Giveaways on Instagram and Facebook: the rules

What does German law require?

• Easily accessible terms. Giveaways with a promotional character must be recognizable as such. The terms and conditions must be easily accessible, clear and unambiguous (§ 6 (1) No. 4 DDG, the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, Germany’s Digital Services Act).
• Actually award the prizes. You must actually award the prizes you announce (UWG annex No. 19; the UWG is Germany’s Unfair Competition Act). “Free” may only mean that it costs nothing (No. 20). You must not create the impression that someone has already won (No. 31).
• Entry costs nothing. If you demand a stake for the chance to win, gambling law comes into play.
• Privacy notice. You need a separate privacy notice under Art. 13 GDPR. The legal basis for running the giveaway is usually Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR.
• Winners’ names. If you want to publish the names of winners, you need consent (IT-Recht Kanzlei, updated October 30, 2025).
• Tying entry to a newsletter signup. Only possible to a limited extent. Consent must be voluntary and transparent, and promotional emails require double opt-in (§ 7 (2) UWG). The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt considered such a link possible if at most eight specifically named companies may advertise (June 27, 2019, 6 U 6/19).

What do Facebook and Instagram require?

Facebook

According to Meta’s guidelines for Pages, groups and events (Promotions section, retrieved October 13, 2026):

• You are responsible for legality, for example official rules and, where applicable, registrations with authorities.
• Participants must release Meta from any liability and acknowledge that the promotion is not associated with Meta.
• The giveaway must not ask or encourage participants to share the post, repost it, tag others or otherwise spread it.
• Meta doesn’t help with running it. You act at your own risk.

Instagram

Instagram has its own “Promotion guidelines”. According to IT-Recht Kanzlei (updated October 30, 2025), you have to take care of the rules, terms and eligibility (age, residence) yourself. A release of Instagram from liability and a note that Instagram doesn’t sponsor, endorse or administer the promotion are required. It is prohibited to ask for inaccurate tagging, for example tagging yourself in photos you are not in. The wording of the Instagram help page was not checked in the original here: read the current guidelines yourself before you start.

What belongs in the terms and conditions?

• The organizer with imprint details (see Imprint on social media).
• The period with start and end, each with a time.
• Eligibility: age, residence, employees excluded.
• How to enter.
• The prize or prizes, including any extra costs.
• How winners are selected, for example by drawing lots.
• Notification and the deadline to respond.
• Shipping or handover of the prize.
• Substitute winners, if nobody responds.
• A clause reserving the right to cancel the giveaway for good cause.
• The release of Meta or Instagram from liability.

These include privacy notices under Art. 13 GDPR, most simply as “terms and conditions with privacy notices”. Don’t attach the terms only to the caption: link them via your website or bio link and include a short version in the post. Links in Instagram captions are not clickable, so the link belongs in the bio. If the prize is alcohol or tobacco, set the age limit at 18 as a rule of thumb.

Text template for the post

This is what the post text of a café that gives away two breakfasts might look like. Replace everything in curly brackets and check the text against your own terms and conditions.

“We’re giving away {prize}! Here’s how to enter: comment under this post, {question or task}.”

“The entry deadline is {date} at {time}. Anyone who is at least {age} years old and lives in {country or region} can take part. Employees of {company name} are excluded. Among all participants, we’ll draw {number} winner(s) and get in touch by direct message. If you don’t reply by {date}, we’ll draw again.”

“You’ll find the full terms and conditions and privacy notices via the link in our bio. By taking part, you release Instagram/Meta from any liability in connection with the giveaway. This giveaway is not associated with Instagram/Meta and is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram/Meta.”

For Facebook, replace “Instagram/Meta” with “Facebook/Meta” and put the link to the terms directly in the text instead of the bio. Don’t ask for sharing or tagging there.

How do you run the giveaway?

1. Publish the post with linked terms. The terms are online before the giveaway starts.
2. Document the draw. Record the date, the number of participants and the drawing method, for example with a screenshot.
3. Contact the winners by direct message. You publish names only with consent.
4. Actually hand over the prize. A prize that is never sent is unfair (UWG annex No. 19).
5. Let substitute winners move up if needed, if nobody responds.

How do you protect your followers from fake giveaways?

Scammers copy giveaways from businesses. Warn your followers that you never ask for payment details, and report fake accounts to the platform. How fake giveaways work is described by the consumer advice center (Verbraucherzentrale) (in German).

Which mistakes happen most often?

• On Facebook, it says “Share the post in your story or on your timeline to enter”.
• The giveaway ends without a time.
• The terms are only in the caption or missing altogether.
• Winners appear with their full names in the post, without consent.
• The prize is never sent.
• Entry is tied to a purchase or a newsletter signup, without clean consent.

Planning a giveaway with companycore

A giveaway can be told in three posts: start, reminder and winner post. Plan them together in the Calendar. core writes the text in the Post Generator: tell core which mandatory sentences must go in, such as the sentence about Meta and the note on the terms and conditions, and check the result. You read comments, draw winners and message them directly on the platform, because companycore doesn’t manage comments or direct messages.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Status of the sources: October 13, 2026. The Instagram help page could not be retrieved verbatim. Check the originals before posting. Laws and platforms come first, reports after.

Laws, platforms, consumer protection

• § 6 DDG (in German) – statute text
• UWG, annex to § 3 (3) (in German) – statute text
• Meta: Guidelines for Pages, groups and events, Promotions section
• Instagram Help: Promotion guidelines
• vzbv (Federation of German Consumer Organisations): ruling on linking giveaway entry to consent to advertising, OLG Frankfurt, 6 U 6/19 (in German)
• Verbraucherzentrale: fake giveaways (in German)

Reports and law firm articles

• IT-Recht Kanzlei: legally compliant giveaways on Facebook and Instagram, updated October 30, 2025 (in German)