Brand safety

Block sensitive categories in AdSense

You can block groups of ads that are considered "sensitive" due to the nature of the business or ad — such as Sensationalism or Significant Skin Exposure — from appearing on your network or specified inventory. Learn more about the available sensitive ad categories.

In this article:

Our system classifies ads automatically, and we don't rely solely on advertiser-provided categorization. Our technology makes its best attempt to filter ads from the possible categories; however, we don't guarantee that it will block every related ad.

Note: You can only block sensitive ad categories in these supported languages, regardless of the language of your site.

Block sensitive categories on a site

Sign in to your AdSense account.
Click Brand safety.
Click your product. For example, click Content for AdSense for Content ads.
Click Blocking controls.
Enter the name of the site that you want to set the block on and click Search.
Click the name of the site in the "Search sites" dialog.
Tip: If your site is not listed, you can add it using the site management feature.
Click Manage Sensitive categories.
On the "Sensitive categories" page, use the controls to allow or block categories. Changes are automatically saved on selection.

Block sensitive categories on all sites

Sign in to your AdSense account.
Click Brand safety.
Click your product. For example, click Content for AdSense for Content ads.
Click Blocking controls.
Click Manage Sensitive categories.
On the "Sensitive categories" page, use the controls to allow or block categories. Changes are automatically saved on selection.
(Optional) Click Preview ads to access the Ad review center to review and take action on the ads that may appear on your sites.

Note: The total percentage of ad impressions shown on your "Sensitive categories" page might be greater than or less than 100% as ads may be classified in multiple categories, or not classified in any category at all.

Sensitive ad categories

There are two types of sensitive categories: Standard and Restricted.

Standard sensitive categories are allowed by default.
Restricted sensitive categories are blocked by default.

Note: Depending on your country, you might not find all of the categories listed below on your "Sensitive categories" page. For example, if gambling is not permitted in your country, the Gambling restricted sensitive category is not available.

Standard sensitive categories

Supported languages
The following categories are supported for ads in 17 languages (Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese), except where noted otherwise.

To prevent ads from any of these categories from showing on your pages, visit the "Sensitive categories" page in your AdSense account and click the Block button corresponding to the category.

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Birth control

Includes birth control ads as well as ads for products, services & information relating to STDs including clinics and medication; does not include normal pregnancy resources or abortion services. Note that only visitors from your country will see birth control ads on your pages, and they'll only see those permitted by law. In some countries this is the only standard sensitive category available.

Astrology & esoteric

Includes zodiac, horoscopes, love spells, potions, and psychic-related ads. (This category is specific to English and Portuguese).

Cosmetic procedures & body modification

Includes lifts, suctions, lasers, hair removal and restoration, tattoos, and body modification.

Consumer Loans

Includes consumer lending and loans. (This category is specific to Japanese and Korean.)

Dating

Includes dating services and online dating communities. Also includes chat sites and apps for meeting new people in general.

Downloadable Utilities

Software for download which is designed to enhance the functionality of an operating system or device, whether desktop or mobile. Typical examples include anti-virus software, file converters, driver updaters, system cleaners, download managers, disk defragmenters, codecs, browser toolbars, ringtones, screensavers, wallpapers, and so on.

Drugs & supplements

Includes pharmaceuticals, vitamins, supplements, and related retailers.

Get rich quick

Ads that offer to share lucrative business secrets with consumers, or which offer significant money or merchandise for little or nothing in return. Includes multi-level marketing, work from home offers, and so on; also includes online surveys.

Politics

Includes ads for political campaigns or candidates, ads addressing controversial social issues, ads referencing well-known politicians, and ads touching on events widely perceived to be political in nature, such as elections, protests, terrorist attacks, wars and conflicts. (This category is not currently supported for Thai.)

Reference to sex

Includes ads that are sexually suggestive or refer to sex.

Religion

Includes religious ads and ads advocating for or against religious views; does not include astrology or non-denominational spirituality.

Sensationalism

Ads that aim to induce users to click them by appealing to their curiosity, often using a teaser message with hyperbolic language or imagery. Includes ads that center around sensationalistic subjects (such as celebrity arrests, deaths, or divorces) or aim for shock value.

Sexual and reproductive health

Includes sexual function, fertility, and birth control ads, as well as ads for products, services, and information related to STDs and abortion including clinics and medication; does not include normal pregnancy resources.

Significant skin exposure

Ad images where any part of the adult human body from the sternum to the mid-thigh is not clothed, or the body is clothed in underwear, lingerie, or other see-through clothes or non-clothing items such as a towel or bed sheet.

Social Casino Games

Includes simulated gambling games (including, without limitation, poker, slots, bingo, lotteries, sports betting, betting on races, as well as other card games and casino games) where there is no opportunity to win anything of value (such as money or prizes).

Video games (casual & online)

Includes video games, online games and downloadable games; does not include video game consoles.

Weight loss

Includes weight loss, dieting, and related products and programs; doesn't include healthy eating or general fitness ads.

Note: Some sensitive ad categories and general ad categories overlap. This means that we may classify an ad in both a sensitive category and a general category. For example, a dating ad could have the sensitive category label "Dating" and also the general category label "Family & Community > Romance & Relationships". In such a case, blocking either category will prevent the ad from serving.

Restricted sensitive categories

Ads in this category were previously categorized as non-family safe and were not allowed on pages managed by AdSense. If you don’t mind ads from these categories showing on your pages, click the Allow button corresponding to the category.

Gambling & Betting (18+)

Includes online gambling and location-based gambling. Please note that these ads will only be shown to users in regions where gambling is legal. Additionally, due to local laws, we strongly recommend that publishers do not opt in to receiving gambling ads if their primary site audience is intended for individuals under 18 years of age (e.g., kids' game sites, high school education sites). A full list of these restrictions can be found here.

Alcohol

Includes online sale of alcoholic beverages and brand or informational advertising for alcoholic beverages. Some countries have restrictions on the types of alcohol-related ads that are allowed and will only show permitted ad types. A full list of these restrictions can be found in the Google Ads Alcohol policy.

We strongly recommend that publishers do not opt-in to receiving alcohol ads if their primary site audience is intended for individuals under 18 years of age or if their site contains content where an association with alcohol would be inappropriate (for example, a site about recovering from addiction or pregnancy websites). Additionally, see the following for country-specific restrictions on alcohol advertising:

AdSense publishers:	Only AdSense Publishers in Alcohol promotion allowed countries can opt in to receiving alcohol ads. A full list of allowed countries can be found here.
YouTube Partners:	Only YouTube partners in countries where alcohol advertising is allowed can opt-in to receiving alcohol ads. See the YouTube Alcohol advertising policy for more information.

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