Whitelisting and Partnership Ads: When a Brand Wants to Run Ads Through Your Account

"Love the clip from Thursday's stream. Could you send us a Spark code so we can put some spend behind it?"

That one line asks for something different from the sponsored stream you just did. The brand doesn't want to repost your clip on its own account. It wants to run paid ads that show your name and your profile picture, using its ad budget and its targeting, to people who may never have seen your channel.

This is usually called whitelisting. TikTok calls its version Spark Ads. Meta (Instagram and Facebook) calls its version partnership ads. This page covers what each platform's setting actually lets the brand do, how you turn it off, and how to price it so it doesn't get thrown in for free.

What the brand is actually asking for

When you post a sponsored clip, it reaches your followers and whoever the algorithm shows it to. When a brand runs it as an ad through your account, three things change:

• Who pays for reach. The brand puts ad spend behind the post. That reach is bought, not earned.
• Who picks the audience. The brand's ad targeting decides who sees it, not your followers.
• Whose name is on it. The ad runs from your handle. Meta's help center says advertisers need "permission from the partner whose handle the ad will include."¹

That last point is why it's worth more than a repost. An ad from your handle borrows the trust your audience has in you. The brand is paying for that trust, so it should be in the price.

Streamers mostly meet this on short-form clips: the TikTok, Reel, or Short cut from a sponsored stream. This page covers TikTok and Meta because both publish the settings first-hand. If a brand asks for ad access on another platform, ask exactly which tool and which permission it means before you agree.

TikTok: Spark Ads

TikTok's help center describes Spark Ads as "a native ad format that allows you to leverage organic TikTok posts and their features in your advertising." Advertisers can publish ads "using organic posts made by other creators (with their authorization)."² The engagement stays with you: TikTok says "all views, comments, shares, likes, and follows gained from boosting the video during the promotion are attributed to your organic posts."²

Post-level: the video code

The usual request is a code for one video. TikTok's steps for creators: select the post, tap the three dots, tap Ad Settings, agree to the advertising terms, turn on the Ad authorization toggle, generate a video code, and "select the authorization duration (7, 30, 60, or 365 days)."³ Then you copy the code and send it to the advertiser.

Two details from TikTok's pages worth knowing before you generate one:

• A private video goes public. TikTok says "A private video will become public once it is used in a campaign, and the video privacy status cannot be changed during promotion."³
• You can't delete it while it's authorized. "Videos need to be un-authorized as a Spark Ad before it can be deleted from the organic account."²

Account-level access

Some brands ask for broader access than one video. On TikTok's Content Suite, TikTok describes two kinds of request: video-level authorization "allows brands to use a specific video for 365 days," while account-level authorization "allows ongoing use until you turn it off in settings."⁴

If a brand or agency asks to connect your account through TikTok Business Center, read which permission it's asking for. TikTok separates a "Deliver ads" permission, which "authorizes a user or ad account to leverage a TikTok account's identity and its posts for paid campaigns, most notably Spark Ads," from "Manage account," which "adds the ability to interact with the account's organic presence. This includes replying to comments, sending direct messages, and managing profile details."⁵ A brand running ads doesn't need to send DMs as you.

Turning it off on TikTok

TikTok's instructions for revoking: on the video, go to Ad settings, toggle off Ad authorization, and tap Save. For account-wide access, the toggle is Allow brands to use your posts in Creator Marketplace settings.⁴

The catch is in the same page: revoking works "for videos that aren't actively in usage as paid ads."⁴ Once the brand is running the ad, you can't just switch it off from your side. The duration you picked when you generated the code, and what your contract says, are what actually limit it.

Meta: partnership ads on Instagram and Facebook

Meta's help center says "Branded content ads are now called partnership ads," and "To run partnership ads, advertisers need permission from the partner whose handle the ad will include. Creators and other partners can revoke these permissions at any time."¹ There are two levels, and they're very different in size.

Content-level: one post

Content-level permission covers a single post, story, or reel. Meta says content-level permissions "are more restrictive and are used for specific content promotions."¹ You grant it one of two ways:

• The "Allow brand partner to boost" toggle, on branded content where you've tagged the brand in the paid partnership label.
• A partnership ad code. With the code, an advertiser can create ads "from any Instagram or Facebook post, story or reel (regardless of whether it's branded content or if the advertiser is tagged)."¹

Meta notes "Ad codes can be used by up to 2 advertisers at a time," and "On Instagram only, archiving your content does not remove ad code access from the advertiser."⁶ Archiving a post isn't a way out.

The brand can also adjust the ad: Meta says advertisers can "Edit your content for ads and your original post will stay the same."¹ Advertisers can also "hide comments on the creator or partner's original post," and you can unhide them.¹

Account-level: your handle, ongoing

Account-level permission is the big one. Meta says account-level permissions "offer broader access and are more suitable for ongoing partnerships."¹ With it, advertisers can:

• "Create partnership ads, other ad types and marketing messages from a partner's handle without pre-existing content."¹
• "Create ads from any of the partner's existing content that tags the advertiser."¹
• "Include or exclude their partner's custom audience in their partnership ad campaign."¹

Read the first one twice. Account-level permission lets the brand run ads under your name that you never posted. If your Instagram and Facebook accounts are linked, Meta says accepting the request gives the advertiser "account-level permissions for both accounts."¹

You approve these requests in the Instagram app under Professional dashboard → Partnership ads → Ad partners → Pending requests.⁷

Turning it off on Meta

• Account-level: in the same Ad partners screen, tap Remove next to the partner. Meta says "The advertiser will no longer be able to create partnership ads from your Instagram handle" and "Any ads that are currently running will be paused."⁸
• A post's ad code: turn off the Get partnership ad code toggle on that post. But "Turning off an ad code that has already been used will not stop any active ads from running." To stop a live ad, you go to Active ads in the Partnership ads dashboard and tap Stop on it.⁸

The platform setting is not the deal

Both platforms give you an on/off switch. Neither switch says how long the brand may run the ad, how much it can spend, where it can run, or what it pays you. Those terms are in your contract or nowhere.

And the switches don't line up with each other. TikTok's code runs for the 7, 30, 60, or 365 days you picked, and can only be revoked when it isn't active in a paid campaign. Meta's account-level permission stays on until you remove it. "We'll just turn it off later" isn't a plan. Write the limits down first:

• Platform and handle. Which account, on which platform.
• Which content. Named posts only, or anything that tags the brand. Never ads from your handle using content you haven't approved, unless that's a deliberate, separately priced deal.
• Term. A start date and an end date for running ads. Match the platform setting to it: on TikTok, pick the shortest code duration that covers the term.
• Spend cap, if you want one. Reach from paid spend can be far bigger than your organic reach. Some creators price in tiers by spend.
• Edits and approval. Meta lets advertisers edit the ad version. Say whether you approve the ad copy, the call to action, and any cut of your clip before it runs.
• Comments. Who moderates, and that the brand won't hide comments on your original post without telling you.
• What happens at the end. The brand stops all ads by the end date and confirms in writing. If they keep running, a stated rate per extra month applies.
• Payment. The license fee, when it's due, and that it's separate from the stream fee.

The contract checklist has the rest of the clauses for a full deal.

Price it as a license, not part of the stream

The sponsored stream is priced on your audience: average CCV × sponsored hours × your CPVH. Whitelisting isn't that. It's a license to use your name and content in the brand's paid media, reaching people outside your audience. As the exclusivity and usage rights post puts it, usage is a separate product: name the license, price it as a line.

This page won't give you a percentage, because there's no published standard for creator whitelisting fees. What to weigh when you set your number:

• Scope. One post code for 30 days is a small ask. Account-level access to create ads you never posted is a large one.
• Term. Longer is worth more. A 365-day code is a year of the brand using your name.
• Spend. The more the brand spends, the more people see you endorsing it. A spend cap with a higher tier above it keeps the price matched to the exposure.
• Exclusivity. If running ads from your handle comes with a category lockout, that's exclusivity, priced separately again.
• Platforms. Same logic as multi-platform pricing: each platform is its own line, not a free extra.

Put a whitelisting line on your rate card before you need it, so it reads as policy:

Paid ads from my handle (whitelisting / Spark Ads / partnership ads):
            Per post, up to [N] days: $[amount]
            Each extra [N] days: $[amount]
            Account-level access: quoted per deal, term and spend cap required
          

If the brand won't pay for it, it gets the stream and the organic post. It doesn't get ads in your name.

Disclosure still applies

An ad from your handle is still an endorsement by you. Whatever label the platform adds to the ad, the read in your clip should still make the relationship clear. The FTC disclosure post covers what that means for sponsored content. Don't let a brand cut the disclosure out of the ad version of your clip.

Replying to a whitelisting request

Happy to let you run Thursday's clip as a Spark Ad. That's a separate license from the stream: $[amount] for [N] days on that one post, with a spend cap of $[cap]. I'll generate the code with a [N]-day authorization to match. I'd like to approve the final ad caption and call to action before it runs. If you'd like it longer or across Instagram too, I can quote that. Can you confirm and I'll send a short addendum?

It agrees, names the product, prices it on its own line, ties the platform setting to the term, and keeps approval. If the brand asks for account-level access instead, ask what it needs that a post code doesn't cover. Often the answer is "nothing."

FAQ

What is creator whitelisting?
A brand running paid ads that appear as coming from a creator's account, using the brand's ad budget and targeting. TikTok's version is Spark Ads; Meta's (Instagram and Facebook) is partnership ads. It's different from a brand reposting your content on its own account.

What does a Spark Ads code give a brand?
Permission to run one specific TikTok post as an ad. You choose a 7, 30, 60, or 365-day authorization when you generate the code. TikTok says a private video becomes public once it's used in a campaign, and you can't delete the video while it's authorized.

What's the difference between content-level and account-level partnership ad permissions on Instagram?
Content-level covers one post, story, or reel, through the "Allow brand partner to boost" toggle or a partnership ad code. Account-level lets the advertiser create ads from your handle without pre-existing content and from any of your content that tags the brand, and stays on until you remove the partner.

Can I revoke a brand's ad access?
On Meta, yes. Removing an account-level partner pauses its running ads; turning off a post's ad code doesn't stop ads already running, so stop those from the Active ads screen. On TikTok, you can toggle off Ad authorization for videos that aren't actively in use as paid ads. Your contract should set the end date either way.

How much should I charge for whitelisting?
There's no published standard. Price it as a separate license on top of your stream fee, based on scope (one post or whole account), term, ad spend, platforms, and any exclusivity attached. Put the line on your rate card so it reads as policy.