How Sponsrs detects creator sponsorships, and where it still gets it wrong

Why we show our method

A sponsor database is only useful if you can trust what it lists. Automatic detection is never perfect, so we would rather explain how it works and show the evidence on every brand than pretend it is flawless.

The signals we read on YouTube

A video usually leaves several traces of a deal. We look for each of them and keep the ones that agree.

• The paid-promotion flag that YouTube shows on the video, when the creator ticked it.
• Links in the description. Shortened links are followed to the real destination, and affiliate or tracking redirects are resolved to the brand behind them.
• Promo codes written near a link or a call to action.
• Sponsor wording in the title or description, in eight languages, plus disclosure hashtags.
• What is said in the video: we read captions and match sponsor phrases and brand names, then link you to the exact second.
• SponsorBlock segments, which viewers submit for sponsor reads.

TikTok and Instagram

On TikTok we read the public page of each recent post. TikTok exposes an isAd flag for paid partnerships, which we treat like YouTube's flag. There is no transcript, so captions carry the rest.

On Instagram we use Meta's Business Discovery API when a token is configured. It has no paid-partnership field, so detection relies on caption text.

Some deals are never flagged. When a caption tags a brand with an @handle and reads like a promotion, a language model checks the mention. A yes only creates an unconfirmed candidate, never a validated brand.

How a brand becomes validated

One weak signal is not enough. A brand is validated automatically when the evidence is strong: several independent signals on the same video, the same brand appearing on several videos, or a clear answer from the AI check. Anything weaker waits in a review queue for a human to accept or reject it. Unconfirmed brands are labelled as such in the app and never appear on the public pages.

What we filter out on purpose

Plenty of links in a description are not sponsors, so we ignore them.

• The creator's own links, merch shops, donation and tip pages.
• Link shorteners and affiliate tracking domains, which are not brands themselves.
• Social profiles and common platforms such as the creator's other channels.

Where it still gets it wrong

Affiliate links to big retailers can look like sponsorships. A brand that is thanked in passing can be mistaken for a paid read. A sponsor mentioned only out loud, with no link, is easy to miss when captions are missing or poor. TikTok scans cover about the 13 most recent posts, so older deals are invisible there.

That is why each brand page lists the videos and signals behind it. If something looks wrong, open the moderation view for the video and judge the evidence yourself.