Help Center

Understanding Meta's Upcoming Restrictions

Starting September 2, 2025, Meta will enforce stricter rules on custom audiences and custom conversions that may contain information violating their terms of service. This includes any data hinting at specific health conditions (such as arthritis or diabetes) or financial details (like credit scores or high income). These audiences and conversions will be flagged and blocked from use in both new and existing ad campaigns.

These changes are part of Meta's broader effort to prevent advertisers from sharing prohibited information. While these restrictions are designed to support compliance, they do not replace your own responsibility to ensure your data practices align with Meta's terms.

If you manage custom audiences, custom conversions, or related campaigns for your clients, it's essential to understand these updates and prepare to assist them with any necessary adjustments before the restrictions take effect.

Impact on Campaigns

Meta will not automatically pause your clients' ongoing campaigns when restrictions begin on September 2, 2025. However, the effect on campaign performance will depend on whether and how flagged custom audiences or conversions are being used.

Custom Audiences

Flagged custom audiences containing non-permitted information will be blocked from use in new ad campaigns. No new users will be added to these audiences, and existing campaigns relying on them may experience gradually reduced delivery and performance until the issue is resolved.

Custom Conversions

Flagged custom conversions will also be blocked from new campaigns. They will cease to match new data, and any campaigns using them will stop receiving fresh conversion data, leading to diminished optimization and performance over time unless addressed.

Resolving Flagged Custom Audiences

For custom audiences (including web, mobile app, offline, and customer file audiences):

Review and remove any non-permitted information from the audience.
Create a new custom audience or select a different existing one that complies with Meta's terms.

For lookalike audiences:

Address issues with the underlying seed audience or create a new lookalike audience that adheres to the terms.

If you believe a custom audience was flagged incorrectly, you can request a review through Ads Manager or Audience Manager once in-product notifications begin appearing. Additional guidance is available through Meta's support resources.

Resolving Flagged Custom Conversions

For new campaigns:

Create a new custom conversion free of prohibited information, or choose an existing compliant one.

For existing campaigns:

If a campaign is flagged due to a custom conversion, duplicate the campaign and select a different compliant conversion before publishing. Note that you cannot remove or change the conversion after publishing.

If you suspect a custom conversion was flagged in error, request a review via Ads Manager or Events Manager upon receiving in-product notifications. Further details can be found in Meta's official documentation.

Supporting Your Customers

Prepare to help your clients adjust their audience strategies and campaign setups. Starting July 15, 2025, advertisers will receive emails and in-product notifications if their custom audiences or conversions are affected, giving them time to resolve issues before restrictions begin.

Work closely with your customers to assess potential impacts ahead of September 2, 2025. Ensure that any custom audiences you provide or upload to Meta on their behalf fully comply with the terms and avoid suggesting prohibited information.

Meta will also provide new API operations status to help identify flagged audiences, conversions, and affected ad sets. Most resolution actions can be performed through the existing API, with further enhancements planned for future releases. Note that restrictions are applied on Meta's side, so you should not expect API calls to fail due to flagged custom audiences or conversions.