TikTok guidelines, 24 Sept 2026: what the pages actually changed
The current Community Guidelines are effective September 24, 2026. The archive still lists a set effective September 13, 2025. The account-ban sentence now includes “associated accounts.” The archived regulated page writes undisclosed commercial content as ineligible for the FYF. The current page writes may reduce its visibility or apply the content disclosure setting. The AI label sentence on Integrity and Authenticity is on both versions.
Key Takeaways
- The Community Guidelines archive labels the current set “Effective September 24, 2026” and the archived set “Effective September 13, 2025.”
- The current Accounts and Features page says TikTok may “ban all of their accounts, including associated accounts,” if someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement. The archived page stops at “ban all of their accounts.”
- The archived regulated page says undisclosed commercial content “will be ineligible for the FYF.” The current page says TikTok “may reduce its visibility or apply the content disclosure setting.”
- The AI label line — “AI-generated or significantly edited content that shows realistic-looking scenes or people” — is on both the current and archived Integrity and Authenticity pages.
Which Community Guidelines version is live?
Two dates are live at once, and they are not the same document. The archive calls one card “Current Community Guidelines” and prints “Effective September 24, 2026.” The other card is “Archived Community Guidelines” and prints “Effective September 13, 2025.”
Open the current overview and the header is “Released August 25, 2026” and “Effective September 24, 2026.” Open the archived overview and you still get “Released August 14, 2025” and “Effective September 13, 2025,” plus this banner: “On September 24, 2026, we are updating our Community Guidelines so you can continue to create, discover, and share safely on TikTok.”
Release line on the archived overview
Effective date of the archived set
Release line on the current overview
Effective date of the current set
The banner is on the old page
What did the account-ban sentence add?
This is the line that matters if you run more than one account. The current Accounts and Features page says: “If someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement, we may ban all of their accounts, including associated accounts.” The archived page says: “If someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement, we may ban all of their accounts.”
“Including associated accounts” is the new tail on that sentence. It is not the same sentence as the one on Integrity and Authenticity. Both the current and archived Integrity pages say “You can have multiple accounts—for example, for fan content or creative expression—but not to deceive others or break the rules.” Both also say “Ban additional or new accounts you create” and “you may not create or use another account to get around it.”
| Sentence | Archived Accounts and Features | Current Accounts and Features |
|---|---|---|
| Dodge-enforcement ban | If someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement, we may ban all of their accounts. | If someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement, we may ban all of their accounts, including associated accounts. |
| What a break can mean | That can mean a warning, a restriction, or a full ban, depending on what happened. | That can mean a warning, temporary feature or account restriction, or a full account ban, depending on what happened. |
| Extra step on that page | If suspicious activity is detected, we may also require a user to complete some verification steps—such as SMS or email confirmation, CAPTCHA, or a login via a verified mobile device—to confirm that they own the account. | In some cases, users may be given the opportunity to complete optional policy training to restore full access to the platform. |
| Accounts dedicated to breaking the rules | Running accounts that are dedicated to breaking the rules, like spreading hate, the unauthorized trading of regulated, prohibited (e.g. counterfeit), or high-risk goods, or pretending to be someone else | Running accounts that are dedicated to breaking the rules, like spreading hate, the unauthorized trading of regulated, prohibited (e.g. counterfeit), or high-risk goods, or inauthentic behavior (e.g. pretending to be someone else) |
Read those as two pages, not as one merged rule. The archived page prints the verification sentence. The current page prints the optional policy-training sentence. The account-count guide already quotes the Integrity line about not opening another account to get around a restriction. This page is the wording diff on Accounts and Features. A separate Integrity sentence is on both the current and archived pages: “We strictly prohibit automation tools, scripts, or other tricks designed to bypass our systems.” The next sentence on both pages says “These can result in content removal, account bans, or other enforcement.”
Is undisclosed commercial content still ineligible for the FYF?
The disclosure penalty moved. The archived regulated page says: “If commercial content isn't disclosed using the content disclosure setting, it will be ineligible for the FYF.” The next sentence on that page says: “If we find commercial content that hasn’t been properly disclosed, we may apply the content disclosure setting or remove it from the FYF.” The same page’s FYF ineligible list includes “Commercial content that isn't disclosed using TikTok’s content disclosure setting.”
The current regulated page says: “If we find commercial content that hasn’t been properly disclosed, we may reduce its visibility or apply the content disclosure setting.” Both pages keep this follow-on: “Repeated failure to make a disclosure can lead to your account being temporarily restricted from posting content, or can lead to an account ban.”
| Point | Archived regulated page | Current regulated page |
|---|---|---|
| Undisclosed commercial content | If commercial content isn't disclosed using the content disclosure setting, it will be ineligible for the FYF. | If we find commercial content that hasn’t been properly disclosed, we may reduce its visibility or apply the content disclosure setting. |
| What TikTok may do if it finds it | We may apply the content disclosure setting or remove it from the FYF. | We may reduce its visibility or apply the content disclosure setting. |
“Will be ineligible” and “may reduce its visibility” are not the same verb. If a promo account’s views drop after 24 September, the current sentence is the one to read. It is not a promise that disclosure restores the feed, and it is not a promise that an unlabeled ad stays in it.
Gambling and firearms rows, quoted
Recaps that say gambling “lost the regional qualifier everywhere” flatten two lists. The bullets below are the ones on the regulated pages, under the headings those pages print.
| Heading on the page | Archived bullet | Current bullet |
|---|---|---|
| NOT ALLOWED | In some regions, showing or promoting gambling or gambling-like activities, or firearms or explosive weapons | In some regions, showing or promoting gambling or gambling-like activities |
| FYF INELIGIBLE & AGE-RESTRICTED | In some regions, showing or promoting gambling activities or gambling-like activities, or firearms or explosive weapons | Showing or promoting gambling and gambling-like activities, cannabis or cannabis-related items, adult tobacco or vaping use, or firearms or explosive weapons |
The current NOT ALLOWED bullet still says “In some regions” and names gambling, not firearms. The current FYF ineligible and age-restricted bullet names gambling, cannabis, adult tobacco or vaping, and firearms without “in some regions” on that line. Quote the heading with the bullet. Do not merge them into one worldwide ban.
One youth bullet also moved a word. The archived page says “Showing or promoting young people participating in gambling, using alcohol, tobacco, or fireworks, or having weapons.” The current page says “Showing or promoting young people participating in gambling, using alcohol, tobacco or vaping, or fireworks, or having weapons.”
What should you check on each account?
A quiet account is not automatically a ban. The For You standards page says: “Even if a video doesn’t make it to the FYF, people may still find it through search or by going to a creator's account.” The same page says creators can check analytics, “including if there were any made ineligible for recommendation.” The same page also says: “If a video isn’t getting many views, it also doesn’t necessarily mean it broke a rule.”
The enforcement page names the “TikTok analytics tool” for content “made ineligible for the FYF.” The same page says: “If your account was banned, or your content was removed, made ineligible for the FYF, or otherwise restricted, and you believe this was an error, you may appeal the decision.” Start there. Then run the TikTok shadowban checker for an outside-in read, and use the shadowban guide for the difference between one ineligible video and an account-level hole.
If you run a network, read each account’s analytics on its own. The Integrity page’s “another account to get around it” sentence and the new “associated accounts” tail are different lines. How accounts get linked is covered in the linking-detection guide.
The setup we use is dedicated real phones and isolated environments — each account on its own device, with its own IP — plus years of experience running accounts at scale and proprietary sequences built on hours of experimentation. That is the ceiling. It is not a reading of TikTok’s “associated accounts” phrase.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did TikTok’s September 2026 Community Guidelines take effect?
The Community Guidelines archive lists “Current Community Guidelines” as “Effective September 24, 2026” and “Archived Community Guidelines” as “Effective September 13, 2025.” The current overview prints “Released August 25, 2026” and “Effective September 24, 2026.” The archived overview still prints “Released August 14, 2025” and “Effective September 13, 2025,” plus the banner “On September 24, 2026, we are updating our Community Guidelines so you can continue to create, discover, and share safely on TikTok.”
Does TikTok say it may ban associated accounts?
The current Accounts and Features page says: “If someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement, we may ban all of their accounts, including associated accounts.” The archived Accounts and Features page says: “If someone seriously breaks the rules or tries to dodge enforcement, we may ban all of their accounts.” Integrity and Authenticity, on both the current page and the archived page, says “Ban additional or new accounts you create” and “you may not create or use another account to get around it.”
Is undisclosed commercial content still ineligible for the FYF?
The archived Regulated Goods page says: “If commercial content isn't disclosed using the content disclosure setting, it will be ineligible for the FYF.” The current page says: “If we find commercial content that hasn’t been properly disclosed, we may reduce its visibility or apply the content disclosure setting.” Both pages say repeated failure to disclose can lead to a temporary posting restriction or an account ban.
Did the 24 September update rewrite the AI label rule?
Both the current Integrity and Authenticity page and the archived 2025H2 page contain “AI-generated or significantly edited content that shows realistic-looking scenes or people” and “Unlabeled content may be removed, restricted, or labeled by our team, depending on the harm it could cause.” The Accounts and Regulated wording moves are the sentences in the tables on this page.
One ineligible video is not a network plan
TikTok’s enforcement page says: “If your account was banned, or your content was removed, made ineligible for the FYF, or otherwise restricted, and you believe this was an error, you may appeal the decision.” When recovery is the job, the paid path is the 14-Day Recovery System.