Facebook Ads Account Locked? Causes & Solutions
In the past year, the issue of Facebook locking advertising features for accounts has become very common in the Vietnamese market, causing countless businesses and advertisers to feel anxious.
In this article, we will explore the root causes of why your advertising features on Facebook may be locked and the most effective ways to address or prevent this issue.
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Identify Which Type of Account Facebook Has Locked Advertising Features For
First, you need to clearly identify which type of account has been restricted by Facebook (limited from running ads). You must check whether it’s just your personal account, only the ad account, or the entire Business Manager (BM) account that is restricted from advertising features in order to take appropriate action.
In many cases, whenever you receive a notification from Facebook that your advertising capabilities are restricted, you might think your entire ad account is disabled. However, your ad account may be shared with many other users, and Facebook may only restrict your ability to run ads while allowing others to use your account normally if they have the proper permissions. If your BM account is locked, then it means your ad account is completely disabled.
Therefore, you must first identify where the issue lies to take the most suitable corrective steps for each case.
How to Check Which Account is Restricted from Advertising by Facebook
Here are ways for you to check the status of your different accounts.
1. How to Check for Business Manager (BM) and Personal Accounts with Permissions
Step 1: Click on the magnifying glass icon in the bottom left corner.
Step 2: Search for “Account Quality” and select Account Quality.
Step 3: Click on the dropdown menu in the top left corner to select the correct Business Manager account and personal account you want to check to see which account is locked.
2. How to Check Your Ad Accounts
Step 1: Click on the Settings icon.
Step 2: Select “Ad Accounts.”
Step 3: Check the status lines of your ad accounts.
Main Reasons Why Your Facebook Account is Locked from Advertising Features
To find out how to resolve the issues causing your advertising features to be locked by Facebook, you must first understand the main reasons that could lead to the locking of your advertising assets.
Below are the main reasons why your advertising features may be locked on their platform.
If your Business Manager (BM) ad account frequently owes money for Facebook ads and makes late payments multiple times, your BM account may be blacklisted by Facebook. During major review periods by Facebook’s moderation system, there is a possibility that your BM account will be locked, and all features related to advertising activities will be restricted across all ad accounts under that BM business account.
2. Frequently Violating Facebook’s Advertising Policies
This is one of the most common reasons that leads to your BM business account being locked. If the ad accounts under your BM have a history of frequently violating Facebook’s advertising policies throughout their operation, this is a significant factor that causes Facebook’s moderation system to decide to restrict advertising for your BM account.
This is particularly true if you run ads in industries related to beauty salons, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, health & beauty, recruitment, real estate, multi-level marketing, etc. These industries are heavily scrutinized by Facebook because they can have a significant impact on health, life, emotions, and community standards. Facebook strictly prohibits any language, images, or videos that involve body shaming, racial discrimination, or disturbing content, as well as any health product information that has not been validated by the health ministry.
If you are advertising in these sectors, you need to carefully review Facebook’s community standards for advertisers and be cautious with your wording, image/video content, or provide licenses that prove the legality and safety of your products/services to Facebook to be recognized as compliant with their community policies.
In addition to the reasons mentioned above, there are many other potential violations of policies that you may be facing. Therefore, make sure to frequently consult Facebook’s advertising policies.
For more information on Facebook’s advertising policies, visit: https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads/
3. Reusing International Payment Cards Blacklisted by Facebook
In the past, many advertisers have used the method of running fraudulent ads by using an international Visa/MasterCard with little money, then adding this card as a payment method for multiple ad accounts to run fraudulent ads. Alternatively, using previously blacklisted payment cards that owe money to Facebook but haven’t been paid off in order to add them to another ad account/BM.
However, this trick is no longer effective because as soon as a payment method linked to any ad account fails to make timely payments or owes Facebook money, Facebook will blacklist that payment card information. If you create another ad account or another BM and reuse that international payment card information, Facebook’s system will immediately identify that you are attempting to manipulate their advertising tools, and the result will be that your account will be locked immediately.
4. Granting Access to Members with Restricted Access to Business Accounts or Ad Accounts
If you grant access to someone to manage your ad account or other assets within your business manager, but that person has a history of violating Facebook’s advertising regulations or has just had their advertising privileges revoked, you need to remove these members from access to your ad accounts and other assets within your BM.
It can be said that Facebook has very strict moderation algorithms recently, and you could be penalized if you harbor members with restricted advertising privileges in your ad accounts or BM. Facebook’s automated moderation system may evaluate your ad account negatively just because you are associated with people who have previously violated the rules, and you may find yourself locked out of your ad account as a result.
5. Engaging in Unusual Activities
Another reason you may lose access to your ad account is if you perform repetitive actions or make multiple changes simultaneously within your ad account, leading Facebook to recognize abnormal activities that you are conducting, resulting in the locking of your account usage and editing privileges.
For example, I once accessed my ad account and created several different draft campaigns with various ad formats to test new types of ads. After completing the tests, I deleted all those draft campaigns, and as a result, my ad account was locked immediately due to “unusual activities.”
6. Linking to Other BM Accounts with Policy Violations
If you are managing multiple BM accounts simultaneously using your Facebook account, you should regularly check the status of these business accounts to see if any BM accounts have been locked due to policy violations. If you find any BM accounts permanently banned for policy violations, you need to disconnect them from your Facebook account immediately. Connecting with these violating accounts can negatively impact your other active BM accounts.
Facebook has become increasingly strict in moderating BM accounts over the past year, and they tend to “guilt by association.” If they notice that your Facebook account manages several different BM accounts, and some of these BM accounts have been locked due to policy violations, there is a high possibility that Facebook will also lock your remaining BM accounts or restrict your access to the ad manager of your personal account due to your association with those violating accounts.
7. Incorrect Assessment by Facebook’s Moderation System
One common reason for your ad account, BM account, or personal Facebook account editing privileges being locked is due to being incorrectly assessed by Facebook’s system, leading to unjustified locking even though you have not violated any community policies or made late payments to Facebook.
Currently, due to Facebook’s strict automated moderation system, there may be incorrect evaluations regarding the activity status of your account, resulting in an unjust lock. Therefore, if you find yourself in this situation, you should appeal so that Facebook’s responsible team can directly review and restore your access to the ad account.
How to Handle and Prevent Being Locked Out of Ad Editing Privileges on Your Personal Facebook Account
If your personal Facebook account’s ad editing privileges are locked, you will not be able to edit or create ads for any accounts you have been authorized to manage. This restriction only affects you; others who have been granted access to the same ad account can still use it normally.
Here are some ways to help you handle or prevent the situation of being locked out of ad editing privileges on your personal Facebook account:
If you believe that your personal Facebook account’s ad creation privileges have been incorrectly locked due to no fault of your own, you can select the option to request a review of your account and present your case to Facebook’s moderation team. By submitting this review request, Facebook’s moderation specialists will personally check and re-evaluate your account. If it is found that you have not violated any terms and that the automatic moderation system has mistakenly locked your ad editing privileges, they will promptly restore your account. However, if they find after a thorough review that you indeed have violated Facebook’s advertising policies, your advertising privileges will be permanently revoked.
2. Disconnect from Permanently Locked Ad Accounts or Business Accounts
As mentioned in the section on the reasons for your account being locked, you need to ensure that your Facebook account is disconnected from any ad accounts and BM accounts that have violated policies. This will help prevent Facebook from associating you with other policy-violating accounts and help you avoid having your personal ad creation privileges revoked.
3. Limit Making Multiple Changes at Once in the Ad Manager
While using the ad manager, you should limit making too many changes at once or performing batch editing actions simultaneously to avoid being flagged by Facebook’s system for unusual behavior, which can lead to restrictions on your ad editing privileges.
Some examples of activities that may be considered unusual by Facebook include: deleting multiple campaigns within a short time frame, creating numerous draft campaigns in a brief period, continuously editing targeting or ad content in a short time, or repeatedly enabling/disabling various campaigns in a short time.
How to Handle and Prevent Your Ad Account from Being Locked
If your ad account is locked, it will directly affect the entire advertising activities of that account as well as all members authorized to use that account. Once locked, you will not be able to create or edit any ad campaigns within that ad account.
Here are some ways to handle and prevent your Facebook ad account from being locked:
1. Appeal to Facebook’s Moderation Team
If you believe that your Facebook ad account has been incorrectly locked due to no fault of your own, you can select the option to request a review and present your case to Facebook’s moderation team. By submitting this review request, Facebook’s moderation specialists will personally check and re-evaluate your account. If it is found that you have not violated any terms and that the automatic moderation system mistakenly locked your account, they will restore your account immediately. However, if they determine after careful review that you have indeed violated Facebook’s advertising terms, your ad account will be permanently locked.
2. Pay the Outstanding Advertising Fees Owed to Facebook
If your ad account has been disabled due to owing money to Facebook, you simply need to settle that debt. You can add funds to your payment method or include another payment method in your account to cover the debt. Once you pay the amount owed to Facebook, they will reactivate your ad account for normal use.
3. Avoid Violating Facebook’s Advertising Policies
Facebook has a set of rules that all advertisers must adhere to if they wish to run ads on its platforms. You need to carefully read these advertising policies to avoid violations that could lead to permanent locking or limitations on your ad account and other business assets, such as Fanpages and websites.
4. Contact Facebook Support Team
If you have difficulty identifying the reason for your ad account being locked or finding a suitable solution for your ad account, you should reach out to Facebook’s support team for assistance with your advertising issues.
When you contact Facebook’s support team, you will be able to chat directly with a Facebook support representative through Messenger. Before starting the chat session, simply provide the Facebook team with your ad account ID and describe the issue you are experiencing so they can assist you more effectively.
You can access the link https://www.facebook.com/business/help/support to initiate a new support session with Facebook.
How to Handle and Prevent Your Business Manager Account from Being Locked
1. Appeal to Facebook’s Moderation Team if Your Business Manager Account is Locked
If you believe that Facebook has incorrectly locked your Business Manager account due to no fault of your own, you can select the option to request a review of your account and present your case to Facebook’s moderation team. By submitting this review request, Facebook’s moderation specialists will personally check and re-evaluate your account. If it is confirmed that you have not violated any rules and that the automatic moderation system mistakenly locked your Business Manager account, they will promptly restore your account. However, if after a thorough review they find that you have violated Facebook’s advertising policies, your Business Manager account will be permanently locked.
2. Avoid Allowing Ad Accounts Within Your BM to Violate Facebook’s Advertising Policies
If you are using Facebook Business Manager to manage multiple advertising accounts for your business, you need to ensure that all these ad accounts strictly adhere to Facebook’s advertising policies. If your Business Manager account has multiple ad accounts that have been locked due to policy violations, Facebook’s moderation system will pay close attention to your business account, and it is highly likely that your Business Manager account will eventually be permanently locked due to perceived manipulation of Facebook advertising.
3. Remove Members Whose Ad Features Have Been Locked by Facebook from Your Business Account
As mentioned in the section about the reasons for being locked out of Facebook advertising, one reason your Business Manager account might come under scrutiny is harboring members who violate Facebook’s advertising policies within your business account. Facebook can easily label your Business Manager account as a low-quality account if it contains multiple members who violate its policies. As a result, your business account could also be locked.
4. Disconnect from Other Locked Business Accounts You Manage
If your personal Facebook account has administrative rights to multiple different Business Manager accounts, you need to check if any of the accounts you manage have been permanently locked. If you find that you are managing Business Manager accounts that have been permanently locked, you should remove yourself from the administrative roles of those Business Managers to avoid affecting your other active business accounts. Remember, Facebook currently has very strict moderation policies and often makes broad assumptions, so you need to be cautious.
5. Contact Facebook Support Team
If you are having difficulty identifying the reasons for your Business Manager account being locked or finding suitable solutions for your Business Manager account, you should contact Facebook’s support team for assistance with your advertising issues.
When you contact Facebook’s support team, you will be able to chat directly with a Facebook support representative through Messenger. Before starting the chat session, simply provide the Facebook team with your Business Manager account ID and explain the issue you are facing so they can assist you better.
You can access the link https://www.facebook.com/business/help/support to initiate a new support session with Facebook.
6. Add at Least Two Administrators to Your Business Account
It is important to know that if your Business Manager account has only one administrator, and you are locked out of all advertising accounts, your Business Manager account will also effectively be dead. Once you are locked out of ad editing, you will not be able to assign or modify the roles of any members within your business account.
To avoid potential issues, it is best to assign administrative rights to another trusted individual or to another Facebook account of yours, so if your main account is locked out of advertising, you still have someone else to help you manage the Business Manager account.
