Where you may send traffic: what the platforms' rules allow
A «chain» is a route: you publish here and get paid there. Such a route works exactly as long as it is not forbidden by the rules of the platform you are taking people away from. Rules rarely say much about this, and nowhere are those caveats collected in one place.
What is not here and never will be. A ranking of «best funnels» or advice on where traffic pays better. Nobody publishes returns, and promising them without data is a lie. Below is a map of what is permitted: what the platform написала сама.
What platforms have said about affiliate links
beehiiv
Outbound links. Affiliate links in newsletters are allowed, but with reservations as to the subject matter. The acceptable use policy forbids "participation in affiliate or referral programs that direct users to non-compliant or unlawful products"; in the section on betting… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. Disclosure is obligatory. The acceptable use policy: "All promotional mentions should align with the publication's theme, be clearly disclosed, and avoid disrupting the reader experience". On the creator's own deals: "If you independently sell or include… source, checked 2026-08-04
Draugiem.lv
Outbound links. The words "affiliate link" are not in the rules, but the list of forbidden links is set directly — in the "Rules for the use of Pages": "Lapu saturā un aplikācijās aizliegts ievietot paziņojumus, attēlus, reklāmas vai saiti uz avotiem, kas: … reklamē vai ved… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. There is no requirement to label advertising or sponsored content in the documents read. Disclosure is required only for contests: "reklāmā (noteikumos) obligāti ir jānorāda, ka Konkursa organizators ir konkrētais uzņēmums, organizācija vai persona, kas rīko… source, checked 2026-08-04
GoodGame
Outbound links. Referral links are forbidden outright. The "Rules of conduct on the site", point 3.3.13: users are forbidden "to place referral links, links of an advertising nature, and also links to resources on similar subjects without the permission of the… source, checked 2026-08-04
Kolesa
Outbound links. The words "affiliate link" do not occur in the rules, but outbound links are restricted directly. The "Rules of communication", point 7: "The placing of links to profiles in social networks and to third-party resources for making contact is not allowed. The… source, checked 2026-08-04
Krisha
Outbound links. Any outbound links in a listing are forbidden. The "Rules for placing listings", point 1.10.2: "The placing of advertising texts and of any contact data (telephone numbers, addresses of sites, of electronic mail, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber and other messaging… source, checked 2026-08-04
Lidé.cz
Outbound links. There is no separate rule about affiliate links, but advertising in posts is forbidden entirely, and therefore links for the sake of earning are too. The contractual terms, point 3.3: "Uživatel není oprávněn do svých příspěvků zahrnovat reklamní sdělení"… source, checked 2026-08-04
LINE
Outbound links. Nothing is said about affiliate links in the rules or in the guideline, but advertising inside the items sold is forbidden directly: "Stickers for sale may not be used for advertising purposes. Please do not include any form of advertisement in the sticker… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. There is no requirement to label advertising content — advertising in the stickers sold is forbidden as such. There is another disclosure, about origin: the rules, clause 8.13, allow LY Corporation to label items as created by AI "(1) Based on the Creator's… source, checked 2026-08-04
Outbound links. The article that was read has no separate rules on affiliate links; the requirement is general: content posted in exchange for value must be labelled and must comply with LinkedIn's advertising policy and with local laws source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. "If you share content in an exchange for value (including monetary payment, endorsements, free products or services, or other benefit), you must label the post as a brand partnership"; the "Brand partnership" toggle is switched on when a post is created and… source, checked 2026-08-04
mixi
Outbound links. Affiliate links are forbidden outright. The user agreement, article 14 "Prohibited actions", point (15)(イ) classes as forbidden placement: "アフィリエイトのリンクを含む日記等の情報" — "diary entries and other material containing affiliate links". The prohibition extends both to… source, checked 2026-08-04
Outbound links. affiliate links are explicitly allowed, but with conditions: one genuine account, original content, moderate volume, mandatory disclosure of the commercial nature (for example, #ad). Fake accounts for saving your own links and arrangements for reciprocal… source, checked 2026-07-28
What must be disclosed. "Include a clear disclosure to indicate the commercial nature of your content (such as the use of #ad to indicate that your content is a paid partnership, or applying a label to your content using Pinterest's paid partnership tool)". For affiliate content… source, checked 2026-08-04
Product Hunt
Outbound links. Nothing is said about affiliate links in the terms of use or in the help centre articles that were read. The closest in meaning is the ban on commercial use: "You will only use the Services for your own internal, personal, non-commercial use, and not on… source, checked 2026-08-04
Qiita
Outbound links. Actions that objectively constitute advertising, promotion or commercial solicitation are prohibited, including but not limited to posts for the purpose of search engine optimization or affiliate earnings — 検索サイト最適化又はアフィリエイトを目的とする投稿行為を含むがこれに限らない; the… source, checked 2026-08-04
RUTUBE
Outbound links. The content posting terms refer to a separate annex: clause 4.4 — "the main terms are set out in Annex "B"" (https://rutube.ru/info/advpr_agreement/); the text of the terms itself has no rules on affiliate links. On external links it says only that the player… source, checked 2026-08-04
Skyrock
Outbound links. There are no rules specifically about affiliate links. About outbound links one thing is said: the user is forbidden "d’insérer un lien hypertexte ou un renvoi quel qu’il soit vers un site extérieur contraire aux lois en vigueur et/ou aux présentes CGU" — "to… source, checked 2026-08-04
Snapchat
Outbound links. There is no separate rule specifically about affiliate links: the words "affiliate link" do not occur in the Commercial Content Policy. But affiliate content falls under the definition of commercial: the policy applies to content "which is sponsored by… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. A built-in label is mandatory: "You must also use Snap's paid partnership tool to label this content". Beyond the label: "All disclosures, disclaimers and warnings must be clear and conspicuous" and "Commercial content must identify the commercial nature of… source, checked 2026-08-04
SoundCloud
Outbound links. There are no rules specifically about affiliate links in the documents read. There is an adjacent permission in the user agreement, point (x): "Sie dürfen den Zugang zur Plattform oder Inhalte auf der Plattform nicht vermieten, verkaufen oder leasen, wobei… source, checked 2026-08-04
Strava
Outbound links. There are no rules about affiliate links on the pages that were read; at the same time Strava itself invites creators to distribute affiliate discount links to the subscription, and allows sponsors to be shown in the profile and in posts source, checked 2026-08-04
Tap.az
Outbound links. There is no separate rule about affiliate links. The rules forbid putting contact details and the address of a site into the heading of an advertisement: it is forbidden to place "Əlaqə məlumatları (telefon nömrəsi, elektron poçt ünvanı, sayt ünvanı)" in the… source, checked 2026-08-04
TikTok
Outbound links. Affiliate links are not banned, but they move a post into the Branded Content category: it covers the promotion of "A product or service for which you will receive a commission on any sales (for instance, via an affiliate link or promotional code)". Required… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. "When posting Branded Content, you must enable the commercial content disclosure toggle"; once it is enabled, "your content will be automatically labelled to indicate that it is Branded Content". In addition, the product or service must be named explicitly in… source, checked 2026-08-04
TwitCasting
Outbound links. There are no direct rules about affiliate links. The terms of use (the English edition, the "Safety" and "Payments and Deals" sections) have two prohibitions of a general kind: "You will not send or otherwise post unauthorized commercial communications (such… source, checked 2026-08-04
Twitch
Outbound links. Sponsored and advertising content is allowed: "Twitch allows you to publish Branded Content using the Twitch Services provided that your Branded Content complies with these Terms of Service and applicable law". Branded Content covers "any User Content… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. "you promise to use Twitch’s Branded Content tool to disclose the content to viewers"; the tool "provides a written disclosure to viewers that your live stream contains Branded Content". Beyond that: "you are solely responsible for ensuring that your Branded… source, checked 2026-08-04
vc.ru
Outbound links. External commercial links are restricted. The rules of communication, clause 1: "Spam in any form is forbidden on vc.ru… the aggressive placement of links to external resources". Clause 2: "We do not prevent the publication of links to one's own resources… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. No obligation for the creator to label advertising content is established in the rules — commercial promotion is simply forbidden (clause 2 of the rules of communication). The label is put by the platform itself on its own paid placements: "We accompany all… source, checked 2026-08-04
Whatnot
Outbound links. The platform has its own affiliate programme with links through impact.com: "When someone clicks your personalized affiliate link and makes an eligible purchase within 3 days, you earn a commission". Taking the buyer away from the platform is at the same time… source, checked 2026-08-04
YouTube
Outbound links. Directly allowed: "Affiliate content doesn't violate YouTube's Terms of Use". A caveat: excessive posting of affiliate content in purpose-made accounts may breach the spam policies. External links to content that violates the Community Guidelines are banned… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. The creator must tick the box in the video details, "My video contains paid promotion like a product placement, sponsorship, or endorsement": "You have to let us know if you include any of those by selecting the paid promotion box in your video details".… source, checked 2026-08-04
Zalo
Outbound links. There is no separate rule about affiliate links. Section 4 of the terms "Hành Vi Vi Phạm" lists the forbidden actions, and among them the ban on using the service to place and transmit content infringing the rights of third parties or the law, and also "quấy… source, checked 2026-08-04
Zenn
Outbound links. Affiliate links are not named directly. The rules prohibit publishing material whose main purpose is advertising or recruitment (広告または採用を主な目的としたコンテンツを投稿する行為, article 4). The guidelines ask that posts for the sake of advertising be avoided and that promotion… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. The rules contain no separate requirement to label advertising material. There is an obligation on the seller to comply themselves with the requirements of the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions on advertising and disclosure (特定商取引法に定める広告・表示規制), for which the site has a 特商法表記 section source, checked 2026-08-04
Odnoklassniki
Outbound links. External links are limited in quantity: the share of posts with links to third-party resources in the group feed must be "less than 30%". Advertising content itself is excluded from monetization: "Creative content must not be advertising and must not include… source, checked 2026-08-04
حراج (Haraj)
Outbound links. Affiliate links as such are not mentioned in the agreement, but network marketing is forbidden entirely: "التسويق الشبكي. يمنع نهائيا اي نوع من التسويق الشبكي مهما كان نوعه او صفته أو طريقته" — any kind of network marketing is forbidden, whatever it may be.… source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. There is no requirement to label advertising content. There is a ban on misleading the consumer: "عدم تضمين العرض عرضاً أو بياناً أو ادعاء كاذباً أو مصوغاً بعبارات من شأنها أن تؤدي بصورة مباشرة أو غير مباشرة إلى خداع المستهلك أو تضليله، أو القذف، أو التشهير"… source, checked 2026-08-04
今日头条 (Toutiao)
Outbound links. Outbound links to marketplaces are forbidden. In the "Rules for the management of content-commerce creation", in the section "违规推广" (impermissible promotion), it is directly named a violation to "发布社交、导购、团购、促销、购物平台等外部网站或APP的名称、超链接、二维码、口令、红包、联系账号等信息" — "to… source, checked 2026-08-04
抖音 (Douyin)
Outbound links. There is no separate rule about affiliate links. Earning on other people's goods is arranged through the Douyin "cart" (抖音购物车, the 商品分享 feature): it has rules of its own, in particular the product card and the description must not carry extraneous information… source, checked 2026-08-04
What to check before building a route
- The rule of the platform you are leaving. It decides whether you may put an outbound link, how many such posts are allowed and what to write in the caption. The destination platform's rules are irrelevant here.
- The disclosure requirement. It is twofold: the platform has its own labels («paid partnership»), the state has its own — what is required in your country.
- The affiliate programme's terms. Some networks forbid certain traffic sources: paid brand-name ads, mailings, certain social networks. Each has its own terms — who pays and for what.
- What happens if the route is closed. A platform changes its rules without asking, and a route your whole income rests on is a risk, not a strategy. It has happened: Tumblr shut down both paid posts and tipping, and Pinterest does not pay creators at all.
On method. Only what the platforms' own rules say is here. Third-party «algorithm research», income promises and schemes for getting around the rules do not enter the catalogue: the first is unverifiable, the second unknown, the third forbidden by the catalogue's principles.
See also: earning: who pays, and for what · advertising disclosure by country · platform restrictions