How to Review and Approve Ads on Your Stream: A Brand-Safety Checklist

Before a paid banner goes live on your stream, check five things: who the advertiser is, where the link and any QR code really go, what the banner says and shows, whether the product is allowed on your platform, and whether it fits your audience. If any answer is unclear, reject it. When payment is only captured on approval, a rejection costs the advertiser nothing and protects your channel.

Key takeaways

• You're responsible for branded content on your stream, even when it arrives through an outside service.
• Open every destination link yourself and scan any QR code that's part of the banner image.
• Check the product against your platform's banned and restricted categories early. It's often the quickest way to rule an ad out.
• When in doubt, reject. On AD on Live, the advertiser isn't charged and can book again with a corrected banner.
• Keep manual approval on unless you accept the risk of ads running without your review.

Why every ad deserves a review

Advertisers answer for their own ads, but platforms hold you accountable for what appears on your stream, wherever it came from.

• Twitch. As of 2026, Twitch's Branded Content Guidelines say you're responsible for making sure branded content activated through any external service complies with them, and that Twitch can't pre-approve your content. Repeated failure to disclose branded content may lead to action including suspension.
• YouTube. YouTube's Branded Content Policies apply to the whole video, not just the sponsored part. Violations can lead to removal and can affect YouTube Partner Program eligibility.
• The FTC. Under the Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), endorsers can be liable for statements they make, such as claims they know or should know are deceptive. The banner is the advertiser's message, but anything you say about it on mic is yours.
• Your viewers. A QR code on your stream invites people to scan. The FTC warns that a malicious QR code can lead to a spoofed site that steals login details, or install malware.

The ad review checklist

Work through these in order. With practice, the whole review takes a few minutes.

1. The advertiser

• Does the business exist beyond this one ad, with a website, contact details and some public presence?
• Does the brand name match the destination domain?
• Would you be comfortable saying its name out loud on stream?

2. The destination link

• Open the URL yourself on a computer before you approve.
• Watch for redirects that end somewhere unexpected, and for lookalike domains. The FTC advises checking for misspellings or a switched letter.
• Look the domain up in Google's Safe Browsing site status tool, which shows whether a site is currently flagged as dangerous.
• Reject pages that ask viewers to log in, connect a wallet or pay a "verification" fee, and any link that starts a file download.
• No URL given? On AD on Live, the QR code then sends viewers to your own booking page, which is harmless.

3. The banner itself

• Readability. Can you read it at its real size on stream? Our banner design guide covers what works.
• Claims. Watch for guaranteed results, miracle cures or easy-money promises. The FTC's Disclosures 101 tells creators not to make claims that would need proof the advertiser doesn't have.
• Fake interface elements. Reject fake play buttons, fake system alerts or anything imitating another brand's logo.
• QR codes inside the image. Scan them. The overlay's own QR code goes through a short tracking link to the advertiser's URL, but a code baked into the banner can point anywhere, and AD on Live can't count its scans. See QR codes on live streams for more.
• Imagery. Check that it suits your stream. In its advice on advertising on Twitch, the UK's ASA describes a film trailer with graphic violence shown during a League of Legends broadcast. It concluded the ad was likely to cause offence and distress because viewers wouldn't expect material that strong.

4. Platform rules

As of 2026, Twitch's Branded Content Guidelines prohibit promoting:

• Hateful products, illegal goods and services, and lookup services that expose private information
• Spam, scams, phishing and malware, plus services like viewbotting or selling Twitch accounts
• Risky gambling, such as online slots or roulette sites
• Weapons, tobacco and vapes, cannabis products, and adult products or services
• Certain financial products, such as ICOs, multilevel marketing, get-rich-quick schemes and payday loans
• Medical products and facilities, such as prescription drugs and "miracle cures"
• Political content, including paid promotion of politicians, parties or issues of public debate

Alcohol is allowed only with restrictions, including marking the content as mature.

On YouTube, the Branded Content Policies give examples of prohibited content (recreational drugs, weapons, hacking software, counterfeit products, essay-writing services) and restricted categories (alcohol, financial services, healthcare and medicines, gambling, and elections and political content). For restricted categories, you're responsible for confirming the brand is certified by Google where necessary and for meeting legal requirements, including age and country restrictions. YouTube also says creators can't include third-party ads where YouTube offers a comparable ad format, such as video ads or bumpers, so don't accept video spots.

On Twitch, the Terms of Service reserve ad sales to Twitch, bar third-party ad networks and allow branded content that you disclose with the Branded Content tool. Read the current terms for every platform you stream on.

5. Your audience and your existing deals

• Age. The ASA stresses knowing your audience, especially for age-restricted products like gambling and alcohol. If many of your viewers are young, decline anything aimed at adults.
• Fit. Would your regulars see it as a sensible match, or as an ad that doesn't belong?
• Contracts. If you already have a sponsor with an exclusivity clause, a competitor's banner could breach it.

6. Disclosure

Can you label it clearly? Plan to use Twitch's Branded Content tool or YouTube's paid promotion setting, plus your own "Ad" label. Our sponsorship disclosure guide explains what each platform and regulator expects.

Red flags that mean "reject"

How approval works on AD on Live

AD on Live is built around this review step:

1. An advertiser books a slot and pays with PayPal. The payment is only authorized at checkout.
2. You get an email that a new ad is waiting. The optional desktop app (Windows and macOS) also sends desktop notifications.
3. You approve or reject from the web dashboard or the desktop app. Approving only works while you're on air: your overlay (the OBS browser source) is online, or you've started a live session in the desktop app.
4. Approve: the payment is captured and the ad starts right away, or queues behind the ad that's already running. Each ad runs for the minutes purchased.
5. Reject, or no response within 3 days: the authorization is voided and the hold is released. The advertiser is never charged for a rejected ad.

Using the 3-day window well. Approval only works while you're on air, and an approved ad starts right away, so run the checklist before you go live. Don't sit on good ads, because the advertiser is waiting too. A simple routine is to check pending ads once a day before your stream, reject anything that fails (rejecting works any time), and approve the rest once your overlay is online. If an ad is close but not right, for example an unreadable banner, rejecting costs the advertiser nothing, and anyone can book again with a corrected banner. For how the hold works, see how payment authorization protects advertisers.

When does auto-approve make sense?

With auto-approve on, an ad booked while you're on air is captured immediately and goes straight into your queue, without your review. Requests that arrive while you're off air wait for manual approval like any other.

Auto-approve can make sense if you've approved ads manually for a while, the bookings you get are consistently fine, your audience is adult, you have no exclusivity deals, and slow replies are costing you bookings. Keep it off if your channel is new, your audience skews young or you can't keep an eye on your overlay. A middle ground: keep manual approval and use email or desktop app notifications so you can respond quickly.

Publish a short ad policy

A few lines in your channel panels or About section save time on both sides. For example:

Ads on this stream: I review every ad before it runs. I welcome games, apps, creator tools, local businesses and events. I don't accept gambling, crypto offers, adult products, weapons, vapes, political ads or anything my platform bans. Banners must be readable and link to a working, secure page.

Approve with confidence

A five-minute review is the difference between sponsorships that build trust and ones that cost you viewers or a policy strike. Check the advertiser, the link, the banner, the rules and the fit, and reject anything you wouldn't stand behind.

If you want ad slots where you approve every ad and advertisers pay only when you do, create your free AD on Live channel, or read more on the streamers page.