From July 30 2025, we'll start to remove the "Significant Skin Exposure" sensitive category from Blocking controls. This change is part of an ongoing effort to give publishers more precise brand safety controls. Once this happens you will not be able to broadly block creatives that appear to show bare skin via this sensitive category.
If you don't have any existing blocks that use this category
You don't need to take any action. On July 30 2025, we'll remove the "Significant Skin Exposure" sensitive category from your Blocking controls.
If you do have existing blocks that use this category
On July 30 2025, we'll add a "Deprecated" label to the "Significant Skin Exposure" category in your Blocking controls. Then, beginning September 30 2025, your existing blocks will no longer apply. You will still be able to block unwanted creatives with exposed skin using more precise categories. To block unwanted ads with significant skin exposure, we recommend blocking the following categories if you believe these types of ads are unsuitable for your users:
- “Reference to Sex”, “Sexual Reproductive Health” and “Dating” in sensitive categories
- “Swimwear” and “Underwear” subcategories under “Apparel” in general categories
Ads that violate Google's ads network policy and Google’s platform program policies will continue to be filtered and won’t show up in your site.
We recommend that you review and update your existing general category and sensitive category blocks within your Blocking controls to ensure that your brand safety requirements continue to be met effectively.
