Meta put our business in Health and wellness, but we aren't a healthcare provider

Does Meta's definition really cover your business?

Meta's Health and wellness category covers a data source that "Is associated with medical conditions or specific health statuses, provider/patient relationships, services for accessing personal health information, or health-related products and services". Meta's examples are "a patient portal, wellness tracker, telemedicine platform, pharmacy, health insurance marketplace, or condition-specific support group".

You don't have to be a healthcare provider to match. Meta doesn't publish a list of business types that are in or out, so test your site against each part:

• Medical conditions or health statuses. Does any page, product name, quiz or blog post name a condition, or say a product helps with one?
• Provider/patient relationships. Can visitors book a consultation or appointment with a clinician through your site, even as an add-on?
• Access to personal health information. Do customers log in through your domain to see health records, results or tracked health data?
• Health-related products and services. Is what you sell health-related in itself? This is the widest part, and Meta's pages don't say where it ends. If all four answers are no, a review may be worth requesting.

Businesses that don't see themselves as healthcare

Meta hasn't ruled on any of these as a group. Read each as a checklist, not a verdict:

• A gym or fitness studio. Classes and memberships aren't among Meta's examples, but a wellness tracker is. An app or member area that logs weight or heart rate sits closer to it.
• A beauty or skincare brand. Products sold on look and feel aren't among Meta's examples. Copy saying a product treats a skin condition names a medical condition, the first part of the definition.
• A wellness or supplement store. Meta's list of prohibited information, which governs what you send, includes "supplements for specific medical conditions". Product pages organized by condition sit close to the definition.
• A health software company that sells to clinics. Meta's definition names "services for accessing personal health information", with a patient portal as an example. If patients log in through your domain, that part can apply even though your buyers are businesses. If the site only markets software, Meta's pages don't say whether that counts.
• An insurance agency. Meta's examples include a "health insurance marketplace". An agency that sells health plans sits close to that example. One that sells only auto, home or business coverage isn't described by it.

First, check the category in Events Manager

Meta says you need "full control of the business portfolio or an admin role on the ad account that owns the dataset that's associated with your data source." Then:

1. Open Meta Events Manager, click Datasets, select your dataset and click the Settings tab.
2. Look at Dataset categories. Meta says "If you haven't assigned a category yet, you will see None." If it shows Health and wellness, someone on your account chose it. Meta offers that choice when a dataset is created.
3. Scroll to Manage data source categories and click Manage. Note each data source's category, whether you or Meta assigned it, and its status.
4. Scroll to Data restrictions and check whether core setup is on. Meta lists four reasons it can be on, and only two are categories. Another is that "You received multiple notifications that data you're sharing potentially goes against the Meta Business Tools Terms." If there's no category, see what to do about a prohibited information notice.
5. See what Meta receives. Click an event, then View details, and choose URLs under Event Breakdown or open Sampled Activities. Look for page paths, UTM values and parameters that name health topics. Meta warns that "UTM parameters in a URL string may contain prohibited data from the landing pages viewed."

How to fix a wrong category

If your team assigned the category, Meta says you "may be able to update their categorization in Events Manager without needing to request a review." Your edit can't take off a Meta-assigned category, though. Meta's categories apply "in addition to any categories you have previously selected", and "the categories that come with the most restrictions will be applied". The full review path is in how to request a data source category review. In short:

1. Your team chose it for the whole dataset: under Dataset categories, click Edit, remove or replace the category and click Save. Meta says the change applies to "all current and future connected data sources."
2. Your team chose it for one data source: in Manage data source categories, select the arrow next to View details, click Edit Category, select the right category and click Save.
3. Meta assigned it: click View details, then Request review. Meta says "We'll take another look and you'll be notified through email of our decision." To check on the request later, click View details again.
4. After removing a category your team chose, check core setup. Meta says it may then be turned off, unless you opted in to it yourself or Meta placed your pixel in core setup.

Before you request a review

Meta's help pages don't ask for documents or a written case. The review is a button, and Meta assigns categories "based on the topics related to the data source and the products and/or services provided". So the evidence is your site as Meta sees it. Get that right first:

• Make the site describe what you sell today. If you genuinely stopped offering a health service or product line, take down its pages, offers and booking links.
• Fix what you send. Take condition names out of page paths, UTM values and custom event names. Meta says event, conversion and audience names "must not reflect, imply, or be based on any prohibited information".
• Check every data source listed, including apps and any second site connected to the dataset.
• Screenshot the category, who assigned it and its status before you click, and keep Meta's emails. Meta's help pages don't give a timeline.

What to do while you wait

Meta says restrictions "can be specific to certain countries or regions, or they could be applied globally." Work inside yours until Meta answers:

• Core setup. Meta says "most campaigns should continue to run as expected", but custom parameters and everything in a URL after the domain are dropped. See what core setup still allows.
• Restriction on certain standard events. Meta suggests you "consider leveraging more upper-funnel events to maintain effective audience targeting and campaign optimization". See what Meta restricts for health and wellness data sources.
• Full restrictions. Meta points to objectives such as Awareness, Engagement and Traffic.
• Custom events. Meta says "custom events are automatically blocked until you review and confirm them". Confirm only ones that carry nothing about health. See why Meta blocked your custom events.
• Watch what arrives. Curve Compliance's Event Logs show each event sent to Meta and whether Meta accepted it.

What won't help

• A new pixel, dataset or domain. Meta categorizes the data source by its topics and what it sells. The same pages and offer give Meta the same facts. See whether to open a new ad account after a restriction.
• Choosing a different category yourself. Meta's category still applies on top of yours, and the most restrictive one wins.
• Sending events server-side. The Conversions API doesn't change the category, because the category sits on the data source, not on the way events travel. See why server-side tracking doesn't lift a restriction.
• Resending removed data under a new name. Meta says "You must not attempt to send data that has previously been detected and removed."
• Hiding health products you still sell. If the site sells them, the category fits, and Can the Health and wellness category be removed? covers what still works inside it.

Talk to Curve

Meta decides the category. What your site sends is up to you. Curve's team sets up server-side conversions to Meta and your other ad platforms, detects PHI-like patterns before data reaches them, and gives you Event Logs that show what was sent and accepted. Curve Compliance is SOC 2 Type II, includes consent management and signs a BAA on every plan. To get started, book a call with Curve.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Meta Business Help Center: About data source categories in Meta Events Manager
• Meta Business Help Center: How to manage data source categories in Meta Events Manager
• Meta Business Help Center: How to self-categorize your datasets and data sources in Meta Events Manager
• Meta Business Help Center: Understand data sharing restrictions based on data source categories
• Meta Business Help Center: About core setup
• Meta Business Help Center: How to turn core setup on and off in Meta Events Manager
• Meta Business Help Center: How to view pages, parameters and URLs in Meta Events Manager
• Meta Business Help Center: About prohibited information
• Meta Business Help Center: Troubleshoot Meta Business Tools prohibited information notifications
• Meta Business Help Center: About reviewing custom events in Meta Events Manager

Last verified October 8, 2026

Related pages

• Can Meta's Health and Wellness Category Be Removed?When Meta's Health and wellness category can come off a pixel or dataset, how self-assigned and Meta-assigned categories differ, and what to do if it fits.
• How to Request a Meta Data Source Category ReviewCan you get Meta's Health and wellness category removed? Who can request a review, the exact Events Manager path, and when a review won't help.
• Data Sharing Restrictions Applied in Meta: What It MeansSaw "Data sharing restrictions applied" in Events Manager, or an email saying your site is in a category with restrictions? What it means and what to do.
• Meta Core Setup for Health Businesses: What Still WorksMeta core setup strips custom parameters and everything after the domain. What still works for a health business, why it happened, and what to fix first.
• Meta Restricted Purchase Events for Health and WellnessWhy Meta restricts Purchase and other lower-funnel events for health and wellness sites, what still works in each tier, and the compliant way back.
• Should We Open a New Ad Account After a Restriction?Opening a new ad account, Page or Business Manager to get past a restriction breaks Meta's and Google's rules. Here is the legitimate path instead.