TikTok launched two new ad placement controls – Video Exclusion List and Profile Feed Exclusion List – giving brands more power to block specific videos and user profiles from appearing alongside their ads.
The update is part of TikTok’s broader Safety Suite, and comes alongside the debut of a new Brand Safety & Suitability Playbook to help advertisers navigate their options.
What’s new. Two new tools are now available globally via the Brand Safety Hub in TikTok Ads Manager. Advertisers can manage their lists directly or partner with third-party verification firms:
- Video Exclusion List. Advertisers can block individual video IDs from appearing next to their ads, enabling near real-time control over ad adjacency.
- Profile Feed Exclusion List. Brands can exclude ads from running alongside specific TikTok user profiles, adding another layer of customization for sensitive placements.
Why we care. As advertisers grow more selective about where and how their brands show up online, due to brand safety issues, platforms are under pressure to offer fine-tuned control over ad placements – especially in user-generated content environments.
The playbook. TikTok also released its Brand Safety & Suitability Playbook, a comprehensive guide to its ad safety solutions. What’s inside:
- One-pagers on every tool in the Safety Suite.
- Industry-specific examples and case studies.
- Decision trees for choosing the right controls.
- Step-by-step activation walkthroughs.
Between the lines. TikTok is shifting the conversation from brand safety to brand alignment, acknowledging that what’s “safe” isn’t always “right” for every brand.
- “Beyond brand safety, brands have unique values and preferences when it comes to ad placement,” the company said.
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About the author
Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career started with
delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.