To add a paid partnership label on Instagram, switch on branded content tools once (Menu, then Creator tools and controls or Business tools and controls, then Branded content, then Set up branded content tools, then Enable), and then tag the brand with the paid partnership label every time you post sponsored content. Instagram's guide to the paid partnership label says you can disclose partnerships this way in Feed, Stories, broadcast channels, Live, Reels and videos, and that the brand's name appears in the label once the brand approves you.
The label itself takes seconds. The decision that deserves more care comes after it, when a brand asks to promote your post, because a boost toggle, an ad code and account-level access hand over very different powers. This guide covers the tools, the approval flow and what Meta counts as branded content, then gives you a permission decision table and a pre-publish checklist.
Turn on branded content tools first
Instagram's getting-started page for branded content defines branded content as content for which you have been compensated with money or anything else of value by a brand or business partner, including products given to you free. All of it must be disclosed with the paid partnership label, which can only be added in the Instagram app. If the Enable button does not appear because you are not eligible, the same page says you can request a review.
Eligibility is set out in Meta's requirements for branded content and partnership ads. You need an Instagram professional account, compliance with the Community Standards and intellectual property, authenticity and safety policies, accurate information (content flagged as misinformation can cost you eligibility) and an authentic, established presence, which Meta says includes a sufficient follower base without naming a number. Political entities face extra rules, and in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, monetising with ads is limited for accounts subscribed to Meta's ad-free option or using less-personalised ads.
Tagging a brand, and how approval works
The brand you tag must have a professional Instagram account. According to the label guide, the first time you tag a brand, Instagram sends it a request. Until the brand approves, your post shows the paid partnership label without the brand's name; once approved, the name appears and you can tag that brand freely. If the brand denies the request, the label is removed from your content, so check you tagged the right account and contact the brand.
After you publish, the brand is notified and gets access to that content's insights. You can still edit the post, story or reel, and if you later remove the brand from the label, it is notified and stops seeing the insights. The guide has separate steps for tagging a partner in a post, a story, a reel, a Live and a broadcast channel message; channels have their own rules worth knowing, set out in our broadcast channel launch guide.
Meta's pages differ slightly on where the label works: the getting-started page lists Feed, Stories, Live, Reels and videos but leaves out broadcast channels, which the label guide includes. Instagram's channel help also requires the paid partnership tool for branded channel messages, so label them.
What counts as branded content
Meta's guide to what is considered branded content works through common situations:
| Situation | Label needed? | Meta's reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| A brand pays you to post content featuring or mentioning it | Yes | Payment in exchange for posting is an exchange of value |
| A brand gives or lends you a product and you post about it | Yes | A free or loaned product or gift is an exchange of value |
| You post an affiliate link and earn commission on sales | Yes | Commission-earning affiliate posts are an exchange of value |
| You promote your own product line | No | No business partner is involved, though your legal disclosure duties still apply |
Meta's Branded Content Policies add the limits that most label tutorials skip. You must tag the brand with its prior permission, and you cannot accept anything of value to post content that does not feature you or that you were not involved in creating. Some products cannot be promoted as branded content at all, including tobacco and vaping products, drugs, unsafe supplements, weapons, adult products or services (except family planning and contraception), payday loans, multilevel marketing and state lotteries. Others are restricted and need audience limits, such as alcohol, subscription services, financial products, cosmetic procedures and weight loss. Dating services, real-money gambling, pharmacies, prescription drugs, cryptocurrency products, treatment centres and political advertisers need Meta's written pre-authorisation.
The same policy sets format rules for sponsored videos and images: no pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll ads, no banner ads, no title cards within a video's first three seconds, and no interstitial cards that stay on screen for more than three consecutive seconds.
What partnership ad permission gives a brand
Partnership ads, which Meta used to call branded content ads, let an advertiser run paid ads that feature your account in the header. Meta's page on partnership ad permissions describes two kinds: content-level permission, which is narrower and covers specific content, and account-level permission, which is broader and suited to ongoing partnerships. You can revoke either at any time.
| Option | What the brand can do | Duration | Who can edit | How to end it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Label only | Sees insights for the tagged content; no ads | While the brand stays in the label | Only you | Remove the brand from the label |
| Allow brand partner to boost (content-level) | Creates ads or marketing messages from that branded post, where it is tagged in the label | No expiry is set by Meta; agree an end date with the brand | The brand can edit the ad version and hide comments; your original post stays the same | Stop active ads or switch the permission off in the content's settings |
| Partnership ad code (content-level) | Creates ads from any post, story or reel you share the code for, branded or not; a code can be used by up to 2 advertisers at a time (content-level permissions) | Until you turn the code off; on Instagram, archiving the post does not remove access | The brand can edit the ad version and hide comments | Turn off the partnership ad code in the app |
| Account-level permission | Creates ads from your handle without existing content, from any of your content that tags it, including archived posts, and can include or exclude your custom audience | Ongoing until you remove it; covers your linked Facebook account too | The brand can edit ad versions and hide comments | Professional dashboard, then Partnership ads, then Ad partners, then Remove |
Under account-level permission, the brand only needs to be tagged by the paid partnership label, an @mention, a people tag, a product tag or a Collab for a post to become usable in its ads, according to Meta's account-level permissions page. That is why it suits long partnerships with a brand you trust and is a poor fit for a single paid post. In every option, you can unhide comments the brand hid and hide or delete comments yourself.
Placements are chosen by the advertiser. Meta's placements page lists Instagram Feed, Web Feed, Explore Feed, Explore Grid, Stories and Reels; Facebook Feed, Stories, Reels and Marketplace; and WhatsApp Status. None of Meta's permission settings limits duration or placements on your behalf, so write both into the agreement and switch the permission off when the term ends. To remove access at any time, follow Meta's steps to stop an advertiser running partnership ads.
Pre-publish branded content checklist
- Branded content tools are enabled on the account you are posting from.
- The arrangement involves payment, a gift, a loan or affiliate commission, so the label is required.
- The product is not in a prohibited category; if it is restricted, audience restrictions are set; if it needs pre-authorisation, the brand has it.
- You are tagging the brand's own professional account, and the brand knows to approve your request.
- The content features you, you helped make it, and it has no pre-roll, banner ads or opening title card.
- The disclosure is visible in the content itself, not only in the label, for audiences in places with their own advertising rules.
- Anyone else who appears has agreed to it in writing; a content rights release checklist helps here.
- You have decided which permission option, if any, the brand gets, with an end date and placements agreed in writing.
- After posting, the label shows the brand's name; if it does not, chase the approval.
- A reminder is in your calendar to switch off boosting, the ad code or account-level access on the end date.
The label does not replace the law. In the US, the FTC's Disclosures 101 for social media influencers says disclosures should sit with the endorsement itself, not only in a profile or hidden among hashtags; should appear in the video for video endorsements; and should be repeated periodically during a live stream. Other countries have their own regulators, so check the rules where you and your audience live.
Settling usage terms before you flip a toggle
A brand may ask for boost permission after the post is live, when it can feel like a formality. Treat it as a separate request. Agree which option the brand gets, the start and end dates, the placements, whether it may edit or crop the ad version, whether it may use your custom audience, and whether that usage is included in your fee or priced on top. Our UGC rate worksheet covers pricing usage separately from the post itself.
If the brand found you through Meta's marketplace, keep that conversation in the Partnership messages thread so the permission terms sit next to the brief; our guide to the Instagram creator marketplace explains how those threads and projects work.
Limitations of this guide
This guide reflects Meta's help pages and Branded Content Policies, and the FTC page cited, as they read on 1 October 2026. Menu names move between app versions, Meta renames products (branded content ads became partnership ads), and its pages occasionally disagree, as the list of label surfaces shows. If a step does not match your app, follow the current help page.
It also has clear limits on scope. Using the label meets Meta's platform rule; it does not settle your legal disclosure duties, which depend on where you and your audience are. The permission table explains platform mechanics, not what a fair usage fee is or how a contract should be worded. For a high-value or long-term deal, have a lawyer who works on advertising or creator agreements review the terms.