TikTok Is Retiring Custom Identity: What Advertisers Must Do

If a TikTok campaign has started getting blocked at approval for no obvious reason recently, this is very likely why: TikTok is phasing out Custom Identity, the option that let advertisers run ads without linking to a real, public-facing TikTok account. Here’s what changed, why it’s happening, and exactly what to do about it.

What Custom Identity Actually Was

Custom Identity let a brand publish ads under a generic advertiser name and icon instead of an actual TikTok profile — useful for advertisers who wanted to run campaigns fast without first building out a real account presence. According to Social Media Today’s coverage, that convenience is exactly what TikTok is now walking back: it made it harder for people scrolling past an ad to tell who was actually behind it, which cuts against the platform-wide push toward transparency in paid content.

What’s Replacing It: The F.I.R.S.T. Framework

TikTok’s own transition guide lays out F.I.R.S.T., a five-step framework walking advertisers through linking a verified TikTok account to their ad campaigns instead of running under a generic identity. Practically, this means every campaign needs to be tied to an actual TikTok Business account with a real handle, profile photo, and bio — the same kind of setup an organic TikTok presence already has.

Why This Is Urgent, Not Optional

This isn’t a “nice to have before some date months out” change — according to MediaPost’s reporting, TikTok has been progressively restricting Custom Identity campaigns throughout 2026, and advertisers who haven’t transitioned are already seeing more campaigns blocked at the approval stage, not just warned about it. If a campaign that used to sail through review is suddenly stuck pending or rejected with no clear reason, checking whether it’s still running under Custom Identity is the first thing worth ruling out.

The Upside Nobody’s Talking About

This isn’t purely a compliance headache. Per TikTok’s own backend testing (cited in the same MediaPost coverage), 59.3% of advertisers who transitioned off Custom Identity saw their cost-per-acquisition drop by at least 10% after linking a real account. That tracks with how TikTok’s algorithm works generally — it rewards content and accounts with real engagement history and audience signals, which a generic Custom Identity placement never accumulates. A linked account that’s been running organic content, even lightly, gives the algorithm more to optimize against.

How to Actually Transition

• Set up (or confirm) a TikTok Business Account — not a personal profile; the business account type unlocks the analytics and ad permissions Custom Identity users are used to
• Fill out a real profile, not a placeholder — profile photo, bio, and at least a few pieces of content. An account with zero organic history reads as barely more trustworthy than no account at all, both to TikTok’s systems and to actual viewers
• Relink existing campaigns to the new account through Ads Manager rather than rebuilding them from scratch — this preserves campaign history and existing optimization data
• Do this before your next campaign launch, not reactively after one gets blocked — a campaign stuck at approval mid-flight costs more in lost delivery time than doing the linking work upfront

How to Check Whether You’re Actually Affected

Not every advertiser is running Custom Identity, and it’s worth confirming rather than assuming. In Ads Manager, check the identity setting attached to each active campaign or ad group — if it shows a generic advertiser name with no linked TikTok handle rather than an actual account profile, that campaign is still on the old system. Accounts that were set up more recently, or that were built by an agency already following TikTok’s current onboarding flow, are more likely to already be linked correctly and can skip the transition work entirely.

What This Means If You’re Just Getting Started

If a TikTok Ads account hasn’t been set up yet, this is genuinely good timing — building on a real linked account from day one, the way our first TikTok campaign guide already recommends, means never having to deal with this transition at all. The advertisers scrambling right now are specifically the ones who took the Custom Identity shortcut early on; starting correctly skips the whole problem.

A Related Reason to Care About Identity

A linked, real account doesn’t just satisfy TikTok’s policy — it changes what your actual ad creative can lean on. Once a campaign is tied to a real handle, referencing that identity naturally in the script itself (a recognizable creator or brand voice, not a faceless placement) tends to perform better precisely because it no longer reads as an anonymous ad — which is the entire trust gap this policy change is meant to close in the first place.

FAQ

How do I know if my campaigns are affected?

Check the identity setting on each active campaign or ad group in Ads Manager. A generic advertiser name with no linked TikTok handle means it’s still running under Custom Identity; a real account profile means it’s already transitioned.

What replaces Custom Identity?

A real TikTok Business account — handle, profile photo, bio, a few pieces of content — linked to your campaigns through TikTok’s F.I.R.S.T. transition framework. A placeholder profile with zero organic history reads barely better than no account at all.

Is there any upside to transitioning?

Yes, and it’s measurable: per TikTok backend testing cited in MediaPost’s coverage, 59.3% of advertisers who transitioned saw cost per acquisition drop by at least 10% after linking a real account.

I’m setting up TikTok Ads for the first time — do I need to worry about this?

No. Build on a real linked account from day one and you skip the transition entirely. The advertisers scrambling now are the ones who took the Custom Identity shortcut early on.