ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Misusing personal information
Google disapproves ads that use personal information in ways users did not agree to, including ad text that addresses a reader by name or job position or claims to know their financial status or political affiliations. Rewrite each flagged line so it describes the offer, not the reader's private situation. Save the edit, then check the status again after the review.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Ads & assets page, as Disapproved. Hover over the status to read the policy name.
- What stops
- The flagged ad or asset stops serving until it is rewritten.
- How serious
- Low on its own. Google's policy page says a warning comes at least 7 days before any suspension.
What it means
The policy covers how an ad speaks to a person and what it implies about them. Google lists three kinds of prohibited use: personal information used in ways users have not agreed to, such as reselling contact details; ads that address a user by personal details such as name, title or job position; and ads that suggest the advertiser knows personal facts, such as financial status or political affiliations.
Google's page gives those examples and points to a separate help article for the fix. The steps below are the order to work through the ad, its assets and its ad group.
What actually triggers it
A greeting with the reader's name or job position
Google's example is a line that greets a named person before the offer. A job position used the same way, such as a headline that opens by addressing a job title, fails too.
A line that claims to know the reader's finances
Google's example is an ad that says you are buried in debt and offers help. Google names financial status and political affiliations as the facts an ad may not claim to know. A line that tells the reader they are in debt fails even when the business sells debt help.
Keyword insertion that turns a keyword into a claim
Not on Google's help page
Keyword insertion puts the ad group keyword that triggered the ad into the text, not the searcher's own words. A keyword that describes a personal situation, such as a debt problem, can turn a neutral headline into a line that seems to describe the reader. The policy page does not mention keyword insertion, so read each headline with every keyword in the ad group inserted.
A photo of a real person used without consent
Google's policy also covers images of users used in ads without their consent. A photo of a real customer, shown as if it were a testimonial, needs proof that the person agreed to appear.
Fix it in this order
- Open Campaigns, then Ads, and find each Disapproved ad. Hover over the status to confirm the policy is Misusing personal information.
- Read every headline and description in the ad, and the sitelinks and callouts in the same ad group. Mark any line that greets a person or describes their situation.
- Rewrite each marked line so it describes the offer or the business. Replace the greeting with the service, and replace the claim about the reader's finances or politics with what you do.
- Check each photo of a person. If you cannot show the person agreed to appear in the ad, replace the photo.
- Hover over the edited ad, select Edit, make the change and select Save, then check the status again after the review.
When to appeal
Appeal when the flagged line does not address a person and does not claim anything about them. Start from the ad's status in the account, and name the line in the appeal.
A rewrite is faster than an appeal when the line does address a reader. Google reviews the edited ad again after you save it.
Often confused with
Unacceptable information sharing
The same policy page, but about personal data sent through tags and in page addresses. A fix in the ad text cannot reach it. If the disapproval names that policy, the work is on the site, not the ad.
Restricted targeting in Personalized advertising
Targeting built on a sensitive interest category, such as health. The fix there is the audience, not the wording. If the ad copy is clean, check the audience settings instead.