Ad policies and review

Why is Meta suddenly rejecting ads that ran fine for months, and how do I get them back?

By The Tofu team ·

Meta can review any ad again at any time, so an ad that ran for months can be rejected today. Meta says it re-reviews ads at random, after unexpectedly high engagement, or when people hide, block or report them. Any edit to targeting, creative, optimization or billing event starts a new review, and new policies take time to enforce consistently. To get the ad back, find the reason in Meta Business Support Home, then edit the ad or click Request review there. Meta aims to decide within 48 hours. Don't delete the ad first.

As of October 2026.

What changed

Usually nothing in the ad. What changed is that Meta looked at it again:

When the ad was approvedNow
How far it was checkedMeta says an ad "may not be reviewed against all policies before delivering impressions""All ads are subject to re-review at any time," including after they are live
What starts another reviewNot applicableRandom checks, "unexpectedly high levels of engagement," people hiding, blocking or reporting the ad, or your own edit to targeting, creative (images, text, links or videos), optimization or billing event. Bid, budget and ad set schedule changes don't trigger review
The policyEnforced as it stood thenWhen Meta launches a new policy, its systems take time "to learn how to correctly and consistently enforce the new standard"
Your account's recordYour record at the timeMeta "may consider an advertiser's historical compliance" when deciding whether an ad needs further review
Your landing pageReviewed as it wasReview can include the "ad destination." Meta's checklist says the site must be "functioning properly" and "clearly accessible and relevant to your ad"
What you seeThe ad shows as active in the Delivery columnMeta doesn't notify you of a re-review unless the ad is found to violate its Advertising Standards. Then it stops delivering the ad and emails you

Why does it seem to be happening more now? Meta hasn't said that anything changed in October 2026. What it has said is broader. In March 2026 it announced it will "deploy more advanced AI systems across our apps to transform our approach to content enforcement" over the next few years, and "reduce our reliance on third-party vendors for content enforcement." It said one of these systems, tested more broadly, "drove down views of ads with scams and other serious violations by 7%." Meta didn't link that work to rejections of ads it had approved before.

Who it affects

  • Any advertiser. Meta's Advertising Standards say ads "remain subject to review and re-review at all times."
  • Ads you just touched. A new image, a changed link, new targeting or a switched optimization goal sends a running ad back through review. That includes edits made through a third-party tool or an AI agent. If an agent edits or resubmits your ads, read whether connecting an AI agent can get your Meta ad account banned.
  • Ads that draw complaints. Hides, blocks and reports are among the signals Meta names.
  • Accounts with past violations. Meta can look harder at ads from accounts with a weaker record, and "severe or repeated ad violations" can restrict the ad account, Page, business portfolio or user account. If nearly every new ad gets rejected after a restriction, deal with the restriction first (step 7).
  • Ads citing "Unacceptable business practices." Meta's Transparency Center address for that policy now opens its Prohibited Commercial Practices policy, which covers "deceptive pricing, unauthorized endorsements, and guaranteed investment returns."

What to do now

  1. Find the reason. Meta emails you when an ad is rejected, with a link to Business Support Home "where you can find the reason for the rejection." Note the policy it names.
  2. Don't delete the ad. Meta warns that "you may lose your ability to request another review if the ad is deleted." Deleting or editing also doesn't remove the violation from your account.
  3. Check what changed. Look at recent edits, your landing page (pop-ups, broken pages, new claims) and the policy the rejection names. Compare with ads of yours that are still running.
  4. If the ad does break the policy, edit it. Fix the image, video, text, targeting or landing page. Meta says an edited ad "will automatically be submitted for another review." If the ad type can't be edited, create a new ad that complies.
  5. If you think Meta got it wrong, request another review. Meta's steps:
    1. Go to Business Support Home.
    2. Select the account or catalog with the rejected ads.
    3. Select the ads, ad sets or campaigns you believe were rejected by mistake.
    4. Click Request review and select Submit. Meta's Advertising Standards call this place Account Quality; its Help Center calls it Business Support Home. Meta says it relies "more heavily on teams of human reviewers" for these requests, aims to decide within 48 hours, and that asking "will not hurt your standing." (Meta's small-business ad policy guidance page gives a shorter time: a review "is usually completed within 24 hours.") If it reverses the decision and the campaign is active, the ad starts delivering again on its own, and the rejection "will not count as an ad violation." If the ad is rejected again, it stays rejected and you can't request another review of that ad.
  6. If the notice offers a review with Meta AI, know what's documented. We found no Meta Help Center page that describes requesting an ad review through Meta AI. Meta describes its Meta AI business assistant in Ads Manager as offering "personalized guidance, issue resolution, and campaign recommendations," and its Meta AI support assistant on Facebook and Instagram as making it easier to see "why your content was taken down, appeal options, and track what happens next." Neither page says whether a review requested through Meta AI goes to the human reviewers Meta uses for re-review requests. The documented route is step 5, and Meta also offers a Meta Support Pro "for troubleshooting rejected ads, account restrictions and more."
  7. If your account is restricted, request a review of the restriction. You must be an admin on the account. In Business Support Home, select Account status overview, select the restricted account, then select Request review under What you can do and complete the steps. Meta says this typically takes 48 hours, that you can request a restriction review only a limited number of times, and that the decision is final. Ads paused by a restriction don't restart on their own; turn them back on in Ads Manager.
  8. Don't work around it. Meta lists "attempting to create new ad accounts or other business assets with the intent to repeat violations" as evading enforcement, which can restrict your business portfolio, ad account, Page or user account.

Dates to watch

WhenWhat happens
Within 24 hours of creating or editing an adMeta reviews most ads, though some take longer
Within 48 hours of a review requestMeta's Help Center target for a decision on a rejected ad or a restricted account (its small-business guidance page says 24 hours for ads)
After a second rejectionNo further review request for that ad
6 months after an ad account is disabled for a policy violationIf it is still ineligible for reinstatement, unused prepaid services may be forfeited where the law allows, and the account can't be reinstated
March 2026Meta rolls out its Meta AI support assistant on Facebook and Instagram and announces more advanced AI for content enforcement
No date givenWhen those enforcement systems reach all of Meta's apps ("over the next few years")

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