How can you get banned from instagram
Instagram bans are a threat - here’s how to avoid losing your followers
According to Hootsuite, over 1 billion people use Instagram every month. Its usefulness for your brand can’t be argued against. This is backed by the fact that 81% of people use Instagram to help research products and services, and two out of three people say the network helps foster interactions with brands. But doing business on Instagram is risky. Numerous brands have lost everything - including followers they have garnered, after getting banned by Instagram. This makes Instagram banning a serious threat to your business. How can you prevent this from happening? And more importantly, which precautions should you take to not lose everything in case Instagram suddenly bans your account?
The risk of getting banned on Instagram might not apply to everyone, but the risk of losing your Instagram followers is very real for content creators in every industry. If you only focus on building up a following on Instagram, you are simply placing all your eggs in one basket. Losing your account will result in you losing your following, with no means of reaching them ever again because Instagram owns the data. Instagram is in control of your business, as they can always decide to ban your account, which will hurt your brand and business irreversibly. It is also important to consider that Instagram could decrease in popularity and cease to exist, like what happened to Vine or MySpace. In the case that all your followers suddenly decide to go on the next big social media platform and never return, your Instagram followers will be worthless, too. Let’s jump into the different types of Instagram bans, how long Instagram bans last, and how you can prevent your account from getting banned.
Let’s kick off by discussing the number one threat if you are primarily active on Instagram with your brand; Instagram bans. There are 3 types of bans on Instagram: Action Blocks, Shadow Bans, and permanent bans. Instagram bans are not uncommon for content creators, and all three types of bans will hurt your brand image.
Action Block
Firstly, Action Blocks, or temporary bans, will disable your account for a limited amount of time. When you’re lucky, this will only be a few hours, but it can also go up to 2 days.
You will get an Action Block for small misdemeanors like mass following or spamming comments.
Shadow Ban
A Shadow Ban limits your reach significantly and results in reduced engagement. Even though many creators on Instagram publicly complained about their accounts being Shadow Banned, Instagram itself denies the existence of Shadow Bans. Because of this, no one knows for certain how to see when accounts are shadowbanned.
Because it’s such a grey area, we did the research and found out what exactly causes a Shadow Ban, how to test if you have one, and how to prevent and remove it.
Ban
Finally, there are permanent bans, which will fully disable your account for an unlimited amount of time. None of these bans are good news for your brand and the relationship with your followers.
The duration of a temporary ban on Instagram usually ranges from a few hours to 48 hours.
Your ban’s duration also depends on the follow-up actions you take. Do you continue to commit the wrong actions? Then the ban may be extended. So, if this is your first temporary ban, you'd better start behaving according to Instagram’s rulebook.
There are various reasons for Instagram to ban your account, which is usually when you break the rules of the platform. We will discuss the most apparent violations of Instagram’s rules below.
1. Mass Following, Unfollowing, Liking, or Commenting
Instagram punishes those who are trying to quickly grow their account, usually with an Action Block at first. Instagram goes after all accounts that are using mass following, unfollowing, liking, or commenting to grow their account. They will block you if you do this with third-party promotion tools, but also if you do it manually. And while Instagram doesn’t have set limits for this (classic Instagram), you need to pay attention to the following numbers.
- Maximum number of likes per hour: 60;
- Maximum number of comments per hour: 60;
- Maximum number of follows per hour: 60;
- Maximum number of messages per hour: 60.
But if your account is fairly new, the limits are different:
- Maximum number of likes per hour: 30;
- Maximum number of comments per hour: 30;
- Maximum number of follows/unfollows per hour: 30.
2. Buying Followers and Likes
For the same reason named above, buying followers and likes from third-party promotion tools will also result in a ban from Instagram.
3. Buying Someone’s Account
Buying someone else’s account and treating it as your own is also deemed illegal according to Instagram’s rulebook: “When making your account, you agree you will not sell, transfer, license, or assign your account, followers, username, or any account rights.”
4. Duplicate Spam Comments and DMs
Unwanted comments and DMs that are commercial or harassing are also prohibited by Instagram.
This is oftentimes sending a duplicate message over and over again.
5. Sexual or Inappropriate Content
Posting sexual or inappropriate content is not allowed by Instagram and can result in a ban on your account.
6. Copyright Infringement
Like sexual or inappropriate content, posting content of which the copyright is owned by someone else, will also result in a ban. Copyright infringement is a grey area for Instagram as they usually only ban accounts after they get reported by the copyright owner.
It’s often thought that if you ask for permission from the creator and post it with credit to them, you are doing it rightfully. However, Instagram does not care if you have asked permission from the copyright holders. If the copyright holders decide to report your post, after all, you will still get banned.
7. Banned Hashtags
According to Instagram’s Guidelines, a good part of hashtags are banned for use within the app, for quite obvious reasons.
However, you need to be careful with using hashtags, as using these banned hashtags can result in a ban.
8. User Complaints
Of course, any user complaint about your content will be taken seriously by Instagram and can result in a ban on your account. People can report your content very easily, so you should be careful to not offend anyone with your content. It could easily leave you empty-handed.
Social media platforms like Instagram are the epicenter of your business, especially when it comes to being discovered by potential new fans. While it is important to build a following and attract new fans, it is becoming more and more challenging to reach your existing audience organically on these platforms year on year.
However, everything you build up on Instagram is not yours to keep. To be a little clearer here, you do not own the data of your followers, Instagram does. So, this means that when Instagram decides to ban you, or when Instagram ceases to exist, you will lose everything you have built.
This is why Instagram bans are a threat to your business, and you should make sure to minimize this risk to make your business more sustainable.
As previously mentioned, if you only focus on building up a following on Instagram, you are simply placing all your eggs in one basket.
What we mean by this is that a lot of things that are out of your power can happen to your account, and therewith your following and your business.
Instagram has been facing a lot of criticism from content creators in recent years because of how the Instagram algorithm works, as they’re making it more and more difficult for creators to reach their fans organically via Instagram. This is yet another example of how much you’re risking just building an audience on one platform when the platform is in control of the data.
Yes, having an engaged following on your Instagram is important, but if for whatever reason, you lose this channel, you lose everything including your fans’ data. It would leave you with no way to reach the audience you’ve built up over time.
That is why you need to focus on funneling your audience into other channels that you own (like an email list), so you have control of reaching them regardless of changes in algorithms, bans, or other platform changes. This way, you lower the risk of losing these valuable financial connections.
You can do this by going live on other social media platforms, but these platforms face the same threat that Instagram has. Besides, they will still be the owner of the data from your fans.
So, if your account is lost, you will still have no way of connecting with your fans.
There are, however, many ways to build up your own database of fans. You can collect email addresses or phone numbers and OWN that data, so you will always have a way of reaching your fans. This way, you defend yourself from changes on social media platforms like Instagram, which could simply ban your account because a group of people felt the need to report your content.
So, how can you minimize this threat and achieve a more sustainable business model? By gathering data from your fans like email addresses or phone numbers, you put yourself in control of reaching them.
If you got banned from Instagram, the algorithm changes again, or everybody goes to a different social media platform, at least you’ll still have all the fan data. This way, you have means of reaching the audience you’ve built up. Your own Fangage platform is the perfect place to collect fan data.
Then, you can engage with them directly, making you more prepared for a potential Instagram ban, algorithm change, or broader change (people massively going on another social media platform). The best part about this is that usually, your closest fans would go the extra mile to unlock your exclusive content, leaving you with data, and a way to reach your most valuable fans with announcements.
Are you serious about protecting your brand from Instagram bans? And want to take control of your audience? You can create a fully branded website for your fans for free in under a minute by clicking the button below.
5 Ways You Can Get Banned on Instagram
Last week in our Facebook Group (if you haven’t joined our Facebook Group, The Social Hub, what are you even doing with your life?), we talked about ways you can violate Instagram’s Terms of Use and get banned from the app. The conversation started because someone had their client’s account deleted because they did something that everyone does—re-grammed someone else’s photo without their permission. Yes, using someone’s photo without their permission is against Instagram’s Terms of Use and can get your account deleted. The quickest and most surefire way to get banned from Instagram is by violating its Terms of Use and/or community guidelines. If you’re nervous and wondering if you could be toeing the line of being deleted or banned, we’ve rounded up the different ways you can violate Instagram’s Terms of Use.
Before we get started, let’s first give you a refresher on Instagram’s Terms of Use.
You can read all of their conditions here.
Now that we’ve had the refresher, what does it all mean? Let’s break it down.
Jump to a section ✨
Breaking the Law
Violating Intellectual Property Rights
Posting Harmful or Inappropriate Content
Automating Accounts
Using Banned Hashtags
Breaking the Law
Seems like a fairly easy and no-brainer one, but don’t break the law on their platform. For Instagram, this means don’t post content that is “support(ing) or prais(ing) terrorism, organized crime, or hate groups. Offering sexual services, buying or selling firearms and illegal or prescription drugs (even if it’s legal in your region).”
What does that mean necessarily? Well, if the above isn’t enough for you, basically don’t post about supporting terrorism. If you’re planning a heist anytime soon, maybe keep that off the ‘gram as well. Anything that would get you arrested IRL will get you automatically banned from Instagram.
Just because it’s the internet doesn’t mean that anything can go … well not on Instagram at least.
Violating Intellectual Property Rights
That photo you love someone else posted? Well, you can’t post it on your own account and claim it as your own. Nope, it’s their property, not yours, which means posting it on your page without their expressed consent is a major no-no and can get you immediately banned.
That also includes “anything you’ve copied or collected from the Internet that you don’t have the right to post.”
“But what about those accounts that regram other people’s content all the time?”
A very good question! Typically, this is fine if you ask for consent and credit the original account. However, if you’re posting the content as your own and not giving credit where credit is due, you’re violating Instagram’s rules.
Hashtags & Analytics
Find, manage, and analyze hashtags for Instagram.
Posting Harmful or Inappropriate Content
What is considered harmful and inappropriate on Instagram? Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to be something that is explicitly illegal, but the main components are:
And, yes, even if the post isn’t meant to be pornographic (no female nipples allowed unless you’re breastfeeding!), it can still be banned.
Instagram defines its inappropriate content as “photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. Someone should probably mention that to Madonna…
Automating Accounts
If you’ve ever thought about getting a third-party app or bot to like and comment for you, don’t. This can get you a one-way ticket to being banned from Instagram. While the best way to grow your account organically is by engaging with followers, DMing, liking photos, and more, YOU should be the one doing it. Not a bot.
Using Banned Hashtags
One of the most important things when searching for hashtags is to make sure you’re not using hashtags that are banned (you can always check if your hashtags are banned by signing up for Flick! We will audit all of your hashtags for you!). While there are hashtags that are banned for obvious reasons (using profanity, terms that relate to violence, etc) but there are also hashtags that seem okay to use but are used by spam bots often enough to be flagged by Instagram.
Instagram has stated in the past that “hashtags on Instagram may not be searchable if they’re consistently associated with content that doesn’t follow our Terms of Use or Community Guidelines.” So how do you check if a hashtag is banned? Go to Instagram’s search page and look for the hashtag. If it shows up, you’re good! If it doesn’t show up, it’s probably banned and shouldn’t be used.
Now that you know what not to do, it’s time to start working on things that will help you up your Instagram game by learning new tricks, new hashtag strategies and diving deep into your analytics.
Flick Community
Up your IG Game and connect with other creators & marketers.
real examples and how to fix it
This is the story of the owner of an online toy store. More than 14 thousand people have subscribed to the store account.
An Instagram ban is a blogger and SMM specialist's nightmare. A commercial account can be blocked completely (it actually ceases to exist) or partially (posts, videos and stories are not shown to subscribers in the feed, or, for example, the account owner cannot write to those with whom he does not have a dialogue).
We figure out how to protect yourself from this and what to do if you still "hit". nine0003
Table of contents:
Types of banas on Instagram
For which they will definitely ban
Exceeding the Limits of the social network by likes, comments, subscriptions and unsubscriptions
The same comments, hashtags and messages to Direct
Frequent IP-
Bought accounts
Large number drawings, lotteries, promises of quick money
Complaints about your account
What to do if you are banned
When temporarily blocked
When permanently blocked
Table of contents:
Types of banas on Instagram
For which they will definitely ban
Exceeding the Limits of the social network by likes, comments, subscriptions and unsubscriptions
The same comments, hashtags and messages to Direct
Frequent IP-
Bought accounts
Large number drawings, lotteries, promises of quick money
Complaints about your account
What to do if you are banned
Temporary ban
Permanent ban
Types of Instagram bans
There are three types of bans on Instagram:
0626 Temporary When certain activities are limited for a while. For example, you can’t like, comment on other people’s posts, write to other accounts first. Sometimes a temporary blocking prevents the account owner from posting posts and stories. A temporary block usually lasts 3-7-24 hours or 3-7-21 days. The first time the ban will be short. But the more violations are repeated, the longer the blocking lasts. nine0064 
This happens due to Instagram updates (when some features of the app may freeze or not work at all), your mobile device crashes, or problems with the IP address. nine0064 Various sources mention the so-called shadowban on Instagram. The rules of the social network itself does not say anything about him. Instagram denies its existence. Those who still believe in it describe its manifestations as a sharp decrease in post and story impressions by three or more times. Posts at the same time do not fall into the recommended. Also, hashtags don't work.
About the shadowban (assuming its existence) no one informs the account owner - Instagram does not send notifications about this. We wrote in detail and in detail about the shadow ban in the article “Shadow ban on Instagram: truth or myth”. nine0077Let's promote your business
In Google and Yandex, social networks, mailing lists, video platforms, bloggers
MoreWhy you will be banned for sure
Instagram has general rules that you should not break if you want to work happily ever after on the social network.
In particular, it is allowed to publish only copyrighted content, no nude images, calls for violence, terrorism and other violations of the law. This results in a permanent ban and is a serious violation. nine0003
In addition to the standard rules, there are so-called unspoken rules.
Exceeding social network limits for likes, comments, subscriptions and unsubscribes
Instagram does not provide official information on them. Accordingly, there can be no exact figures here.
But be aware: Instagram does not confirm these numbers and may ban you for less activity if it is considered suspicious.
For exceeding the limits on likes, subscriptions, subscriptions, comments, a commercial account will be sent to a temporary ban. nine0003
Limits are regularly exceeded mainly due to the connection of services for mass following, mass liking and mass commenting.
To promote on Instagram correctly, read our full guide "Instagram promotion: the most detailed guide" posts on other accounts.Of course, such services save the time of the SMM specialist and the account owner, but they can lead to blocking. nine0003
You can get into a temporary ban if you use the same or inappropriate hashtags under posts for a long time.
Detailed instructions on hashtags are in our article.Frequent change of IP address
This happens if many third-party services and applications that have their own IP addresses are connected to the account (for example, Instaplus, Instadrom, Funinsta). It is most likely impossible to maintain an account without automation systems at all. But their number should be reduced to a minimum. Use services that have several functions you need at once. nine0003
Purchased accounts
Instagram can block an account if it suspects that it was created automatically. This is usually determined by the IP address - many pages for sale are registered from it.
That's why we don't recommend buying other people's social media pages - you don't know all the ins and outs of them. And, most likely, you will encounter an unpleasant surprise. Well, if the blocking is temporary. What if you get a permanent ban?Lots of raffles, lotteries, promises of quick money
All this is also subject to artificial stimulation of activity and is prohibited on Instagram. Of course, you should not completely refuse to hold contests and activities. But you don't need to run them weekly either. Optimal: 1-2 times a month.
"Like, subscribe to comments, repost!". On Instagram, such calls to action are considered artificial stimulation of followers. Here is what is written in the rules of Instagram in this regard:
“Do not post duplicate comments or materials, do not repeatedly contact people who have not agreed to this with commercial offers. nine0003
Don't offer users money or sweepstakes in exchange for likes, subscriptions, comments, or other actions.
Do not post content that promotes, encourages, or facilitates solicitation, buying, or selling fake and misleading people's reviews or ratings."
Reporting your account
Anyone can report your account. For example, if you use someone else's content and thus violate copyright. If violations are confirmed, the account may be blocked temporarily or permanently. nine0003
What to do if you are banned
When you are temporarily banned
There is a simple sequence of actions when you find your Instagram account temporarily banned - this is the so-called "First Aid":
- Change your password and try to log into your account again.
- Remove links to other applications and services. Perhaps they were blacklisted by the social network (go to "Settings" - "Security" - "Applications and sites").
- If these measures do not help, and the account still has temporary restrictions, do not take any action.
- Do not try to like, comment or post during the block period (it all depends on what type of block you received).
- Stop the advertising campaign and the interaction with the audience. Otherwise, you risk increasing the duration of the current restriction.
- Update the Instagram app on your mobile device. Perhaps the problem will be solved faster and easier than you expected. nine0064
Permanent blocking
Permanent blocking is more difficult. When Instagram deletes an account completely, it is almost impossible to recover it. Behind this is a long and dull correspondence with Facebook technical support.
I decided to experiment - I created an announcement that the account was permanently blocked. Immediately there were those who wanted to restore it to me. And for reasonable money. True, there are no guarantees.
Those who have already encountered a block problem recommend not paying for unlocking at all, but trying to communicate with technical support on their own.
To do this, follow the links below and describe your problem (link 1 link 2, link 3). nine0003
Of course, it is impossible to completely protect yourself from Instagram bans, but you can do everything to minimize these risks. Finally, advice from Texterra - choose experienced SMM specialists to maintain your page. Then you don't have to worry about blocking.
By the way, we are also promoting Instagram accounts. And we have a lot of experience - we work with projects in various topics, from the beauty industry to medicine.We wish you successful development and no bans! nine0003
Six sure ways to get banned on Instagram
For beginners, getting banned on Instagram is often an unpleasant surprise. Imagine that your post or story is suddenly deleted. Or hashtags that you carefully selected stop showing up in feeds. Or you can no longer log into your account at all. It's embarrassing and unpleasant. Let's figure out why you will probably be banned and how to avoid it.
Use banned hashtags
Hashtags are a powerful tool to attract an audience, but sometimes they can be harmful. There is an unspoken list of banned hashtags, due to which posts fall into the "shadowban" - they cease to be displayed in feeds. The Instagram administration draws up and regularly updates the ban list based on complaints from users of the social network. nine0003 Two very similar hashtags, both seemingly harmless, but one of them is illegal. Posts with this hashtag are not displayed in feeds
The more popular the hashtag, the more likely it is to be banned. Keywords with millions of posts are most often used for spam and content that violates Instagram policies. Try to avoid hashtags with millions of publications: they are of little use, because your post will be quickly lost, and the risk of getting banned is high. nine0003
Banned hashtag lists are constantly changing, and a hashtag that was safe today could be banned tomorrow. To prevent this from happening, check each hashtag before posting.
There is a clearly problematic hashtag in the search bar: millions of publications, and all of them are hidden from the feedTo do this, enter it in the search bar.
Post other people's photos, illustrations and music
An imminent ban awaits those who use other people's photos, logos, drawings and other objects of copyright. It is not uncommon for Instagram to remove stories or videos for using music without the permission of the copyright holder. The same applies to other people's texts without specifying the author. nine0003
According to the rules of Instagram, the content in your account must not violate copyright. This means that you can safely publish your works, and other people's materials - only with the permission of the author and indicating his name. But still, there are ways to get someone else's content, because of which you will not have problems.
Search for photos and graphics licensed under Creative Commons. These illustrations are not protected by copyright.
To find them, set the Google search parameters to "Creative Commons License". nine0003
Use free services. Illustrations from photo stocks and music from free resources can be freely used even without crediting the author. Just be sure to check whether a particular work can be used for commercial purposes - usually this information is indicated in the description.
Images and photos: Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels.
Music: Soundcloud, Freemusicarchive, Musopen.
Use the public domain. Copyright expires 70 years after the author's death - the work enters the public domain. Such works are free to use. Look for relevant illustrations on New Old Stock and Flickr Commons. nine0003 The account owner on the left indicated the author of the photo, and the account owner on the right simply used someone else's photo. Both can have problems: the first hardly received Annie Leibovitz's written permission to use her frame, and the second did not even bother to indicate the author
Create duplicate accounts: your own or someone else's
Instagram rules prohibit impersonating other people.
You can't duplicate your accounts either. Violators will be banned forever. nine0003
So that your account is not suspected of trying to copy an existing one, immediately after creating it, fill out the profile in detail and put a recognizable avatar. Do not leave comments and likes and do direct mailings with a completely empty profile.
The profile on the left is completely filled, and the profile on the right in this form may be blocked as soon as it starts selling similar Japanese erasers to users
Use prohibited content
The community guidelines list content that is not allowed on Instagram:
The user on the left does not violate anything, as he plays with an art object.
- adult content;
- photos and texts that promote suicide or anorexia;
- images of cruelty, such as mutilation;
- content that incites ethnic hatred and discriminates against sexual minorities;
- advertisements for drugs and weapons;
- other people's personal data.
The user on the right is on the verge of a foul, but the situation is saved by a strategically placed emoji
In the account on the left, everything is fine, although it looks unpleasant: the photo shows plastic makeup. The account on the right contains an image of violence and cruelty, such a post is about to be blocked
The post on the left is a work of fiction about drug addiction. The post on the right breaks the rules because it depicts drug useSpam
Instagram's algorithms consider any repetitive activity as spam. The ban is waiting for everyone who intrusively advertises themselves in the comments under the posts of other accounts or sends mass messages to users in direct. Even if the Instagram security system does not detect you right away, one or two user complaints are enough to temporarily or permanently block your account. nine0003
You can answer customer questions in direct and comments, but try not to start a dialogue on your own, especially in comments under other people's posts.
