TikTok ads ban QR codes: how to check a video for one

No: TikTok's ad format policy says ad content must not contain quick response (QR) codes. The page lists what is allowed, a QR on product packaging or in an application, and unscannable matrix codes including item barcodes. It also lists what is not allowed in select markets: ad content with QR codes leading to third-party websites, including social media pages. An AI video model can draw a scannable-looking square without being asked, so look at the frames before you upload. Sume can extract stills at times you name.

What exactly does the policy say?

The rule sits in the Ad format and functionality policy, last updated April 2026. The table separates the general rule from the exceptions and the market-limited case. The market list for the third-party QR rule is long and includes Australia, Germany, France, Indonesia, Italy, Singapore and others; read the list on the page for your market rather than relying on a summary.

Why does an AI-generated ad need a check?

A product shot of a box, a poster in the background or a phone screen in a hand scene can all contain a square code pattern that the model invented. Sume's Video Router and Timeline outputs are ordinary video files, so nothing in the pipeline removes a pattern like that. The policy puts the burden on the ad, not on the tool that made it.

The check is a human or script looking at stills. Do it on the final cut, after captions and overlays are burned in, because an overlay is the usual way a code gets into an ad.

How do you pull the frames with Sume?

Video frames takes one clip on media.sume.com plus either at[] (1 to 24 times in seconds) or fps (above 0 up to 2) and returns image artifacts at source size, or clamped with max_edge from 16 to 2160. The source can be up to 300 seconds. Submit is always 202, so poll the resource. An Idempotency-Key is required on MCP writes and recommended on REST.

Video inspect is the whole-clip alternative: omit frames and you get 8 mid-bin stills at 768 px by default, with probe facts. Use png when you want lossless stills of a small code region, and pass max_edge up to 2160.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/video-frames \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: qr-check-001" \
  -d '{
    "video_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/ad.mp4",
    "fps": 1,
    "format": "png"
  }'

Which codes are safe to leave in?

The policy's allowed list is narrow and specific. A QR printed on a product box or shown inside an application is listed as allowed, and so are unscannable matrix codes such as item barcodes. A code that sends a viewer to a third-party site, a social page included, is the case the page restricts in the listed markets.

That wording matters for a creative brief. If a shot of a retail box happens to show a code, ask whether it leads anywhere and whether a viewer could scan it from the video. If you cannot answer yes to both, re-frame the box or blur nothing: simply choose another angle, because the policy also forbids blurred or masked third-party watermarks, so a blur is not a free fix for every overlay.

What do you do when a frame has a code?

Cut around it or regenerate the shot. Video trim takes a start and an end or duration, so removing a two second moment is two trims joined in Timeline or re-cut from the master. If the pattern sits on packaging or an app screen, the policy lists that as allowed, but a reviewer will still judge what they see, so keep the shot only when the context is clear.

Write down the rule for your team: stills at 1 fps on every final cut, a person scans for square patterns, and any hit gets a re-render. Frames are billed by their worker compute, not a fixed fee per image, so an fps of 1 on a short ad is cheap.