Can I advertise guns, knives, ammo, or self-defense products?
Direct answerAds to sell firearms, ammunition, explosives, and self-defense weapons are not allowed on Meta, Google, or TikTok. A few neighboring objects are. Google allows certain gun-safety devices. Meta allows some accessories that are not part of the weapon, at 18+. TikTok allows some culinary and utility knives, and weapons shown inside films or games when nothing is for sale. “It is legal in my state” does not create an ad exception.
Start with the object, not the platform
The one-line classification is on prohibited vs restricted ads. Advertisers still need the object, because a chef’s knife and a firearm are not the same disapproval.
| Object | Meta | TikTok | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firearm, ammo, functional gun part | Sale or use not allowed, including parts and modification accessories | Not allowed. Safety devices are the published allowance. | Guns, parts, and ammunition not allowed |
| Airsoft, paintball, BB | Paintball guns and BB guns are listed with firearms | Named examples of disallowed projectile devices | Paintball and BB guns not allowed. Toys that do not look real may be. |
| Scope, grip, stock, silencer | Modification accessories are in the ban | Named as functionality-enhancing parts | Gun parts are not allowed |
| Gun lock, chamber block | Not the same as a weapon part. Confirm it is not sold as part of the gun. | Allowed examples: gun locks, trigger locks, safety pins, chamber blocks | Not named as an allowance. Do not assume the Google exception travels. |
| Holster, paper target, protective vest | Allowed examples if not part of the weapon, 18+ | Not in the safety-device examples. A vest is not a gun lock. | Police or military gear is its own ban, with a narrow general-use note |
| Pepper spray, taser, baton | Named as not allowed | Pepper spray and tasers are named under other weapons | Named as not allowed |
| Chef’s knife vs combat knife | Non-culinary knives and blades are not allowed | Combat, sport-injury, and self-defense designs are not allowed | Culinary and some utility knives may be; other knives only in listed markets at 18+ |
| Firework or explosive | Explosives, including fireworks, cannot be promoted. Celebratory depiction can be allowed. | Explosives are a dangerous-products category. Open Google’s live explosives article before any firework ad. | Explosives and fireworks are not allowed |
Sources for that grid: Meta’s weapons, ammunition, or explosives standard, Google’s guns and other weapons articles, and TikTok’s dangerous products policy. Country law can still forbid an object the platform example would allow.
Depiction is not a product ad
Meta says ads can depict weapons in a military, police, sporting, or hunting context when the context is non-violent and the ad does not try to buy, sell, trade, gift, or solicit the weapon. Fictional use in video games, music, movies, or TV is also described as depictable. Fireworks can be shown in a celebratory, non-dangerous context.
TikTok’s allowances point the same direction: toys that do not look like real weapons, and weapons inside TV, film, cartoons, or games. A game trailer that is clearly a game is not an ammo PDP. If the landing page sells the prop, you have left the depiction allowance. Rights to the footage are a separate problem, covered in music, UGC, and logo use.
Google will not treat “sporting” as a loophole
Google says it may err on the side of caution for sporting or recreational guns that can cause serious harm or that appear to be real guns. Hunting guns and functioning antique guns are in the not-allowed examples, next to airsoft. Instructions for assembling or enhancing a firearm are also not allowed. Other-weapons examples of disallowed knives include switchblades, fighting knives, sword-canes, balisongs, military knives, push daggers, and throwing axes, plus brass knuckles and guides for 3D-printing those items.
Google says these dangerous-product violations do not trigger an immediate suspension without warning. A warning is issued at least 7 days prior. That is the published enforcement note. It is not a grace period to keep spending on a disapproved firearm ad.
Copy that changes the object
- Risky: “Chef’s knife” on a page titled tactical, with a pocket clip and “self-defense” in the first screen. Google’s knife rule follows design and how you promote it, not only the word kitchen.
- Safer culinary ad: the knife is shown with food, the page is cookware, and there is no combat or concealment claim.
- Risky accessory: a holster ad whose URL is a firearm product page. Meta’s accessory example assumes the item is not the weapon.
- Safer safety ad: a trigger lock, photographed alone, with no firearm SKU in the cart.
Setup workflow
- Name the object: firearm or lookalike projectile device, ammunition or functional gun part, safety device, non-weapon accessory, combat or self-defense knife, culinary knife, or a fictional depiction with nothing for sale.
- If the cart sells a gun, ammo, pepper spray, taser, or explosive, do not plan the campaign. Local legality does not override these ad policies.
- If you are selling a lock, holster, or chef’s knife, match the creative and the product page to that object. Remove combat language.
- On Meta, age-gate accessory ads to 18+ when the standard requires it. On TikTok, use the market list before you treat a pocket knife as allowed.
- If the ad only depicts a weapon inside a game or film and does not offer one for sale, keep that context obvious and link the depiction rules, not a product PDP.
Frequently asked questions
Can I advertise airsoft or paintball?
Google’s guns policy lists airsoft guns, paintball guns, paintball as a service, and BB guns with handguns and rifles: functional devices that appear to discharge a projectile at high velocity are not allowed, and Google says it may apply the rule to sporting guns that look real. TikTok’s dangerous-products policy lists paintball guns and BB guns as not allowed, while toys that do not look like real weapons may be allowed. Meta’s weapons standard lists firearms including paintball guns and BB guns among ads that cannot promote sale or use.
Can I advertise a holster or a gun lock without advertising the gun?
Meta says advertisers can promote items that are not sold as part of a physical weapon, with examples that include holsters, targets, belts, and protective vests, targeted to people 18 or older. Google allows ads for parts and items that increase gun safety, with examples that include gun locks, trigger locks, safety pins, and chamber blocks. Google does not allow scopes, sights, grips, stocks, or ammunition. A holster ad that is really a firearm PDP will be read as the firearm.
Are kitchen knives allowed?
TikTok says knives used as utility tools, such as culinary knives and pencil sharpeners, may be allowed, and lists a set of markets where other knives may run only to viewers 18 or older. Meta’s examples of what ads cannot promote include non-culinary knives and blades. Google’s other-weapons policy targets knives designed or promoted for sport, self-defense, or combat, plus designs with a confrontational advantage such as switchblades and balisongs. A chef’s knife sold as cookware is a different ad from a “tactical” blade.
Sources
- Meta: Weapons, ammunition, or explosives
- Google Ads: Guns, gun parts, and related products
- Google Ads: Other weapons
- TikTok: Dangerous products or services
Weapons law and these platform articles both move. This page reflects the public pages as of September 21, 2026. It is not legal advice and not a statement that an object is legal to sell.
Check the PDP, not just the headline
LaunchGuarding reads the creative and the landing page, which is where a “holster” ad often turns into a firearm.