Dating App Marketing Restrictions: Google, Meta, TikTok and Apple Rules

Dating apps can advertise on Google, Meta, and TikTok, and can be listed on the App Store, but every one of those platforms treats dating as a restricted category. In practice that means four things: you need prior permission or certification before ads run, ads may only reach users 18 and older, some countries are excluded entirely, and the app and landing page are reviewed along with the ad itself.

This guide summarizes the dating app marketing restrictions each platform publishes in its own policy center: the Google Ads Dating and Companionship policy, Meta's Advertising Standards on dating ads, TikTok's advertising policies, and Apple's App Review Guidelines. It describes what the rules require, not how to get around them. Policies change, so check the official page before every launch; no preparation guarantees approval.

Why dating is a restricted category everywhere

Platforms restrict dating ads for the same few reasons: the audience must be of age, the service involves meeting strangers, and the category has a history of fake profiles and paid-relationship offers dressed up as dating. So the rules on every platform cluster around the same questions:

• Who is advertising? Permission or certification comes before any ad runs.
• Who sees it? 18+ targeting is mandatory, and some markets are closed.
• What is promised? No transactional relationships, no fictitious users, no discriminatory or exploitative framing.
• What is behind the click? The app or website is reviewed, not just the creative.

Knowing that pattern makes each platform's specific rules easier to read.

Google Ads: certification under the Dating and Companionship policy

Google's Dating and Companionship policy requires every advertiser promoting a dating or companionship product, service, or content to be certified by Google. Certification became mandatory on April 9, 2025, after Google moved the original March 4 date; since then, uncertified advertisers cannot run these ads.

What the policy separates:

Other requirements to plan for:

• Age: ads may only serve to users 18 and older.
• Countries: dating and companionship ads are not eligible to serve in a list of 18 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan. Check the current list on the policy page before building geo targeting.
• The review goes past the ad. Google's certification review can look at existing ads, landing pages, and post-login content, so the application asks for your Customer ID, landing page URLs or app IDs, and test login credentials when the service requires sign-in.
• Consistency. The destination must match what the ad describes, and synthetic or AI-generated profile elements must be clearly disclosed.

Certification makes an advertiser eligible; each ad is still reviewed on its own. For how Google applies the same certification model to another regulated app category, see our breakdown of the crypto app Google Ads policy.

Meta: prior written permission for dating ads

Under Meta's Advertising Standards for dating ads, ads for online dating services are allowed only with prior written permission from Meta, requested through Meta's application form. Once permission is granted:

• All dating ads must target audiences 18 years or older.
• Ads cannot promote connections based on money or other financial transactions, such as mail-order brides.
• Ads cannot promote services that facilitate affairs or infidelity, or interactions with fictitious people or groups.
• Images cannot place suggestive emphasis on bodies or poses.
• Ads still follow Meta's Community Standards, including its rules on personal attributes: copy must not assert or imply things about the viewer, such as their religion, age, or financial status. "A dating app for people over 50" describes your service; "Over 50 and still single?" asserts something about the reader.

Meta also notes that some relationship-themed content, such as shows, games, or social apps without matchmaking functions, is not treated as a dating service. If your app has any matchmaking feature, assume the dating rules apply.

TikTok: 18+ targeting, sales representative approval, and closed markets

TikTok's advertising policies allow dating app ads only in markets where the category is permitted, and only under three conditions:

• Ads must be restricted to audiences aged 18 and older.
• You must work with a TikTok Sales Representative for approval; this is not a self-serve category.
• The landing page must be a Google Play listing, an App Store listing, or a website landing page.

Dating app ads are not allowed at all in a list of markets that is concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa and also includes countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. TikTok maintains that list in its policy and updates it, so confirm your targeting with your TikTok representative.

On content, TikTok does not allow dating app ads that are discriminatory, exploitative, dishonest, or otherwise inappropriate, and it does not allow ads or landing pages for apps designed purely around casual encounters. Transactional-relationship messaging is not allowed either.

Apple App Store: saturation and user safety before any ad runs

Apple's rules are not ad rules, but they decide whether there is an app to advertise. Three parts of the App Review Guidelines matter most for dating apps:

• Guideline 4.3(b), spam and saturated categories. Apple names dating among the kinds of apps that are "well established on the App Store" and says it will not accept new submissions unless they offer a meaningfully different or improved experience. A template dating app with a new name is the classic 4.3 rejection. Our guide to apps rejected for minimum functionality explains how 4.2 and 4.3 differ.
• Guideline 1.2, user-generated content. Any app where users post profiles, photos, or messages must include a method for filtering objectionable material, a mechanism for reporting offensive content with timely responses, the ability to block abusive users, and published contact information. Apple also says apps used primarily for random or anonymous chat, or for rating people's looks, do not belong on the App Store.
• Guideline 5.1.1, account deletion. If the app supports account creation, users must be able to delete their account from within the app.

An approved app is not an approved ad. App Store review and ad platform review are separate processes with separate requirements, and passing one says nothing about the other.

The same rules, side by side

A pre-launch checklist for dating app marketing

1. Classify the product honestly. Decide whether it is general dating, an aggregator, or something the policies exclude. If any feature sits in a not-allowed bucket, resolve it before applying anywhere.
2. Apply for permission on each platform separately. Google certification, Meta written permission, and TikTok representative approval are independent. One does not carry over to another.
3. Build geo targeting from the policy lists, not from your general market plan, and re-check them before each launch.
4. Set 18+ targeting at the campaign level on every platform, even where your app already verifies age.
5. Audit the destination. Landing page, store listing, and the signed-in experience should describe the same service as the ad. Prepare a test login for reviewers.
6. Write copy about the service, not the viewer. Avoid personal-attribute phrasing and any hint of paid or transactional relationships.
7. Disclose any bots, AI features, or sample profiles clearly in the product and in the ads.
8. Ship the safety features Apple requires (filtering, reporting, blocking, contact information, in-app account deletion) before submission.

ROIBest supports app and web app distribution for teams that run acquisition across many markets. For dating and other restricted categories, the platform policies above always come first. If you are also weighing distribution formats, our comparison of PWA vs native apps covers the trade-offs; a web app is still subject to every ad policy described here.

FAQ

Can dating apps advertise on Google Ads?

Yes, if the advertiser holds Google's Dating and Companionship certification, targets users 18 and older, avoids the countries where these ads are ineligible, and promotes a service the policy allows. Uncertified advertisers cannot run dating ads.

Do I need permission to run dating ads on Facebook and Instagram?

Yes. Meta requires prior written permission for online dating service ads, requested through its application form, and all approved ads must target people 18 or older.

Are dating app ads allowed on TikTok?

In permitted markets, yes: ads must target users 18 and older, go through approval with a TikTok Sales Representative, and link to an app store listing or website. Dating app ads are not allowed in a set of listed markets.

Why was my dating app rejected by the App Store?

The most common reasons are Guideline 4.3(b), because dating is a saturated category and near-duplicate apps are not accepted, and Guideline 1.2, when an app with user profiles or messaging lacks filtering, reporting, blocking, or published contact details.

The short version

Dating app marketing is possible on every major platform, but only as a restricted category: certification on Google Ads, written permission on Meta, representative approval on TikTok, and a differentiated, safety-complete app on the App Store. Every platform requires 18+ targeting, closes some markets, bans transactional-relationship offers and fictitious profiles, and reviews what sits behind the ad. Apply on each platform separately and read the official policy pages before each launch.