Social Media Disclaimers

If you have a social media presence, you may want to consider maintaining social media disclaimers. A social media disclaimer can help protect your business or organization and keep users informed about the conditions or limitations that apply to your social media content.

This article explains what social media disclaimers are, whether you need them, how to write a social media disclaimer, and where to put disclaimers so your users can easily find them.

What Is a Social Media Disclaimer?

A social media disclaimer is a statement that notifies users about the rules they must follow when interacting with your content or the conditions that apply to your social media content.

If you have a longer disclaimer or multiple disclaimers, you can create a separate page for your social media disclaimers and provide a link to the disclaimers on your social media posts or account page.

A social media disclaimer can be used to explain how users are allowed to interact with your social media account and let them know about any limitations or restrictions related to your social media content.

Social media disclaimers can be used to let users know that:

• The information contained in social media posts does not constitute legal, medical, or financial advice
• Users interact with the content at their own risk
• Testimonials do not guarantee results
• Posts reflect the creator's opinion but not necessarily the views of the social media account owner
• Social media content is protected by copyright law
• The social media account owner reserves the right to terminate users' access to its content at any time
• The social media account owner may be paid or rewarded for posting certain content from their affiliates

Do You Need a Social Media Disclaimer?

Social media disclaimers are not necessarily legally required, but they can help provide legal protection for businesses that have social media accounts.

Social media disclaimers can also serve to keep your audience informed about the rules they need to follow to interact with your social media account and any limitations that apply to your content.

For example, @anarcho_love's Instagram post lets users know that the opinions expressed in the post are the account owner's own and should not be considered medical advice:

Keep in mind, there are certain types of social media statements that are legally required, such as affiliate disclosures, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires for any businesses that promote a third party's products or services in exchange for compensation.

The FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking website explains that affiliate marketers should disclose their relationship with companies that pay them if a user makes a purchase from an affiliate link on their site:

It's important to stay up to date with any disclaimer laws that may apply to you based on your location and business activities.

How To Write a Social Media Disclaimer

Your social media disclaimer should be clearly written and avoid jargon that the average person wouldn't easily understand.

Let's take a look at some examples of common social media disclaimers.

Rules and Prohibited Uses Disclaimer

This disclaimer lists the rules that users must follow in order to interact with your social media content or use a social media account through your social media platform. It can outline any behavior that could result in the user being banned from interacting with your content or using your platform.

The Reddit Rules page explains that users cannot incite violence or promote hate and must post authentic content and refrain from content manipulation:

Similarly, Red Bull's General Terms of Use agreement lets users know that they cannot use their content for commercial purposes, violate laws or other users' rights, or post any content using its services that contains hate speech or defamation:

Affiliate Disclosure

You should use this disclosure if you receive compensation if a user clicks on an affiliate link on your social media content and makes a purchase.

@theboutiquelawyer's Instagram post includes an affiliate disclaimer that lets users know that it includes affiliate links, and that she makes a commission when users click on an affiliate link and make a purchase:

Not Advice Disclaimer

Social media accounts that post content that consists of instructions, recommendations, or tips often use a disclaimer to explain that the information contained in their posts does not constitute legal, medical, or financial advice.

Simply Health With Marissa posts a medical disclaimer on her YouTube channel letting viewers know that her content should not be construed as medical advice:

Similarly, Wholesale Ted includes a disclaimer on his YouTube channel letting users know that his content is his opinion only and should not be interpreted as professional financial advice:

Results Not Guaranteed Disclaimer

You can use this disclaimer if your social media content includes claims or testimonials, as it explains that just because you or a featured individual experienced certain results does not mean those results are typical or guaranteed.

Ravina Sharma's Instagram post contains a disclaimer that lets users know that the results mentioned in the post are not typical or guaranteed and depend on factors such as the individual user's personal effort and experience, as well as market conditions:

Views Expressed Disclaimer

This disclaimer explains that shared content does not necessarily reflect the social media account owner's opinion.

Al Jazeera English's Instagram posts contains a disclaimer that lets users know that the views expressed in the linked article are the author's own and not necessarily shared by the company itself:

Copyright Disclaimer

A copyright disclaimer informs users that your social media content is protected by intellectual property laws.

Oliver Clayton Morris' Instagram post includes a statement that his photograph is copyrighted and that he retains all rights provided by copyright law:

Fair Use Disclaimer

You typically need a copyright owner's permission to use their work as part of your social media content. However, the Fair Use Act allows copyrighted work to be used, cited,or incorporated within another author's work if it is used for certain purposes, including news reporting, commentary, and research. Including a fair use disclaimer can help convey that this is the case.

@djsayings_' Instagram posts includes a disclaimer that explains that the content in its post is allowed under fair use:

Limitations of Liability Disclaimer

This disclaimer limits your responsibility for any damages or loss users may incur from interacting with your content or using your social media platform.

Red Bull's General Terms of Use agreement includes a liability disclaimer that explains that it is not liable for harm or loss resulting from use of its free content:

Content Moderation Disclaimer

You can use this disclaimer to let users know that you can remove their content (or ban them from interacting with your account or using your platform) at will.

The About section on T-Mobile's Facebook page explains that it reserves the right to remove specific types of content, such as content that promotes illegal activity or violates its intellectual property:

Where To Put Your Social Media Disclaimer

You can put your disclaimer directly on your social media account or posts, within your Terms and Conditions agreement, or on a separate social media disclaimers page.

@Overdose_AI's account profile on X contains a link to their disclaimer:

When users click on the link they are taken to the account's About page, which explains that @Overdose_AI's content is not to be considered advice or recommendations, and that the account owner may receive compensation in exchange for mentioning certain assets or projects:

You can also include disclaimers within your social media posts, as Cheree Warrick does with her LinkedIn post:

If you use a separate page to house your social media disclaimers, make sure to provide a link to the page somewhere on your account where users can easily find it.

Users can find Red Bull's privacy and legal information within its Impressum on its Facebook page:

Users can access Red Bull's General Terms of Use agreement by clicking on the link and then scrolling to the bottom of the Imprint and clicking General Terms of Use:

From there, users can read the disclaimers included in Red Bull's General Terms of Use agreement, which apply to users of its properties, including social media experiences:

Summary

A social media disclaimer explains the rules or limitations that apply to your social media content.

In some cases-such as if your business is involved in affiliate marketing-social media disclaimers or disclosures are legally required.

However, it's still a good idea to have social media disclaimers even if you're not legally required to have them, as they can help provide an extra layer of legal protection and inform users about the restrictions and limitations that apply to your social media content or their use of your social media platform.

Your social media disclaimers should be clearly written and easy to understand.

Common types of social media disclaimers include:

• Rules and prohibited uses disclaimer
• Affiliate disclosure
• Not advice disclaimer
• Results not guaranteed disclaimer
• Views expressed disclaimer
• Copyright disclaimer
• Fair use disclaimer
• Content moderation disclaimer

Once you have your social media disclaimer written, you should put it where users can easily find it. Common places to put a social media disclaimer or link to your social media disclaimer page include on your account page, as part of your posts, or within your Terms and Conditions agreement.