Booking Snapchat creators in 2026: the rules brands need to know

In the Gulf, Snapchat creators carry unusual weight with audiences, largely because Snapchat itself does. Snap spent 2026 rewriting the ground rules around them: how they are paid, how paid content must be labelled, where AI-made video stands, and how brand deals will be arranged. If your business books Snapchat creators, directly or through an agency, several of these changes belong in your next contract.

What creators need to qualify for pay

Since February 2025, Snap's Monetization Program has combined earnings from ads in Stories with earnings from Spotlight, paying creators who meet its thresholds. Snap's help centre sets those at 50,000 followers and 15,000 hours of view time in 28 days, with at least 3,000 of those hours coming from Spotlight. From 7 May 2026, creators also need at least 100 hours of Spotlight view time in 28 days to earn the maximum rewards. Payouts are open to creators in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt.

Snap is also trialling Creator Subscriptions, in which fans pay a creator directly. The test began with US creators on iPhone in February 2026, with Canada, the UK and France to follow. No date has been given for the Gulf.

Paid partnership labels are no longer optional

Under Snap's Commercial Content Policy, in force since 2 July 2026, creators must apply Snap's paid partnership label to paid or gifted content, and to posts promoting their own business. The policy also calls for a retouched disclaimer where one applies, and age and location targeting for content about gambling, alcohol, and complex financial products or crypto. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both named in its restrictions on dating services.

The label adds to local law; it does not replace it. In the UAE, a creator publishing advertising needs the advertiser permit. For content aimed at Saudi Arabia, check that the creator holds a Mawthooq licence.

Spotlight's line on AI video

Since 31 July 2026, videos made entirely by AI can no longer be recommended on Spotlight, Snap's feed of public videos. Content edited with Snap's own AI tools stays eligible and is labelled. Snap says the number of unique Spotlight contributors rose more than 120 percent year on year. For brand content meant for Spotlight, the working rule is real footage, with AI used for editing rather than creation.

How brand deals are changing

• Snap says more than 300,000 creators are eligible for brand collaborations, and that creator ads were played 25 percent longer and drew 16 percent more active attention.
• Snap Creator Network, a marketplace for creator deals, is due to launch later in 2026.
• A Creator Agency Partner Program, also coming later in 2026, begins with nine pilot agencies in the US.

Snap's investment in Gulf talent

• Saudi Arabia: in May 2026 Snap opened the Snap Maher Academy, a four-week certified course. Its first cohort of 50 marketers came from organisations including Riyadh Air, stc, Zain, Jahez and the Ministry of Culture. In September Snap signed an agreement with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to train more than 20,000 Saudis by 2030.
• UAE: at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in January 2026, Snap launched the Snapchat Accelerator Program for emerging creators in the Middle East and North Africa.
• Majlis Snap, Snap's creator hub in Riyadh, has been open since November 2024.

Four points for your creator agreements

• Snap's paid partnership label on every paid or gifted post, together with the relevant local permit or licence.
• Spotlight view-time figures when you assess reach, since that is what Snap now rewards.
• Confirmation that content for Spotlight is filmed, not generated.
• Age and location targeting wherever the product sits in a regulated category.

Planning a Snapchat creator campaign in the UAE or Saudi Arabia? Talk to ALXO about building the brief around Snap's new rules.