Legal Considerations for Instagram Giveaways

Work with your legal team to craft any rules for your promotion(s). This blog is meant to inform and is not meant to be considered legal advice. 

Step 1: Comply with Instagram’s Promotion Guidelines

Instagram has specific rules about how promotions (like giveaways) should work on their platform. If you skip the fine print, your post could get flagged or taken down.

Here’s what to cover, as per Instagram’s promotion guidelines:

• Use a proper disclaimer, like “This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.”
• Explain who can enter. Share details like age limits (18+ is standard) or where someone needs to live to qualify.
• Don’t force follows or shares. You can ask people to tag a friend or comment to enter. But requiring follows or asking them to share posts is a no-go per Instagram’s guidelines.
• Stick to Instagram’s Terms. That means no sketchy prizes and nothing that goes against their platform rules (think: tobacco, alcohol, gambling, or medical claims).

Step 2: Understand Local Laws and Regulations

Instagram’ legal giveaway rules are one thing, but they don’t override your local laws. Depending on where you or your followers are based, the requirements for running a giveaway can vary a lot.

For starters, most regions require participants to be at least 18 years old. If you're opening your giveaway to people in different states or countries, make sure you’re allowed to do so. Some areas have their own regulations or may even require permits, especially for prize promotions.

One of the most important things to avoid is making a purchase mandatory. In many places, requiring someone to buy something in order to enter legally reclassifies your giveaway as a lottery. That’s a whole different ballgame, with much stricter rules.

It’s also important to use the right language. A giveaway means winners are selected at random, while a contest usually involves some form of skill or judging. Mixing the two terms could cause confusion or even create legal problems if it turns out your audience expected one thing and got another.

If you're planning to collect personal information, like names, email addresses, or shipping details, Stampede Social’s DM Automation feature lets you run “Register to Win” campaigns that securely collect participant info on your website without needing third-party forms or messy spreadsheets.

Step 3: Ensure Transparency and Fairness

If there’s one thing that keeps your giveaway on the right track, it’s clear communication. Laying out the rules from the start not only builds trust with your audience, but it also helps you avoid confusion, complaints, or disputes down the line.

As part of your Instagram giveaway terms and conditions, start by explaining exactly how people can enter, whether it’s by commenting with a keyword like “SUMMER” or tagging a friend. Make sure the steps are obvious and easy to follow.

Next, state when the giveaway ends. Include the exact date and time, and don’t forget to mention the time zone so there’s no misunderstanding (like 8 P.M. PST).

Be specific about the prize. Let people know what they’re entering to win, and if the prize has a high dollar value, include that too. Then, explain how the winner will be chosen. Whether it’s a random draw or based on some kind of judging criteria, people should know what to expect.

Finally, tell your audience how the winner will be notified. Will you DM them? Send an email? Announce it in your Stories? Set that expectation clearly in your post or linked terms.

Step 4: Protect User Privacy

If you’re asking people for personal information like names, emails, or mailing addresses via a registration form, you have to be upfront about it. It’s the law in most places.

Be clear about what you’re collecting and why. If you plan to follow up with marketing emails, you’ll need their permission. 

And whatever you do, don’t share their details with anyone else unless they’ve said it’s okay. Privacy matters, and how you handle it directly impacts trust.

You also need to make sure that data is stored securely so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Stampede Social stores all engagement data (comments, @handles, and entry information) safely in your dashboard, ready to export whenever you need it. You get clean, first-party data without stepping over any privacy lines.

Step 5: Include Disclosures for Sponsored Giveaways

If your giveaway is sponsored or involves paid promotion, you’re legally obligated to disclose it. It also helps maintain credibility, so there’s that.

Just say it plainly in your caption. Something like “This giveaway is sponsored by [Brand]” or “Thanks to [Brand] for providing the prize” does the job. 

If you’re in the U.S., you’ll also want to follow Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines by using hashtags like #ad or #sponsored. Make sure they’re easy to spot, and not buried in a sea of tags at the bottom.

Now For a Shameless Plug…

Stampede Social helps both big and small businesses manage giveaways. You can launch one in minutes, on a post, a Reel, or during a Live.

Our platform tracks every entry (comment), filters out duplicates, and handles random winner selection without spreadsheets or guesswork. 

Want to collect emails or registration info? Done. Use our built-in DM automation to send an entry form you create directly to them via DM. 

Need to keep track of your most engaged fans or analyze comment sentiment? It’s all built in.

Big brands love us because we scale. Smaller teams love us because we save time. And everyone loves that we absorb almost all of the associated busywork.

Instead of patching together a stack of tools, everything you need lives in one place. It’s one platform with the power of ten, and it does all the heavy lifting.

The Bottom Line

Instagram giveaways are great for engagement, but only if you run them the right way. Follow the rules, be upfront, protect your participants’ information, and stay transparent with any brand partnerships.

Stampede Social gives you everything you need to make managing your giveaways smooth, and worth the effort. With automated comment entry tracking to real-time random winner selection, you’re covered from start to finish.

Ready to give our platform a try? Contact us to sign up for Stampede Social today! 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog (including the Social Growth Lab podcast) is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. While we aim to provide helpful guidance on social media sweepstakes and promotions, it's important to consult with a qualified attorney to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations before running any promotions.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are giveaways on Instagram legal?

Yes, giveaways on Instagram are legal, as long as they follow both Instagram’s promotion guidelines and the laws in the regions where your participants live. You must also follow local laws if you’re opening the giveaway up to multiple countries or states.

2. What should be included in my Instagram giveaway disclaimer template?

First, make it clear that Instagram is not affiliated with your promotion. Then, spell out who’s eligible to enter (for example, age or location requirements), what the entry steps are, how and when the winner will be selected, and how they’ll be contacted. If you're using a registration form or collecting personal info, you’ll also want to mention how that data will be used. For a full list of requirements and full set of rules work with your legal team to ensure all the bases are covered for a legal giveaway.

3. Can I require someone to follow my account to enter?

While you technically can ask users to follow your account, it shouldn’t be the only method of entry. Instagram discourages promotions that rely solely on follows or shares. Instead, ask users to comment with a keyword or tag a friend. These types of actions are generally seen as more organic and engagement-focused.

4. How do I write Instagram giveaway terms and conditions?

Strong giveaway terms should include everything your audience needs to know: how to enter, when entries open and close, who’s eligible, what the prize is (including its value), and how the winner will be chosen.  For a full list of requirements and full set of rules work with your legal team to ensure all the bases are covered for a legal giveaway.

5. What’s the easiest way to manage post level Instagram  giveaways?

Managing a giveaway gets easier when you have all your tools in one place. Stampede Social handles entry tracking (comments), filters out duplicates, and lets you randomly pick a winner on the spot.