Why was my ad rejected on Facebook or Instagram?
Because Meta's review system found something in the ad that breaks its Advertising Standards. Meta says the system checks images, video, text and targeting information, as well as the ad's destination such as your landing page — so the cause is often the page you sent people to, not the ad itself.
ShoaibUpdated 3 min read
How the review works
Meta describes the process as relying primarily on automation to apply its policies, with human reviewers used to improve and train those systems and, in some cases, to review ads manually. Review is not a one-off: Meta says a violation found at any point in the process leads to rejection, which is why ads sometimes run for days and then stop.
Common causes
| What triggers it | Typical fix |
|---|---|
| Health and body claims | Meta's standards prohibit implying negative self-perception to promote diet or weight-loss products, including before-and-after images showing idealised results |
| Unrealistic promises | Meta prohibits promises or suggestions of unrealistic outcomes for health, weight loss or economic opportunity |
| The landing page | Make the page match the ad, and make contact details and policies easy to find |
| Personal attributes | Don't write copy that implies you know something personal about the reader |
| Restricted categories | Some products have extra rules or need permission |
What do I do now?
- Read the rejection email. Meta says you receive a notification with a link to the reason.
- Fix the actual cause — usually one line of copy, one image, or the landing page.
- Request a review if you believe it was wrong. Meta says you can request a review of the decision in Account Quality.
- Don't just duplicate and relaunch. Repeating the same violation is how accounts get into real trouble.
If the whole account was shut down rather than a single ad, that's a different process — see my ad account got disabled. If the ad is approved but nothing happens, see why your ad isn't spending its budget.
Want ads written to pass review the first time? See our Meta Ads service.