TikTok is phasing out its Custom Identity option in early 2026, which means advertisers will no longer be able to run ads without linking them to a verified TikTok profile.

Custom Identity was convenient, sure. Businesses could dip their toes into TikTok advertising without committing to a full social media presence. Just pay for the ad space and disappear into the algorithm. However, in an ecosystem where Gen Z can smell inauthenticity from three scrolls away, faceless advertising feels less like dangerous marketing.

To ease the transition, TikTok has rolled out what might be the most earnest acronym since SMART goals: the F.I.R.S.T framework. It’s a five-step guide designed to help set up your advertising identity properly (Foundation, Integration, Roles, Spark, Track).

The framework itself is actually sensible: establish your Organization Account, link everything correctly, assign team permissions, activate Spark Ads, and optimize based on performance. TikTok claims that 59.3% of advertisers who linked their accounts saw their cost per acquisition drop by at least 10%. That’s the platform quietly admitting that transparency might actually be good for business.

For larger brands with established TikTok presences, this change is barely a speed bump. They’re already posting, engaging, and building communities; linking ad accounts is just housekeeping. For smaller businesses or those who treated TikTok purely as an ad platform rather than a social space, this requires a shift in thinking.

Some will see this as an unnecessary hurdle. Others will recognize it as the cost of doing business in a space where users expect brands to be participants, not just advertisers.

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