Affiliate disclosure on WhatsApp: FTC, ASA and Amazon rules, with templates

If you post affiliate links in a WhatsApp group, you're advertising, even if it feels like recommending something to friends. This guide explains what the FTC in the US and the ASA in the UK expect, what Amazon requires from its Associates, and gives you disclosure templates in plain English that you can paste into your group today.

The short answer: whenever you can earn money from a link, say so clearly, right next to the link, every time. Use words people understand, like "#ad" or "I earn a commission if you buy through this link". Don't rely on a note in your profile or at the bottom of a long message. If you're an Amazon Associate, also use Amazon's exact sentence: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."

Why an affiliate link counts as advertising

When you earn a commission on a sale, you have a financial interest in the recommendation. Regulators call this a "material connection": something the audience wouldn't expect and that could affect how much weight they give your opinion. Your members have the right to know that before they click.

Disclosure isn't only about avoiding trouble. Members who know how you earn trust you more, not less, because they see you're being straight with them. And a group that feels honest tends to get fewer complaints and reports, which also protects your WhatsApp account.

What the rules say: US, UK and India

United States: the FTC

The FTC's guide Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers says you should disclose any material connection with a brand, and that includes a financial relationship. It asks you to place the disclosure so it's hard to miss, with the message itself, and not only on a profile or "About me" page, or at the end of a post. Simple terms like "advertisement", "ad" and "sponsored" are acceptable.

The FAQ FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking goes further for affiliates. It gives an example of a disclosure, "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post", and warns that the words "affiliate link" on their own may not be understood by everyone, and that a "buy now" button isn't a disclosure either. The full legal text is in 16 CFR Part 255.

United Kingdom: the ASA and CAP

The ASA's advice on online affiliate marketing is summed up in one line: make sure affiliate marketing is obviously identifiable. Rule 2.1 of the CAP Code requires marketing communications to be "obviously identifiable as such". On social media, blogs and voucher sites, the advertising nature of a post may not be obvious, so it needs to be flagged. CAP and the CMA also publish an influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads, with a section on affiliates.

India: ASCI

The Advertising Standards Council of India introduced guidelines for influencer advertising in May 2021, which call for disclosing material connections. Read the guidelines and the ASCI Code directly for the labels they accept, as we haven't confirmed the exact wording here.

What a good disclosure looks like: 3 tests

Being transparent without losing sales

Many people worry that "#ad" will scare members away. In practice, people who join a deals group already know someone is picking the deals. What hurts sales is finding out later that you were hiding something. Keep the disclosure short and put the effort into the deal itself:

Disclosure templates to copy

Deal with an affiliate link (any program)

🔥 *{PRODUCT}*
Now *{PRICE}* (price at time of posting)
✅ {ONE-LINE BENEFIT}
👉 {LINK}
#ad · I earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.

Amazon deal

🔥 *{PRODUCT}* on Amazon
Now *{PRICE}* (price at time of posting)
👉 {AMAZON LINK}
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Group description

💡 How this group works: I pick the deals myself. Many links are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Prices can change at any time: always check the store before paying.

Pinned welcome message

👋 Welcome to *{GROUP NAME}*!
Here you'll find {TOPIC} deals I pick myself.
Heads up: many links are affiliate links (#ad). If you buy through them, I earn a small commission and you pay the same price.

Cases that cause doubt

Private chats and broadcast lists too

The same rules apply when you send a deal in a private chat or a broadcast list. And with Amazon there's an extra rule: Special Links in SMS and direct messages are only allowed when the person opted in. So send links only to people who asked, and include the disclosure in the message. More on Amazon's rules in how to become an Amazon Associate.

The same goes for WhatsApp Status and Channels. A Status with a product photo and your affiliate link is still an ad, so add "#ad" or "I earn a commission" on the image or in the caption, where people see it before tapping. In a Channel, treat every update with a link like a deal in your group: disclosure in the same post, not only in the channel description.

How to never forget the disclosure

1. 1
   Build it into your template

   Save your deal template with the disclosure line already in it. Only change the product, price and link.

2. 2
   Put it in the group description

   Members who check the group info see how you earn.

3. 3
   Pin a welcome message

   New members land on it first.

4. 4
   Review before posting

   Before you hit send, look for three things: price, link and disclosure.

5. 5
   Teach your co-admins

   Anyone who posts in your group uses the same template.

Common disclosure mistakes

Want the full picture of affiliate programs and their rules? See the best affiliate programs to promote on WhatsApp, and for group conduct, our WhatsApp group rules template.