Health and weight-loss claim rules on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and more
The short answer
Promising a cure or fast results is what gets health and diet videos restricted or removed.
- Instagram, Facebook and Threads show claims to cure diseases like diabetes or cancer only to adults, and the same goes for weight-loss products and cosmetic procedures.
- TikTok keeps diet and fitness videos that promise fast or dramatic results off For You, removes weight-loss products sold with big claims, and shows even low-risk products like protein powder to adults only.
- YouTube removes health claims that contradict health authorities, and X bans sponsored posts for supplements, medicines and weight-loss products.
- Pinterest and LinkedIn remove miracle-cure claims, and Snapchat removes unsupported health claims.
- In a US sponsored video, the FTC says you can't make claims, like treating a health condition, that need proof the brand doesn't have.
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X
- Threads
- Snapchat
At a glance
| Platform | What can happen | Its strictest rule |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Taken down, Age-restricted, Shown to fewer people | Selling weight-loss products with big claims |
| YouTube | Taken down | Health claims that contradict health authorities |
| Age-restricted, Shown to fewer people | Claims to cure incurable diseases | |
| Age-restricted, Shown to fewer people | Claims to cure incurable diseases | |
| X | Taken down | Sponsored supplements, medicine or weight-loss products |
| Threads | Age-restricted | Claims to cure incurable diseases |
| Snapchat | Taken down | Unsupported medical or health claims |
| Taken down | Miracle cures or anti-vaccine claims | |
| Taken down | Miracle cures or anti-medical-advice claims |
The rules, side by side
Each row is a platform's own rule: what it means, what the platform says, how to fix it, and where to read it in full.
| Platform | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Selling weight-loss products with big claimsRemovalSelling or marketing products or services for weight loss or muscle gain that are prone to misuse and risky, or any such product promoted with exaggerated or harmful claims (e.g. unrealistic results).Fix: Drop the product promotion or the result claims. Licensed medical businesses should use a verified business account where TikTok allows it. | “Any product or service promoted with exaggerated or harmful claims, such as unrealistic weight loss results” | |
| TikTok | Diet or fitness content promising fast resultsNot recommendedShowing, describing or promoting: diets, exercises, products or services with exaggerated claims (fast or dramatic results); restrictive low-calorie diets including extended intermittent fasting; products, medications or devices prone to misuse for weight loss or muscle gain (even without selling them); a body type as 'ideal' in an unhealthy context; or your own ongoing struggle with...Fix: Remove time-bound result promises and extreme fasting advice; focus on habits and health. | “Diets, exercises, products, or services that include exaggerated or harmful claims, such as those promising fast or dramatic results” | |
| TikTok | Cosmetic surgery footage or promotion without risksNot recommendedShowing or promoting invasive cosmetic surgery (surgery footage, referrals) or talking about cosmetic surgery without explaining the risks.Fix: Explain the risks and recovery, and cut graphic surgical footage. Don't add clinic referrals. | “Talking about cosmetic surgery without explaining the risks” | |
| TikTok | Promoting low-risk weight or muscle productsAge restrictionSelling or marketing low-risk products or services in a weight-loss or muscle-gain context (e.g. protein powder, gym programs) without exaggerated claims.Fix: Expect the video to reach adults only. Avoid result promises and before/after claims. | “Trading, marketing, or providing access to products or services that are promoted in the context of weight loss or muscle gain, with low associated health risks” | |
| YouTube | Health claims that contradict health authoritiesRemovalClaims that contradict health-authority guidance and risk serious harm: false vaccine safety claims, promoting harmful substances as cures (e.g. MMS, black salve), unproven cancer treatments in place of approved care, or denying that tobacco or nicotine are addictive or harmful.Fix: Remove cure or guaranteed-treatment claims, add health-authority context, and present personal experience as personal. | “Content that denies the addictive or harmful properties of nicotine and tobacco.” | |
| InstagramFacebookThreads | Claims to cure incurable diseasesAge restrictionClaims (even by health professionals) to cure, heal or eliminate diabetes, herpes, thyroid disease, psoriasis, Ebola, cancer, autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS or HIV, or health clickbait promising specific results within a set time.Fix: Replace 'cures' with accurate wording (manages, may help with symptoms), add qualifiers and sources. | “Employs clickbait tactics in a health context, such as sensational language with exaggerated or extreme health claims, or promises of specific health-related results within a set timeframe without disclaimers or qualifiers.” | |
| InstagramFacebookThreads | Weight-loss products or cosmetic procedures (18+)Age restrictionSelling, mentioning or favourably depicting weight-loss or weight-gain products, diet products or cosmetic procedures/surgeries (incl. skin whitening), or weight-loss clickbait with extreme claims or promised results in a set time.Fix: Drop product promotion and timed results claims, or accept the 18+ limit and loss of recommendations. | “Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate, gift, mention or ask for weight loss or weight gain products or services.” | |
| InstagramFacebook | Weight-loss or cosmetic surgery promo (not recommended)Not recommendedContent that promotes or favourably depicts weight-loss products or services or cosmetic surgeries.Fix: Focus on general fitness or nutrition without product or procedure promotion. | “Content that promotes or favorably depicts the use of weight loss products or services and cosmetic surgeries.” |
|
| Miracle-cure or payday-loan content (not recommended)Not recommendedExaggerated health claims or products sold on them ('miracle cures'), or promotion of misleading business models such as payday loans.Fix: Remove exaggerated claims, add qualifiers, and avoid promoting payday or instant loans. | “Content that promotes misleading or deceptive business models, such as payday loans.” | ||
| X | Sponsored supplements, medicine or weight-loss productsRemovalA paid partnership promoting health, dietary or muscle supplements, pharmaceuticals or medical services (including over-the-counter medicines), or weight-loss products and content (fat burners, appetite suppressants, fasting or detox teas).Fix: Do not post this as an organic sponsored post on X. Unsponsored personal reviews are not covered by this rule. | “Weight loss products and services and content focused on weight loss (including fat burning pills, appetite suppressants, fasting and detox teas)” | |
| Snapchat | Unsupported medical or health claimsRemovalFalse or unsubstantiated health or medical claims, including health products promoted with unrealistic claims.Fix: Remove the claim or soften it to what reliable evidence supports, and cite the source. | “Health-related false or unsubstantiated information” | |
| Miracle cures or anti-vaccine claimsRemovalMedically unsupported health claims that risk public health: false or 'miracle cure' products, anti-vaccination advice, or misinformation about public health emergencies.Fix: Remove the claim or limit it to what reliable medical sources support. | “The promotion of false cures or "miracle cure" products” | ||
| Weight-loss claims or before/after in an adRemovalA promoted Pin with any weight-loss language or imagery: diet pills, appetite suppressants, before-and-after photos, weight-loss testimonials, BMI references, body shaming, or unrealistic cosmetic results.Fix: Remove weight-loss claims and before/after shots before promoting. | “With the exception of approved healthcare advertisers in the US and Canada who promote prescription GLP-1 medication, we don’t allow any weight loss language or imagery in advertisements.” | ||
| Miracle cures or anti-medical-advice claimsRemovalPromoting harmful remedies or miracle cures, discouraging professional medical advice, or contradicting local health authorities or the WHO (incl. vaccine safety falsehoods).Fix: Remove the claim; point to qualified medical sources. | “Content that promotes harmful remedies or miracle cures, or otherwise discourages individuals from seeking or heeding professional medical advice” |
Laws that apply on every platform
These come from laws and advertising regulators, not from a platform, so they follow you to every app in the places they cover.
| Where | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Unbacked claims in a sponsored video (US)In a sponsored or affiliate video the creator describes personal experience with a product they have not used, gives an opinion they do not hold, or makes claims that would need proof the brand does not have, especially health claims (treats, cures, prevents, weight-loss amounts) or results claims (income, returns).Fix: Only describe what you actually experienced. Drop disease and cure claims and specific results unless the brand gives you the evidence and the claim matches it. Say 'the brand says…' rather than presenting a claim as your own experience. | “You can’t make up claims about a product that would require proof the advertiser doesn’t have – such as scientific proof that a product can treat a health condition.” |
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