How to Request Another Review on Instagram Ad
Seeing that "Your Ad Wasn't Approved" notification pop up from Instagram can immediately bring your campaign momentum to a halt. While it's always frustrating, it's also a very common hurdle for marketers and business owners. This article walks you through exactly why your ad might have been rejected and the step-by-step process for requesting another review so you can get your campaign back on track.
Understanding Why Instagram Ads Get Rejected
Before you request a review, it’s helpful to understand why Meta rejected your ad in the first place. It's rarely personal — it's usually an automated system flagging something that it believes violates Meta's Advertising Policies. Sometimes the system gets it right, and other times it makes mistakes.
Here are some of the most common reasons an ad might get flagged:
Restricted Content: Certain products and services are prohibited or restricted on Instagram. This includes things like tobacco, weapons, adult products, and unsafe supplements. Others, like alcohol, dating services, or financial services, have specific targeting rules that must be followed.
Misleading Claims or Sensationalism: Ads that promise unrealistic results ("Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!") or use clickbait-style images (like dramatic before-and-after photos) are frequently rejected. This also applies to ads that imply or assert personal attributes about the user, such as their medical condition or financial status.
Poor Landing Page Experience: The system looks beyond the ad itself, it also reviews your landing page. If your landing page doesn't work, has lots of pop-ups, contains malware, or feels deceptive (i.e., it doesn’t match the ad's offer), your ad will be disapproved.
Low-Quality Media: Using blurry images, pixelated videos, or audio that is difficult to understand can get your ad rejected for providing a poor user experience.
Text in Images: While Meta has relaxed its strict "20% text" rule, ads with a large amount of text overlaying the image can still experience reduced delivery or be rejected. They simply prefer images and videos that are clean and visually focused.
Brand Asset Usage: Using brands like "Facebook" or "Instagram" incorrectly in your copy, or using logos and trademarks that you don't have the right to, will almost always lead to a rejection.
Often, the rejection is due to an AI simply misinterpreting your ad's context. An ad for a knife sharpening service might get flagged for "weapons," or an ad for a support group might be misconstrued as asserting a personal medical condition. These are perfect cases for requesting a manual review.
Step-by-Step Guide to Requesting a Review for a Rejected Ad
If you believe your ad was incorrectly rejected and it does, in fact, comply with Meta's policies, you can request a review — a process often called an appeal. A human will then look at your ad and make a final decision.
Step 1: Locate Your Rejected Ad in Meta Ads Manager
The easiest place to manage ad reviews is in the Ads Manager dashboard, not the Instagram app itself. It gives you more context and control.
Navigate to Meta Ads Manager.
Look at your campaign dashboard. The "Delivery" column will clearly show "Rejected" for the affected ad. If the column isn't visible, you may need to customize your columns.
Hover over the "Rejected" status to see a brief explanation from Meta about why the ad was disapproved.
Step 2: Choose Your Path: "Edit Ad" or "Request Review"
Once you understand the stated reason for the rejection, you have two choices. Your choice will appear once you click the "Edit" button on the rejected ad.
Option A: Edit AdYou should edit your ad if the rejection reason is clearly valid. For example, if you made a typo leading to a broken landing page URL or used a headline that could be seen as a misleading claim. Make the necessary changes to the ad creative, copy, or destination URL. Once you save the edits, the ad is automatically resubmitted for a new review by the system.
Option B: Request ReviewYou should request a review if you have read the relevant policy and are confident that your ad does not violate the rules. This happens most often when a bot misinterprets something. Activating this option sends your ad to a human review team.
Step 3: Submit Your Request
To start the appeal, select the rejected ad and click the "Request Review" button. A dialog box will pop up, confirming that you are submitting your ad for a second, manual review.
Depending on the type of violation, you may be given a text box to explain why you believe your ad should be approved. Use this space wisely.
Tips for Writing Your Explanation:
Be Polite and Professional: Remember, a person is reading this. Being courteous goes a long way.
Reference the Policy: If possible, mention the specific policy and briefly explain why your ad complies. For example: "I have reviewed the policy on misleading claims and believe my ad for our coaching service is compliant, as it sets realistic expectations and does not guarantee results."
Provide Context: Explain anything an automated system might misunderstand. For instance: "The image in this ad features a chef's knife, which is being marketed for culinary purposes. It is not being promoted as a weapon, and it fully aligns with the policies regarding knives for cooking."
After you submit, the "Delivery" status will change to "In Review."
What if the "Request Review" Button isn't There?
Sometimes, for severe or repeated violations, Meta will not offer the option to request a review. In this case, your only option is to delete the ad, create a brand-new one that is clearly compliant with policies, and hope it gets approved. This tends to happen if an ad account has been flagged multiple times in the past.
Best Practices to Avoid Ad Rejections in the Future
Having to deal with rejected ads is a time-consuming momentum killer, interrupting your campaign's performance and learning phase. The best strategy is to avoid rejections in the first place.
Know the Rules: Take 30 minutes to read through Meta's Advertising Policies. You don't need to memorize them, but becoming familiar with the main categories can save you countless headaches.
Keep Your Copy Clear and Honest: Avoid superlatives, exaggerated promises, and directly addressing the user's personal attributes ("Are you struggling with debt?"). Instead of targeting pain points, focus on the benefits and your solution.
Check Your Landing Page: Before launching any campaign, click your ad's link and experience your landing page on both desktop and mobile. Ensure it loads quickly, the content matches the ad's message, and it is easy to navigate.
Scrutinize Your Creative: Look at your images and videos with a critical eye. Do they contain anything that could be misinterpreted? Avoid anything overtly provocative, violent, or unsettling, even if it feels benign to you.
Warm A New Ad Account: When you have a brand-new ad account, launch simple, highly compliant ads first (like a simple brand awareness campaign). Building a history of approved ads can sometimes create more leeway with the automated review system in the future.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with a rejected Instagram ad is a part of the advertising process, but it doesn't need to derail your efforts. By calmly assessing the reason for the disapproval, deciding whether editing or requesting a review is your best option, and following a few best practices, you can navigate the process efficiently and reduce the frequency of rejections over time.
Of course, once your ads are approved and running, understanding their performance becomes the next critical challenge. Instead of manually pulling data from Instagram, Google Analytics, and Shopify into spreadsheets just to understand campaign ROI, we designed Graphed to simplify the entire process. You can connect your ad platforms and other sales and marketing sources in minutes, ask simple questions like, “how have our Instagram campaigns performed this month compared to Google Ads?” and let our AI-powered analyst build you a real-time dashboard immediately. No more spending all morning building reports and more time making decisions based on live data.