Snapchat is an app that empowers people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. We want Snapchatters to have fun and to be safe, and those goals drive our policies. This Commercial Content Policy applies to content on the Snap platform other than ads served by Snap, which is sponsored by, promotes, or advertises any brand, products, goods, or service (including your own brand or business), and content you have been incentivized to post by receiving monetary payment or free gifts.

You must comply with Snap’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, and all other Snap policies governing the use of our Services. We may update our terms, policies and guidelines from time to time, so please check in and review them regularly.

You must be honest about the brands, products and services your content promotes; you must avoid content that misleads, deceives or offends; and you must never compromise our users’ privacy. 

You are responsible for ensuring that your content, and any brand, product or service it promotes, is suitable for Snapchatters ages 13+. We may provide you the option to age target content you make available. If that content requires age targeting in this policy, or by applicable laws or industry standards in the region where the content will run, you are responsible for using those targeting options and selecting the correct age(s), and we will not be liable if you fail to do so. If a required age-target option is not available, do not post that content. 

Commercial content that relates to housing, credit or employment and is directed or targeted (if applicable) toward a particular race, ethnicity, religion or belief, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability or condition, or toward any member of a protected class is not permitted.

You’re also responsible for ensuring that your content and any disclosures comply with all applicable laws, statutes, ordinances, rules, public order rules, industry codes and regulations. 

All disclosures, disclaimers and warnings must be clear and conspicuous.

Commercial content must identify the commercial nature of the content, and any promoted brand. You must also use Snap's paid partnership tool to label this content, and if required, you must include any necessary disclaimer or watermark indicating that your commercial content is retouched.

Here are some example scenarios of when you might need to use the paid partnership tool:

• You’re a creator who makes roller skating videos. A roller skate brand sends you money for you to mention their brand in a Snap.

  • Do you need to apply the “paid partnership” label? Yes, because you are paid to promote.

• The roller skate brand does not send you money, but they do send you a pair of roller skates for “free” — with a request that you make a review of the skates if you like them.

  • Do you need to apply the “paid partnership” label? Yes, because you received something of value (the skates) in exchange for promotion.

• The roller skate brand does not give you the skates to keep, but they do let you borrow some skates for a video, if you mention their brand or show the logo somewhere.

  • Do you need to apply the “paid partnership” label? Yes.

• You buy the skates yourself in order to review them; you also do this for other skate brands.

  • Do you need to apply the “paid partnership” label? No, because you’re not being paid by the brand in any way.

• You make and sell roller skates.

  • Do you need to apply the “paid partnership” label? Yes, to disclose that you are incentivized to endorse the roller skates.

You understand that commercial content posted by you on your public profile may also be made available in the For You section of Snapchat and you will ensure that all disclosures are also appropriate in that context. In order for your commercial content to reach the widest possible audience on Stories, Spotlight, the Map, or other areas of the app, your disclosures must be visible and appropriate in those contexts. For example: if you post 6 Snaps of commercial content, but only the first Snap disclosed the commercial nature, then only the first Snap is eligible for amplification beyond your Public Profile.

If you ask Snapchatters for personal information, you must make it clear that you, not Snap, are collecting the data, and you must make a privacy policy readily available where any personal information is collected.

Commercial content may not collect information about racial or ethnic origin, political opinion, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, health, sex life or medical history.

Personal information must be collected and processed securely.

Commercial content must not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, publicity or other legal rights of any person or entity. You must have all necessary rights and permissions for all elements of your content, including for use of any Snap provided content, like music, lenses and geofilters. Don’t feature the name, likeness (including look-alikes), voice (including sound-alikes) or other identifying features of an individual or brand without their consent.

If you believe your copyright, trademark or publicity rights have been infringed by commercial content on Snapchat, we encourage you to attempt to contact and resolve your concerns with the publisher directly. Alternatively, rights holders and their agents can report alleged intellectual property infringement to Snap here. We take all such reports seriously.

Commercial content must not suggest an affiliation with or endorsement by Snap or its products. This means that commercial content must not use any Snap-owned trademark, Bitmoji artwork or representations of the Snapchat user interface, except as permitted in the Snapchat Brand Guidelines or the Bitmoji Brand Guidelines. Commercial content must also not contain altered or confusingly similar variations of any Snap-owned trademark.

Promotions on Snapchat are subject to Snap’s Promotion Rules.

Commercial content that promotes alcohol must not be directed at anyone under the applicable legal drinking age where the content is being displayed, or to places where such content is not permitted. You must use available targeting options. Such content must not depict excessive or irresponsible consumption of alcohol or drunk or otherwise intoxicated individuals.

Commercial content that promotes a dating service must not be directed at anyone under the age of 18. You must use available targeting options. Such content must not be overtly sexual in nature, reference transactional companionship, promote or glamorise infidelity, or depict individuals who are, or appear to be, too young to use the service. Snap does not permit directing content for online dating services to the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Gaza and the West Bank, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Commercial content that promotes weight loss products or services must not be directed at anyone under the age of 18. You must use available targeting options. Such content must not contain false claims or inaccurate descriptions of food products including associated health and nutritional claims.

Commercial content that promotes gambling services must not be directed at anyone under the applicable legal gambling age where the content is being displayed, or to places where such content is not permitted. You must use available targeting options. 

Commercial content that promotes certain complex financial products, which may include cryptocurrency wallets and trading platforms, must not be directed at anyone under the applicable legal age where the content is being displayed or to places where such content is not permitted. You must use available targeting options.

Commercial content that promotes pharmaceutical products and services, including online pharmacies, prescription medicines, over the counter medicines, health and dietary supplements, condoms, hormonal contraceptives, or cosmetic surgery/procedures must not be directed at anyone under the applicable legal age where the content is being displayed or to places where such content is not permitted. You must use available targeting options.

Commercial content that relates to the following is not permitted:

• Election-related content about candidates or parties for public office, ballot measures or referendums, political action committees, and content that urges people to vote or register to vote.

• Advocacy or issue content concerning issues or organizations that are the subject of debate on a local, national or global level, or of public importance. Examples include: content about abortion, immigration, the environment, education, discrimination and guns.

Snapchatters are free to express their own political opinions, but Snap restricts the paid promotion of political messaging to traditional ad formats. This is in order to be responsible to our community and to maintain transparency. For more details on political advertising, please view our Advertising Policies. 

Please familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines, which are the baseline standard for all content on Snapchat, including commercial content. In the context of commercial content, we further prohibit: 

• Sexual solicitation of any kind

• Depictions or graphic descriptions of genitalia in any context, exposed nipples or bare buttocks, or partially-obscured nudity (e.g., a person that is naked except for body paint or emojis)

• Depictions of, or references to specific sex acts, in any context. This includes gestures that imitate a specific sex act, with or without props

• Dating services that emphasize casual sexual encounters

• Adult entertainment (e.g., pornography, sexual live streams, strip clubs, burlesque) 

• Non-consensual sexual material (tabloids that publish leaked, private, suggestive photos

• Depictions of, or gratuitous references to sexual violence

• Bullying or shaming. For example: commercial content related to fitness must not belittle anyone on the basis of body shape or size. 

• Profanity, obscenity and obscene gestures

• Attempts to intimidate or scare someone into purchasing a product or service

• Graphic, real-life violence outside of a news or documentary context

• Glorification of violence, including any glorification of self-harm, war, murder, abuse or animal abuse 

• Disturbing, graphic depictions of serious bodily harm that could result in death or long-term injury.

• False or misleading content, including deceptive claims, offers, functionality, or business practices

• Promotion of fraudulent goods or services, including counterfeit documents or certificates, or counterfeit products

• Creating or sharing content that mimics the appearance or function of Snapchat features or formats

• Deceiving calls to action, or bait-and-switch links to landing pages unrelated to the brand or content being promoted

• Cloaking, otherwise restricting landing page access, or modifications to URL content following submission in an attempt to circumvent review

• Encouraging dishonest behavior. (e.g., commercial content related to fake IDs, plagiarism, essay writing services)

• Non-delivery of goods, or misrepresented shipping delays or inventory constraints

• Products or services principally dedicated to selling counterfeit products, such as imitations of designer or officially-licensed products

• Products or services with false celebrity testimonials or usage

• Deceptive financial products such as, payday loans, predatory lending, insider tips relating to financial products or services, get-rich-quick offers, pyramid schemes or other deceptive or too-good-to-be true financial offers,

• Content that demeans, degrades, discriminates or shows hate toward a particular race, ethnicity, culture, country, belief, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability or condition, or toward any member of a protected class

• Facilitating or encouraging illegal activity (conduct, products, or enterprises). For example:

  • promoting the illegal wildlife trade, or products and services derived from endangered or threatened species

  • products or services principally used to infringe the intellectual property rights of others, such as those designed to bypass copyright protection mechanisms (for example, software or cable signal descramblers)

• Encouraging or enlisting participation in dangerous or harmful activities, such as Snapping while driving or ingesting non-food items. 

• The depiction of illegal drug use or the recreational use of pharmaceuticals.

• The depiction of smoking or vaping, except in the context of public health messaging or smoking cessation.

Content that promotes weapons and explosives and related accessories. This includes firearms, ammunition, fireworks, combat knives and pepper spray.