In this guide · 8 sections
- 01How Meta reviews ads
- 02The most common rejection reasons for small businesses
- 03Personal attributes: the "you" wording problem
- 04Health, weight loss and before-and-after images
- 05Landing page mismatches and financial services
- 06Edit the ad or request another review?
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Open Business Support Home to see the policy named, then fix that element: remove "you" wording that implies a personal attribute, tone down health or weight claims, and make sure the landing page matches the ad. If the rejection was wrong, request another review; Meta aims to decide within 48 hours.
How Meta reviews ads
Meta's Advertising Standards say ad review relies primarily on automated tools, starts before an ad runs, and is typically completed within 24 hours. Review covers the images, video, text, targeting and the landing page the ad links to. Ads can be re-reviewed and rejected at any time, even after they have been running.
When an ad is rejected, Meta emails you and links to Business Support Home, where the reason is shown. Meta's rejected ad troubleshooting page notes that some details of how review works are not shared, so the reason may be just a policy name. Start by reading that policy section, not by guessing.
The most common rejection reasons for small businesses
These are the policies small service businesses, clinics, gyms and online shops run into most often.
| Policy | What triggers it | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|
| Personal attributes | Copy that implies the viewer's age, health, finances, religion or other attributes | Describe the service, not the reader |
| Health and wellness | Weight-loss claims, negative body language, pinching fat, miracle results | Target 18+, remove insults and timeframe promises |
| Relevance and landing page | Ad offers something the landing page does not show, broken or slow page | Match offer, price and product to the page |
| Financial services | Credit, loans or insurance not targeted 18+, or lead forms asking for financial details | Target 18+, remove financial questions from forms |
| Deceptive practices | Fake urgency, unrealistic earnings, celebrity images without permission | Use real offers and your own images |
| Intellectual property | Using other brands' logos, music or images without rights | Use licensed or original assets |
Personal attributes: the "you" wording problem
Meta's personal attributes policy says ads must not assert or imply personal attributes, including race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, physical or mental health, financial status and others. The trigger is usually "you" or "your" combined with an attribute, because it suggests the advertiser knows something about the viewer.
| Likely rejected | Safer rewrite |
|---|---|
| "Are you over 50 and worried about retirement?" | "Retirement planning workshops for people in their 50s and 60s" |
| "Struggling with your debt?" | "Free debt management consultation" |
| "Ready to upgrade your skin to look younger?" | "Our new cream targets fine lines" |
| "Do you have back pain?" | "Physiotherapy for back pain, Tampines clinic" |
| "Meet other Christian singles near you" | "Date Christian singles" |
Several of these patterns come straight from Meta's own allowed and not-allowed examples: "Meet seniors" is allowed but "Meet other seniors" is not; "Are you 18 years old?" is not allowed. Meta's general rule: describe or show the product or service, and do not use "you" or "other" to reference a personal attribute.
Health, weight loss and before-and-after images
Meta's Health and Wellness policy requires ads for dietary, health, weight-loss or weight-gain products and services, and for cosmetic products, procedures or surgeries, to be targeted to people aged 18 or older. Within that, certain content is not allowed.
Generally allowed (18+ where required)
- Showing people using the product, with the time taken to see results
- Before-and-after images for general cosmetic products and procedures, targeted 18+
- Fitness, gyms, general food, non-permanent beauty products with no age limit
- Factual descriptions of the treatment or service
Not allowed
- Negative statements or questions attacking appearance, body parts or hygiene
- Close-ups of pinched fat for weight-loss products
- Claims that wearables alone deliver weight loss
- Claims to cure listed incurable diseases, or sensational promises of results by a date
Singapore businesses also need to follow local rules on health claims and medical advertising, which can be stricter than Meta's. Meta's policy is a floor, not a licence: if your industry regulator restricts a claim, Meta can reject it under the rule that ads must comply with local law.
Landing page mismatches and financial services
Meta's relevance rules say ads must clearly represent the business, every component must relate to what is offered, and the products and services in the ad must match those on the landing page. Common failures: an ad showing a promotion that is not on the page, a page that does not load on mobile, or a link to a generic home page when the ad advertises one product.
Before you resubmit
For finance, Meta's Advertising Standards say advertisers promoting financial products may need to verify their identity and show they are authorised by the relevant regulator, and lead forms must not request financial information without permission. Separately, Meta announced in May 2025 that all advertisers targeting audiences in Singapore, including global campaigns, must verify who benefits from and pays for their ads. If verification is incomplete, fix that first, because no amount of copy editing will help.
Edit the ad or request another review?
Both are valid. The right choice depends on whether the ad actually broke a rule.
Read the reason in Business Support Home
Note the policy named and which ad, ad set or campaign it applies to.
Check the ad against that policy
Look at the text, image or video, targeting and landing page. Be honest about whether it fits Meta's examples.
If it broke the rule, edit it
Fix the specific element and publish. Meta treats it as a new ad and reviews it again.
If it was wrongly rejected, request a review
In Business Support Home, select the ad, click Request review and Submit. Meta says it aims to decide within 48 hours and relies more on human reviewers for re-reviews.
Do not delete the rejected ad before deciding
Meta warns that deleting the ad may remove your ability to request another review.
Track the outcome
If the decision is reversed and the campaign is active, the ad starts delivering automatically. If it is rejected again, you cannot request another review for that ad.
Meta states that requesting another review does not hurt your standing with Meta, and an overturned rejection does not count as a violation. If your whole ad account has been restricted, that is a different process, covered in our guide to fixing a disabled Meta ad account. If your creative uses AI-generated images, our guide to AI content labels on Meta and Instagram explains when labels apply.
Do it yourself or get help?
Single rejections are usually quick to fix yourself once you read the named policy. Repeated rejections, several rejected creatives in a row, or a mix of ad and account problems are signs to step back and review the account as a whole.
Our Ad Account Audit (S$290) reviews your account, verification status, rejected ads and landing pages and gives a written fix list. If the issue is the creative itself, an Extra Ad Creative Pack (S$290 per pack) produces new compliant ad variations. IT Sorted is a Singapore-based team of developers with over 10 years of experience. You pay upfront, send your brief in writing through the site chat or contact form, and track progress on your order page.
Frequently asked questions
Meta's Advertising Standards say the ad review process starts automatically before ads run and is typically completed within 24 hours, although it can take longer. If you request another review of a rejected ad, Meta says it aims to review and provide a decision within 48 hours, using human reviewers more heavily than in the first review.
Meta does not allow ads that assert or imply something about the viewer, such as their age, health, finances, religion or other personal attributes. Wording like "Are you over 50?" or "Struggling with your weight?" usually triggers it. Rewrite the ad to describe your product or service instead of the person, for example "Weight management programme for adults".
No. Meta's help page says requesting another review will not hurt your standing with Meta, and if the rejection is overturned it does not count as a violation. However, editing or deleting a rejected ad does not remove the original violation, and severe or repeated violations can lead to restrictions on your ad account, Page or Business account.
For general cosmetic products and procedures, Meta's Health and Wellness policy allows before-and-after transformations when the ad is targeted to people aged 18 or older. Weight-loss ads must not show close-ups of pinched fat or make negative statements about appearance. Local Singapore rules on medical and health advertising may be stricter, so check those too.
Yes. Meta announced in May 2025 that all advertisers targeting audiences in Singapore, including global campaigns, must verify the identities of the people or organisations benefiting from and paying for the ads, and show that information on ads. Financial services advertisers may also have to show they are authorised by the relevant regulator.