TikTok AI video of a real person without consent: the rule

No. TikTok's page lists "using the likeness of private figures without consent" as not allowed. It defines private figures as "all people under 18, and adults who aren't public figures." Likeness covers a recognizable image, video or audio representation, including face, body, voice and gestures, so a photo-based AI video of an ordinary person needs that person's consent first.

Read from TikTok's integrity and authenticity guidelines (version 2026H2update) on 2026-09-30. This is not legal advice, and the page does not describe a consent process.

Who counts as a private figure?

Everyone who is not an adult with a significant public role. Public figures are people 18 and older such as officials, politicians, business leaders or celebrities; the page says it does not identify people under 18 as public figures.

Which Sume avatar inputs involve a real person?

Avatar creation has three inputs: Prompt (describe the avatar), Profile (structured traits, sent as props), and Image (a reference image) (Create new avatar). A prompt-only avatar needs no real person. An image input does whenever the photo shows one, so get consent before uploading it.

What about face swap and image edits?

Face swap needs an Avatar 1.0 identity you already have plus a source video (Face swap), so the same consent applies to whoever's face the avatar carries and whoever is in the source clip. Image edit takes your own image_urls (Image generation); do not feed it photos of people who have not agreed. See YouTube likeness detection for the equivalent rule there.

What is the safest route?

Create a fictional avatar from a prompt, or use a person who has agreed and keep that agreement. Disclose AI use per TikTok's AIGC label or your own caption. Disclosure does not replace consent.