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07 · Rules and risks: AI labels, ad disclosure, many accounts, automation

Checked 2026-10-12. TikTok's guidelines were re-released in August 2026, effective 2026-09-24; check the live pages.

Disclose that you're promoting your own product

  • TikTok requires the content disclosure setting for posts that promote a brand, product or service, including your own ("Your brand"). It adds a Promotional content / Paid partnership label. Sources: Branded Content Policy, Commercial Content Disclosure for creators, Regulated Goods, Services and Commercial Activities.
  • TikTok's help page says the label itself doesn't change recommendation, but undisclosed commercial content may not be eligible for For You, and repeated failures can restrict or ban the account.
  • If you pay or gift anyone to post about the app (affiliates, UGC creators), they must disclose too. In the US see the FTC's Disclosures 101.

AI-generated images

  • TikTok asks creators to label realistic AI-generated or heavily edited content (people, places, scenes that could pass as real) and auto-labels some content using C2PA metadata (TikTok newsroom via AP/NBC).
  • The photo-post API has an is_aigc flag for this (API reference).
  • An "AI room makeover" is honest only if the slideshow makes clear it's an AI result. Don't present AI images as a real renovation, a real customer, or a real testimonial.

Many accounts, "slideshow farms" and automation

Some guides push running many faceless accounts per app. TikTok's Integrity and Authenticity rules (guidelines) allow more than one account but ban: - operating large networks of accounts controlled by one entity, or through automation, to spread content; - registering or running accounts in bulk with automation; - manipulating engagement signals (bought views, follow-for-follow, comment pods); - using a second account to get around a restriction.

Safe version: one account per product (or one founder account), posts made by a person who publishes them, engagement that's real. If you want more accounts, each should be a real, distinct voice (a co-founder, a creator you pay and who discloses). Founders who ran several accounts: notes.

API limits that protect you from yourself

From the photo-post reference: 6 requests per minute per user token; a daily post cap per account (spam_risk_too_many_posts); max 5 pending inbox shares per 24 h; unaudited clients can only post privately. Don't try to route around these.

New accounts

The cases (and most guides) warm up a new account before posting promotion: 3 days in one case, 7–14 days of 30–60 min normal use in the Larry skill. This is practice, not a published TikTok rule. It doesn't hurt: watch and engage with your niche so you learn what it looks like.

Claims we do not repeat

Unsourced claims seen in vendor posts and not used in this kit: "TikTok detects Midjourney images in half a second and downranks them", "API posts from server IPs are penalized", "slideshows get 5× reach". If you need to decide based on one of these, test it on your own account and log the result.