ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
HIV home tests
Google Ads does not allow ads for HIV home tests in most locations. Promotion is allowed with limits in four countries: the United States, where only FDA-approved tests may be promoted, and France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where a test must meet local regulatory requirements. Remove other locations from targeting, check the test against each remaining country, then edit the ad.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Ads & assets page, as Disapproved under this policy.
- What stops
- The ad stops serving where the policy applies.
- How serious
- Low on its own. Google issues a warning at least 7 days before any account suspension.
What it means
The policy restricts ads that promote HIV home tests. Google does not allow them in most locations, and allows them with restrictions in four countries only.
The condition differs by country. In the United States the test must be FDA approved. In France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom it must meet that country's regulatory requirements, so an approval in one of them does not clear the others.
What actually triggers it
A location outside the four countries
A campaign targeting a location outside the four countries is outside the permitted promotion. A broad area in the targeting can take in such a location without anyone choosing it on purpose.
A US ad for a test without FDA approval
The US condition is FDA approval specifically. A test without that approval, promoted in the United States, does not meet the condition.
One ad across the four countries
The four countries carry different conditions, so one ad for all of them can meet one condition and fail another.
Fix it in this order
- In Google Ads, go to Ads under the Campaigns menu, and find each disapproved ad.
- Remove every location outside the four countries from the targeting.
- Check the test against the condition for each remaining country: FDA approval in the United States, and local regulatory requirements in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
- Hover over the ad, select Edit, revise it and select Save. Re-review typically takes 24 to 48 hours.
- If a country's condition cannot be met, remove that country from the targeting or remove the ad.
When to appeal
Appeal from the account when the test meets the condition for each location the ad targets, and the ad matches that condition.
If the test lacks the required approval, an appeal does not fix the ad. Remove that location, or remove the ad.
Often confused with
Birth control, fertility, and testing
Another testing category with its own country list. The HIV rule permits promotion in four countries, with conditions, and does not allow it in most others.
Also country-listed. Recruiting people into studies is a different activity from selling a home test, and each page has its own list of places.