Why Was My Facebook Ad Rejected?
Nothing stops a marketing campaign in its tracks faster than the dreaded “Your Ad Wasn’t Approved” notification from Facebook. It's confusing, frustrating, and immediately makes you wonder what you did wrong. This article will walk you through the most common reasons why Facebook ads get rejected, how to fix the problem, and how to avoid having it happen again.
First, Why Is Facebook So Strict?
It’s easy to feel like Facebook's ad review process is arbitrary, but there's a method to the madness. Their primary goal is to protect the user experience. They want people to feel safe and positive when scrolling through their feeds, not targeted, scammed, or misled. By enforcing strict advertising policies, Meta (Facebook's parent company) aims to prevent everything from dangerous misinformation and financial scams to emotionally triggering and low-quality content. An ad rejection isn't a personal attack - it's usually the result of an automated system trying to uphold these community standards.
The Most Common Reasons Your Facebook Ad Was Rejected
While the rejection notice you receive can be vague, most flags fall into a few key categories. Let's break down the most frequent offenders so you can diagnose your own ads.
1. Issues with Your Wording (The "Personal Attributes" Policy)
This is arguably the most common and confusing reason for ad rejections, especially for creators in the wellness, finance, and coaching spaces. Facebook’s Personal Attributes policy states you cannot directly or indirectly assert or imply characteristics of your target audience.
In simple terms, you can't make people feel “called out” for their personal situation. Your ad copy can’t imply you know their race, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, financial status, or medical condition. The line is often blurry, and it’s about framing your solution positively rather than focusing on the user's problem negatively.
Rejected Example: "Are you struggling with back pain?" (Implying a medical condition)
Approved Alternative: "Find relief and move comfortably again with our ergonomic chair." (Focuses on the benefit)
Rejected Example: "Tired of being overwhelmed by debt?" (Implying a negative financial status)
Approved Alternative: "Take control of your finances and build a brighter future." (Focuses on a positive outcome)
Rejected Example: "A community for Christian singles." (Asserts religious affiliation and relationship status)
Approved Alternative: "Meet like-minded people who share your values." (Softer, less direct language)
The key is to always sell the destination, not the plane crash. Talk about the solution you offer, not the specific pain point that makes someone feel seen in a negative way.
2. Prohibited or Restricted Content
Some products and services are outright banned, while others are simply restricted and require special permission or age-gating. Mismatching your ad with these categories will get it shut down quickly.
Prohibited categories include:
Unsafe Substances: This includes recreational drugs, tobacco products, and vaping devices.
Weapons, Ammunition, or Explosives: Self-explanatory. This also covers accessories like silencers or anything that attaches to a weapon.
"Get-Rich-Quick" and MLM Schemes: Ads that promise unrealistic financial returns with little investment are prohibited.
Misleading Claims or Sensationalism: Spreading verifiably false information or using clickbait and shocking claims to get attention is a fast track to rejection.
Adult Products or Services: Overtly sexual content is banned, with the exception of ads for contraception or family planning, which have their own targeting restrictions.
Restricted categories may be allowed with limitations:
Alcohol: Must adhere to local laws and target users of legal drinking age.
Dating Services: Requires prior written permission and must follow strict targeting criteria.
Weight Loss and Health Products: Cannot contain exaggerated "before-and-after" visuals or make unrealistic promises about results. Focus on healthy lifestyle choices rather than specific outcomes. A claim like "Lose 10 pounds in one week!" is almost guaranteed to be rejected.
Financial Services and Cryptocurrency: Ads for credit cards, loans, or cryptocurrency exchanges are heavily regulated and often require special permissions to run.
3. Problems with Your Ad Creative (Image or Video)
Facebook’s algorithm analyzes your ad's visuals just as closely as its text. A great image can still get rejected if it violates a policy.
"Before-and-After" Images: While tempting for fitness or beauty brands, these images are often flagged for making unrealistic promises and creating negative self-perception among users. It's safer to show a person enjoying the benefits of your product.
Sexually Suggestive Content: This is a gray area. Images showing “excessive skin” or focusing on individual body parts - even if not overtly pornographic - can trigger a rejection. An image of a woman in a bikini on a beach is likely fine, but a tight zoom on her chest is not.
Low-Quality or Disruptive Imagery: Think fuzzy images, videos with jarring flashing effects, or anything that contains shocking or sensational visuals. These create a poor user experience.
Too Much Text on the Image: While Facebook officially removed its hard "20% text rule," ads with images or thumbnails covered in text still tend to perform poorly and can sometimes get flagged for low quality. It's best to let your visuals do the talking and keep text minimal.
4. Landing Page Violations
Facebook doesn't just review your ad, it also reviews the user experience on the page where your ad sends traffic. Your landing page can be the hidden cause of your ad rejection.
Mismatching Content: Does your landing page deliver what your ad promised? If your ad offers a 50% discount on shoes, the landing page must clearly present that offer. Bait-and-switch tactics will get your ad rejected and your account flagged.
Non-Functional Landing Page: Broken links, 404 error pages, or pages that are incredibly slow to load will lead to a rejection. Ensure your website provides a smooth and working experience.
Disruptive Experience: Pages with aggressive pop-ups, auto-playing audio/video, or an overwhelming number of ads will be flagged for providing a poor user experience.
Missing Policies: For lead generation ads or e-commerce sites, your landing page is expected to have an easily accessible Privacy Policy. Not having one can be seen as suspicious and result in a rejection.
What to Do When Your Facebook Ad Gets Rejected
Seeing that rejection notification is discouraging, but you have a few options. Follow these steps methodically to get back on track.
Don’t immediately resubmit the ad. Simply trying to publish the same ad again without making changes is a bad idea. This can signal to Facebook that you're trying to circumvent their system, which can put your entire ad account at risk.
Read the rejection reason carefully. While often vague, the notification in your Ads Manager will usually point you toward the general policy you violated. Use the list above to diagnose the exact problem in your copy, creative, or landing page. Was it a single word in your headline that violated the personal attributes policy? Is your landing page missing a privacy policy?
Edit the ad to be compliant. Based on your diagnosis, make a substantive change. This isn't about moving a comma or changing one word, it's about addressing the core policy violation.
If it was for "Personal Attributes," rewrite the headline and body text to focus on the benefit, not the problem.
If it was for a visual, swap out the rejected image or video for a new one that's clearly compliant.
If you suspect it's the landing page, double-check that the page works correctly, the offer matches, and policies are present.
Request a Manual Review (if you disagree). Every now and then, the automated system gets it wrong. If you’ve read the policies thoroughly and genuinely believe your ad is compliant, you can request a manual review. In the Account Quality section, you’ll find an option to request another look. In your request, be polite and simply state which policy you believe was misapplied and why your ad complies. A human reviewer will then assess it, which can lead to your ad being approved.
How to Avoid Rejections in the Future
Preventing rejections is much less stressful than fixing them. A few proactive habits can keep your ads running smoothly.
Internalize the Personal Attributes Policy: Because it’s the most common mistake, make it your number one rule. Always. Frame. Positively.
Keep Your User in Mind: Before you publish, ask yourself: "Does this ad make someone feel good about the solution I offer, or does it make them feel bad about their current situation?"
Vet Your Landing Pages: Before linking an ad to a page, click through it yourself. Does it load fast? Are there annoying pop-ups? Does the headline match the ad?
Bookmark the Ad Policies: Read through Facebook's official Advertising Policies page. Knowing the rules of the road is the best way to stay in your lane and avoid trouble.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with Facebook ad rejections is a normal part of digital advertising. By understanding the core reasons behind them - especially nuanced rules like the Personal Attributes policy - you can troubleshoot issues effectively and build campaigns that get approved the first time.
Once your ads are approved and running, the next challenge is understanding their true impact. This is why we built Graphed to help. Instead of being stuck in Facebook Ads Manager, you can connect it alongside Google Analytics, Shopify, HubSpot, and your other data sources to see an entire picture. We make it easy to ask questions in plain English like, "Which Facebook campaigns are driving the most Shopify sales?" and get a real-time dashboard in seconds, automatically linking ad spend to actual revenue.