How to prevent Meta Ads restrictions on health and wellness campaigns

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In the last few months, I’ve seen a lot of confusion around Meta Ads’ health restrictions – frightened health marketers and scare tactics from some uncool people. 

This article aims to set the record straight.

Meta Ads 2025 health restrictions: Context and regulations

Meta is doing its best to comply with regulations (think HIPAA in the U.S., etc.) to avoid fines.

Make sure you’re not sharing protected health information (PHI) directly or indirectly with Meta.

First, let’s remember that ad networks have always scrutinized health-related advertisers—not just Meta Ads.

Granted, they are not a Special Ad Category, but they’re close to it. 

The upside? Meta provides all the information you need but it’s scattered. So, I’ve done my best to summarize it below:

“You must not share […]  with Meta […] data that is based on or includes, directly or otherwise, health […] information about people, including information defined as sensitive under applicable laws, regulations and industry guidelines […] Examples of data that are not approved for sharing include […] information about an individual’s physical or mental health, such as: Diseases, medical conditions and injuries, sexual and reproductive health, mental health and psychological states […]”

– “About prohibited information,” Meta Business Help Center

This is basically Meta saying they don’t want to collect data that could imply a user has a specific medical condition, as that user did not provide consent.

Specifically, tracking the purchase of a hair loss product and sending it back to Meta Ads is not OK because it strongly suggests private health information about Meta’s users. 

By blocking tracking on sensitive health-related websites, Meta is reducing the risk of storing and using health data without user consent.

Meta goes on:

“While Meta’s systems are designed to filter out potentially prohibited information they detect, you are ultimately responsible for the data you share with Meta. You are in the best position to ensure your integration does not send prohibited information to Meta. Meta’s systems are not a substitute for your own compliance mechanisms.”

– “About prohibited information,” Meta Business Help Center

In other words, Meta Ads will restrict your account if it detects it’s putting them at risk.

How Meta Ads’ restrictions system work

Tracking, optimization, and reporting limitations will apply if an account is restricted. 

Meta Ads has started rolling out a three-tier restrictions system for health and wellness advertisers to enforce these rules. 

Core setup

Impacted items include:

• Ad delivery: Cannot share custom parameters and URL parts with Meta. As a result, custom audiences may decrease and stop working altogether if they rely on those.
• Ad content: Adding items to a catalog via Meta Pixel may no longer work.
• Reporting: Information may be unavailable in Meta Events Manager and other surfaces (e.g., sampled activities and the test events tool).
• Tracking: Automatic advanced matching may not be available.

Restriction on certain standard events

This level prevents the account from optimizing toward mid- and lower-funnel events (add to cart, purchase, etc.). 

However, upper-funnel events (landing page view, view content, etc.) and custom events are still available.

Full restrictions

“We [Meta] may fully restrict all events in specific regions or all regions. In these circumstances, Meta Business Tools cannot be used for campaign optimization where restrictions are in place.”

– “Understand data sharing restrictions based on data source categories,” Meta Business Help Center

In other words, an account hit with full restrictions will no longer be able to use bidding algorithms. 

It would be forced to rely on:

• Old-school targeting.
• Trimmed reports.
• ToFu optimization events.
• Other limited capabilities. 

You don’t want this.

Note that the above may vary across different countries or regions – or could be applied globally. It depends on local regulations. 

If one of your accounts is hit with restrictions, segment your impression and conversion data to pinpoint where you’re most affected. Then, refer to the relevant regulations.

Who’s impacted by Meta Ads restrictions?

If you’ve been following closely, you’ll understand that the impact varies dramatically depending on whether you sell supplements, run a telemedicine platform, develop a fitness app, work as a wellness coach, or operate a personal injury law firm.

The good news is that:

• In-app lead generation advertisers will not be impacted (beyond Core Setup).
• ToFu/brand campaigns are not affected.

Even if you sell health and wellness products directly on your website, there are a couple of obvious solutions (which we’ll dive into below):

• Ensure you don’t send PHI-like data to Meta Ads. For example, remove your Meta Ads pixel from your patient portal.
• Turn Standard Events into Custom Events with coded names so Meta Ads cannot differentiate between a purchase and a page view.

However, there’s bad news:

• If your account is even remotely related to health and wellness, expect some restrictions – or the joy of appeals. (We all know Meta is super easy to deal with, right?! )
• Some restrictions will apply no matter what. But look on the bright side – it’s not (yet? ) a Special Ad Category.

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Meta Ads restrictions: Solutions and workarounds

(Disclaimer: I co-founded Quantads, an agency that partners with many health clients. However, I don’t claim to be an absolute expert on this topic – because, honestly, who can? These changes are still recent, and there’s plenty of room for interpretation and experimentation. The solutions below are based on our experience and our interpretation of Meta’s documentation.)

Step 1: Act fast

Being stuck in Core Setup isn’t ideal, but Full Restrictions? That’s a nightmare. You don’t want to get there.

• If you’ve received multiple notifications that the data you’re sharing may violate the Meta Business Tools Terms, don’t wait. Act now! Delays are not documented, so this should be your top priority.
• Check the Settings tab in Meta Events Manager to assess the damage. In the example screenshot below, only Core Setup (so far!) has been activated.

Step 2: Audit your data sources and pipelines

In-platform notifications

• In Meta Events Manager, check the Diagnostics tab for notifications stating that prohibited information has been removed from your data.
• If flagged, investigate which data caused the issue and fix it immediately. Remember: “Meta’s systems are not a substitute for your own compliance mechanisms.”

Pixels

• Review the specific pages where your Meta Pixel is placed.
• Assess whether those pages – or their URLs – contain data that might be considered prohibited. If necessary, remove the Meta Pixel from those pages.

Events

• Name your custom events/conversions so they do not reflect, imply, or reference any prohibited health-related information.
• Review custom and offline events. You can block specific events in Meta Events Manager if adjusting them takes too long.

First-party data

• One of the worst implementations I’ve seen was a Meta Ads pixel placed on a patient portal. That’s a huge mistake because a patient portal contains first-party data.
• Instead, those advertisers should have used their CRM to send offline conversions (with coded event names). Don’t make that mistake – integrate with your CRM.

Additional considerations for Meta Ads compliance

Once you’ve handled the above, you should be in a solid position. However, a few “evergreen” best practices are worth mentioning.

Review ad copy and landing pages

Restrictions can be triggered indirectly by ad copy and landing page content.

While I understand that website content can be tough to change, advertisers need to ensure they do not name specific health conditions (as this indirectly provides Meta with PHI). 

Generally, you also don’t want to “make people feel negatively…” 

For example:

• OK: “Better mental health awaits.”
• Not OK: “Do you suffer from bipolar disorder?”

Diversify channels

This might seem obvious, but I’ve seen far too many health advertisers who think Meta Ads is the only viable channel. 

Because they’ve focused so much on Meta in the past, they’ve created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Meta Ads is a fantastic platform. But putting all your eggs in one basket is a terrible idea, especially now. 

Expanding to paid search, display, video, Pinterest, TikTok, X, etc. is crucial for long-term stability.

Staying compliant with Meta Ads guidelines

Meta Ads’ 2025 health restrictions make compliance more critical than ever.

Meta is tightening policies to avoid handling protected health information. 

Failure to adapt could result in tracking, optimization, and reporting restrictions – or even full account limitations.

Make sure to:

• Act fast if you receive compliance warnings.
• Audit your Meta Pixel implementation.
• Avoid sending health-related data (directly or indirectly).
• Use coded event names where necessary.
• Review ad copy and landing pages to prevent unnecessary flags.
• Diversify your channels to reduce reliance on Meta Ads.

Staying ahead of these changes will help protect your campaigns, maintain performance, and continue effectively reaching your audience.

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