosure tool should be considered in addition to your own disclosure. In other words, the tag helps, but your own words on the post are still the safer habit.

Meta’s own rules point the same way. Its Branded Content Policies define branded content as content that features or is influenced by a business partner for an exchange of value, such as money or free gifts. They say it may only be posted with the branded content tool, with the partner tagged using their prior permission, and that you must still comply with the laws that apply, including any disclosures. Instagram’s Help Center adds that its policies require the paid partnership label on organic branded content in Feed, Stories, Broadcast Channels, Live, Reels and videos.

On Instagram this is done in the mobile app. For a feed post, tap More options, then Partnership label & ads (below Ads and monetization), and turn on Add paid partnership label. For a Reel, tap More options, then Add paid partnership label; for a Story, use the tag icon at the top. You can add up to 2 brands. The brand needs a professional account and has to approve your first tag, and until it does, the label shows without the brand’s name. Menus change often and vary by app version, so check yours. ASCI names no tool for Facebook, but Meta’s help page on paid partnership labels says Facebook uses the same Paid partnership with label, so on a Facebook post use the tool and also put your own label in the text.

One practical point follows. The tag is built around a brand partner that you add to the post, but Meta’s help page on paid partnership labels says content that features an affiliate link should have the Paid partnership label, and does not need a business partner tagged. So for an affiliate link, use the label and keep your own “Affiliate” wording in the post as well.

An affiliate link is usually a quieter connection than a paid Reel, which is why people forget to label it. Treat it the same way. Label each post that carries one, in the first line of the caption or on screen, and label the link page it points to. Programmes can add their own requirement on top. Amazon’s Operating Agreement asks you to state clearly and prominently that you earn from qualifying purchases, using the wording “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases” or a substantially similar statement previously allowed. For members of its Influencer Programme, it gives examples of a clear disclosure such as “(paid link)”, “#ad”, “#PaidPartnership” or “#Sponsored”.

Our guide to affiliate marketing on Instagram shows where those links can go and how to track them. Remember also that the guidelines count free products and discounts, so a brand deal that pays in product still needs the label.

Under ASCI’s guidelines the responsibility is shared. The advertiser must make sure the post follows ASCI’s code, and the influencer is responsible for making the required disclosures. The advertiser may call on you to delete or edit a post or its label to comply. The guidelines also advise influencers to review and satisfy themselves that the advertiser can back up the claims made in the ad, which is a reason not to repeat a brand’s health or results claims you can’t check. A virtual influencer must additionally say upfront that it is not a real human being.

Two caveats. ASCI is the industry’s self-regulator, and its guidelines are not the only rules in India. The Central Consumer Protection Authority has issued its own guidelines on misleading advertisements and endorsements, which carry legal consequences separate from ASCI’s. We could not open the official text while researching this post, so we say nothing about their details here. Read the Department of Consumer Affairs’ published guidelines and ask a lawyer if you take paid work regularly. Put the label duty in every brand contract, as our guide to influencer contracts suggests.

• Did money, a free or discounted product, a gift, a trip or a family tie lead to this post? If yes, label it.
• Is the label in the first line of the caption, or on screen for a Story or video?
• For a video, does the label stay on screen long enough: 3 seconds if the video is 15 seconds or less, a third of the length if it is longer, up to 2 minutes?
• Did you use a word from ASCI’s list, in English or in the language of the post?
• Does the link page the post points to carry a disclosure line as well?
• For a live, did you say it at the start and the end, and add it to the caption afterwards?
• Did you keep receipts for products you bought yourself, in case a post is questioned?