In this follow-up to the previous blog on the new Meta Pixel restrictions around the Health & Wellness category, we’ll answer some commonly asked questions and demystify Meta’s policies. These answers are informed by in-depth conversations we’ve had in recent weeks with Meta representatives and charity clients.
Q) If my Pixel/domain has been restricted, what can be done?
A) If your Meta Pixel or domain has been flagged under the Health & Wellness category, or if you’re seeing limitations on conversion tracking or audience building, there are still several actions you can take to mitigate the impact:
1. Review Your Pixel in Events Manager
Firstly, if you believe your Pixel has been incorrectly categorised, you can submit it for review directly in the platform.
Truthfully, we’ve had little success, but we have been having better luck through our contacts at Meta within the Nonprofits Team. If we feel there is a strong case, they can help escalate this internally.
2. Use ‘Clean’ Domains
As restrictions are domain-specific, creating a clean, dedicated domain or subdomain for paid media activity can help circumvent issues – though it’s not foolproof.
Key tips:
- Limit health-related language and references on the clean domain.
- Focus messaging on fundraising, awareness, or general impact rather than condition-specific information.
- You can utilise your existing Pixel, although we’d still recommend creating a new Pixel, to avoid negative associations as much as possible.
3. Use On-Platform Lead Generation
Consider switching to Meta’s native Lead Ads, which don’t rely on Pixel tracking or your website. These allow you to collect user data (e.g. email, phone, preferences) directly within Facebook and Instagram.
This approach won’t be relevant for every campaign type (e.g. getting people to directly donate) but has the potential benefits:
- Avoids website restrictions entirely.
- Can still be used for building warm audiences and retargeting.
- Integrated easily with most CRMs directly, via automation (e.g. using Zapier) or manual exports.
4. Optimise for Upper-Funnel Actions
If you can’t optimise for conversions, consider running campaigns optimised for link clicks or engagement. While these don’t drive on-site actions nearly as efficiently, they can still support your funnel, especially when paired with warm audience targeting.
Tactics to make this work:
- Use warm audiences from first-party data (e.g. lead/email lists or CRM exports)
- Run video view campaigns, then build custom audiences from engaged viewers.
- Avoid using completely broad targeting, as it will optimise for low quality, ‘cheap’ traffic, unlikely to convert down the line.
Also, don’t forget to:
- Set up UTM parameters to better track website performance in GA4 with more detail.
- Also use CRM data to assess performance outside Meta’s platform – or create dashboards or reports combining GA4 + CRM.
5. Diversify Your Media Mix
If Meta restrictions are limiting your performance, it’s a good time to explore alternative platforms where restrictions may be less severe.
Recommended options:
- TikTok: Often more flexible for health and charity messaging, especially with strong creative. Not exclusive to a young audience either.
- Programmatic Display: Allows audience targeting with more control, and is not only used for raising awareness, but we’ve found to drive lower funnel actions too. Also possible to reach video, audio and CTV channels though platforms such as DV360.
- Google Performance Max (PMax): Covers Search, Display, YouTube, and Gmail, and is intended for driving conversions. The campaign type offers much less rich insights, but the results are becoming more encouraging.
The key is to reduce over-reliance on Meta and build a multi-channel strategy that can weather platform-specific changes.
Q) If our Pixel has been categorised as Health & Wellness, can we just create a new Pixel?
A) If your domain and content remain the same, the new Pixel will likely be flagged again.
It may also take 1-2 weeks to actually see the H&W categorisation appear in Events Manager for the new Pixel, and in the meantime, the Pixel will either not activate or just not send any events like pageviews.
Q) Is H&W categorisation enforced per Pixel, domain, or Business Manager?
A) Categorisation applies per domain. Hence why if you create a new Pixel, it will also likely be flagged. There may be some situations where this is not the case though, due to inconsistencies in how Meta’s systems carry out checks.
NOTE: A subdomain is technically a separate domain, and therefore is deemed as a new domain in this instance.
Q) So if I just create a new domain or subdomain, and place my Pixel on this site, will this avoid being categorised as Health & Wellness?
A) Using a separate domain might delay enforcement but if your content or events still relate to health conditions, Meta will likely flag it again.
Seek to make a ‘clean’ domain, that limits health-related language and references where possible.
Q) Where can we see our Pixel’s status?
A) Go to Events Manager: https://business.facebook.com/events_manager2
Then either within the Overview section you will see a notification such as the below:
Or go into the Pixel itself within settings, and under ‘Manage data source categorises’, click ‘manage’:
- You will then be able to see more details about what specific domain are restricted with more details and the ability to appeal the decision.
Q) When requesting a review of the categorisation, what actually happens? Is it checked by a human?
A) The flagged domain is then reviewed manually by a human. This is a dedicated team at Meta, although details about the team and their processes are strictly guarded.
What is known is that any information across the data source that may provide sensitive health information is subject to review against their policy. The homepage is likely where they will start though. They will not be able to review unpublished pages.
Q) What is Core Setup, and why does it matter?
A) Core Setup is a restricted configuration applied to your Meta Pixel or other business tools when Meta detects that your website may involve sensitive topics, including health
Sometimes, a Pixel won’t be restricted outright but individual components within your setup (like a conversion named Cancer Support Sign Up) might be flagged. This puts you into a kind of probation zone, where the Pixel works but Meta is watching.
When your Pixel is in Core Setup, Meta limits the data it collects, especially custom parameters and parts of URLs after the main domain. You may lose access to some functionality, like:
- Custom audiences based on specific URL paths.
- Certain custom conversion tracking.
- Advanced matching.
- Catalog integrations.
This configuration can still impact campaign performance, however, you can still use standard event (e.g. purchases) for reporting and optimisation, which is the key part lost if full restrictions are applied.
Q) Why are Meta enforcing so many news restrictions?
A) Meta isn’t targeting charities or being overly strict for no reason but essentially responding to legal requirements, user expectations, and internal risk controls around the sharing of sensitive data.
Our feeling is that a key trigger was the Digital Markets Act which became enforceable in mid to late 2023. The DSA established criteria to qualify a large online platform (i.e. Meta) as a ‘gatekeeper’ and put the onus on them to get clear consent from users before tracking their data. This includes tracking for personalised advertising, user demographics, and remarketing. Google developed Consent Mode V2, but Meta lagged behind without an alternative solution for ensuring consent had been provided. Our theory is they likely reached a deadline, so had to completely stop the sharing of any sensitive data.
Unfortunately, this means that well-intentioned organisations (like charities) often get caught up in the same systems built to protect users from misuse, misinformation, or unethical advertising practices.
Is it only charities that have been impacted by these restrictions? Are there other categories?
A) The restrictions aren’t limited to Health and Wellness content only. We have focussed on this categorisation as this is the most commonly applied one for charities, and our area of specialism. But it also extends to categories such as Financial Services, Politics, Religion, Sexuality. see full list here: Meta Business Help – Data Source Categorisation.
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