How do u get shadowbanned on instagram
Is Your Account Shadowbanned On Instagram? Here's How To Find Out
Instagram Tips & Resources
By Monique Thomas
•
Updated on November 16, 2021
•
8 minute read
We're sharing everything we know about the infamous shadowban and if it actually exists.
Published November 16, 2021
Over the years, a number of users have pointed to a mysterious Instagram shadowban and its impact on their engagement and reach.
While it has yet to be confirmed by Instagram, we’re diving into the Instagram shadowban, what allegedly causes it, and how you can avoid it from happening.
What Is an Instagram Shadowban?“Shadowban” isn’t an official Instagram term, but we know that Instagram has the power to deprioritize accounts on the app. Posts can be hidden or restricted, often unbeknownst to the user.
This can make your content (or account) undiscoverable via hashtags and the Explore page. And in some cases — the content may be taken down completely.
Everyone tell @tmz that @instagram is muting my voice please. I’ve had over 50 complaints about how followers can no longer find me. Or posts they commented on and their comments removed. I thought we were supposed to be #amplifymelenatedvoices not continuing to silence them.
— Mehcad (@MehcadBrooks) June 4, 2020
Getting shadowbanned can decrease reach, limit who can see your posts, and seriously affect engagement.
And with so many uncertainties surrounding Instagram shadowbans, it can be unnerving for creators and business owners trying to grow their communities and reach new audiences.
My instagram is still shadowban, but is starting to come back to life little by little
— •᷄ɞ•᷅⁷ (@Morgane__arts) June 3, 2021
I still don’t understand why I’m shadowbanned but I guess i will never have the answer pic.twitter.com/8YwTCbUmqn
So what does Instagram say?
In 2018, Instagram’s team claimed: “Shadowbanning is not a real thing,” and stated that they do not hide people’s content for posting too many hashtags or taking other actions.
However, a year later, Instagram acknowledged that posts categorized as “inappropriate for our international community” would not be featured on the Instagram Explore Page — even if they are within Instagram’s Community Guidelines:
Image Source: Instagram Help Page
In summary, shadowbanning may not be an official term at Instagram HQ, but there are measures in place to restrict content that could be deemed as “inappropriate.”
And with over 95 million photos and videos shared on Instagram every day, the app’s moderation process is largely automated.
However, this process can be flawed.
In 2020, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri addressed shadowbanning in response to concerns that Black voices were being silenced on the platform.
In an effort to ensure Instagram is a place where everyone feels free to express themselves, Mosseri shared steps they were taking to improve users’ experiences:
Reviewing how content is filtered on Explore and Hashtag pages
Diving deeper into algorithmic bias and how it may affect Instagram’s products
Releasing more information about the type of content to avoid on the platform
Earlier in 2021, Mosseri wrote that “we haven’t always done enough to explain why we take down content when we do, what is recommendable and what isn’t, and how Instagram works more broadly.
”
He said they were developing better in-app notifications so users know when a post goes against their Recommendations Guidelines.
And keeping to their word, Instagram has now released the "Account Status" tool:
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)
With it, users will now be able to see if their posts have been taken down, flag if they disagree with Instagram's decision, and learn what to do next.
To check your status, go to Settings, tap Account, and then hit Account Status:
In short? Instagram shadowbans — however labelled — are here to stay.
And while the "Account Status" tool is a step in the right direction, we hope the transparency continues as their moderation evolves.
DID YOU KNOW: Later is an official Instagram partner, meaning using our app has Instagram’s stamp of approval.
Easily plan and schedule your content with Later's Instagram Scheduler!
It’s not totally clear how Instagram determines what content gets restricted (or “shadowbanned”) on the platform.
However, these five actions are rumored to significantly increase your likelihood of being penalized:
Violating Instagram’s Community Guidelines or posting inappropriate content. This includes posts with violence, sexually suggestive content, and misinformation.
Fake engagements, such as paying for likes or comments, using bots to increase followers, and participating in engagement pods.
Spammy activity, for instance, using over 30 hashtags in a single post. Some users have also claimed that they’ve been shadowbanned for commenting on too many posts or following too many people within an hour.
Using banned hashtags.
While Instagram hasn’t released an official list, here’s a blog post with certain hashtags to avoid.Using a hashtag that receives a sudden surge of activity. This occurred in June 2020 when users shared information about #BlackLivesMatter. Instagram’s Comms team claimed it was an error — their technology detected the flurry of activity as spam.
In addition to taking the above points into consideration, Instagram strategist Alex Tooby published a handy guide about shadowbanning with plenty of takeaways.
Here are four tips to keep in mind:
Don’t use software that violates Instagram’s Terms of Service such as bot-like software. Luckily, if you use an Instagram-approved tool like Later, you’ll be a-okay!
Don’t use banned or broken hashtags.
Avoid big surges in Instagram activity. Instagram imposes limits on user activity to crack down on bots.
If you suddenly follow 50 accounts or like too many posts, it may be interpreted as “bot activity”.Avoid spam-like activity, such as copy and pasting the same comment or DM, and following and unfollowing accounts.
Criticisms of the Instagram Shadowban
Many users have spoken out about Instagram’s algorithmic bias and the inconsistency regarding its definition of “inappropriate content”.
The #IWantToSeeNyome campaign was created by model Nyome Nicholas-Williams, photographer Alex Cameron, and activist Gina Martin, after a semi-nude image of Nyome was repeatedly taken down.
The aim of the campaign? To draw attention to the double standard regarding Instagram’s nudity policy.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)
As Nyome stated in a post, “Slim white bodies are praised for being nude and appreciating their form on this platform all the time and never have images taken down.
”
As the movement grew, Instagram’s team responded and officially updated their nudity policy on October 28, 2020.
In another instance, Indigenous activists and creators noticed their educational posts about MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls) had disappeared from their followers’ Instagram Stories:
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Later: Visual Social Marketing (@latermedia)
Writer Emily Laurent Henderson told CBC: “It’s very suspicious that it was only missing and murdered Indigenous Women’s Day posts.”
Instagram’s Comms team apologized and said it was a “widespread global technical issue not related to any particular topic.”
Adam Mosseri also tweeted, apologizing for the error:
Yesterday we experienced a technical bug, which impacted millions of people’s stories, highlights and archives around the world.
— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) May 7, 2021For people impacted by this bug, they saw their stories that were re-sharing posts disappear and their archive and highlights stories were missing. https://t.co/E2WTcTN7Jt
With conversations surrounding Instagram shadowbans increasing, the need for more tools like "Account Status" is at an all-time high.
How to Remove an Instagram ShadowbanSo, you think you’ve been shadowbanned on Instagram — you’ve followed all of the rules, but your posts still aren’t reaching users, and your engagement is decreasing.
What can you do? Alex Tooby suggests the following:
Report Your Shadowban to Instagram
Remove Apps That Use Autobots
Review Your Hashtags
Take a Break From Instagram
There are two ways to report your shadowban:
With the new "Account Status" tool, you can see if a post has been taken down and then request a review directly from the page.
Use the native “Report a Problem” option within the Instagram app. To do this, go to your Instagram Settings, tap Help, and select “Report a Problem.” A pop-up should appear with a few options. Choose “Something Isn’t Working,” and write a message describing your issue.
We get it: using an Instagram scheduler that automatically posts your photos to Instagram is a great way to save time.
But if you use one that isn’t an official Instagram partner, you can end up on the Instagram shadowban list.
To find out if you have any bot services or unapproved apps linked to your account, head to your Instagram settings, tap Security, and then “Apps and Websites”.
Here, you’ll be able to see all of the active apps your account is using, any that have expired, and those you’ve removed.
TIP: If you’re looking for an approved Instagram Scheduler, you can download and connect Later!
Audit Your HashtagsWe’ve spoken about hashtags a lot, but for good reason! Using a banned hashtag is likely to get you shadowbanned on Instagram.
Review your hashtags and search for them on Instagram. If the “Top Posts” section appears but nothing else, it’s likely it’s been banned.
Sometimes Instagram will even leave a short message on the Hashtag Page explaining that posts have been hidden for not meeting community guidelines.
If a hashtag you frequently use is suddenly banned, remove it from your posts and keep an eye on whether the ban is lifted in the future.
Take a Break From InstagramSome users have said that taking a few days off of Instagram has helped lift their Instagram shadowban.
This means, no posting, commenting, or even logging onto the app. After your break, there’s a chance you can go back to liking and posting as you normally would.
But remember to engage with everyone manually. It might take more time and effort, but it proves to Instagram that you’re abiding by their Terms of Service (and that you aren’t a bot!).
How Long Does an Instagram Shadowban Last?At the moment, there isn’t a concrete answer, but it’s rumored to get lifted within two to three weeks.
However, there are outliers who’ve said it has been a month or longer.
Your best bet? To try and steer clear of an Instagram shadowban altogether.
ICYMI: Later is an official Instagram partner so you can plan and schedule your Instagram content with Later without getting flagged. Start posting today — for free!
About the Author
Monique Thomas
Monique is Later's Editorial Content Marketing Manager. You can usually find her sipping matcha or adding another book to her TBR list. Say hi on Instagram — @wordsbymonique
Plan, schedule, and automatically publish your social media posts with Later.
Category Instagram Tips & Resources
•
12 min read
How to Get More Instagram Followers: 2022's Top Tips
By Jillian Warren
Category Instagram Tips & Resources
•
10 min read
How to Increase Instagram Engagement in 2022
By Jessica Worb
Category Instagram Tips & Resources
•
7 min read
5 Social Media Video Tips to Get More Engagement
By Natasha Samuel
© 2022 Later.
All Rights Reserved.
How to Test for & Prevent It
When you're trying to grow a following on Instagram, you depend on Explore and hashtag pages to expand your audience and reach. So it can feel more than a little disheartening when it suddenly seems like your content isn't showing up anywhere.
If you feel like your posts are receiving fewer likes and comments suddenly, or aren't appearing for certain hashtags or on the Explore page, you might be shadowbanned.
Instagram Shadowban
An Instagram shadowban refers to the act of hiding or restricting a user's content without informing the user that it's happening. This typically occurs when a user has violated Instagram’s community guidelines — or the content is otherwise deemed inappropriate. If you're shadowbanned, your content won't appear on anyone's feed, Explore, or hashtag pages unless they already follow you.
From Instagram's perspective, the objective of hiding "inappropriate" content makes sense (although its enforcement has been criticized.
) Shadowbanning allows Instagram to filter out accounts that don't comply with their terms. Some people use inauthentic measures to expand their Instagram following, like buying followers or using hundreds of hashtags that are irrelevant to their content. If that's the case, it makes sense that Instagram hides content from those accounts so that only genuine and helpful content is promoted to users.
While Instagram doesn't openly admit to shadowbanning, they released a statement on their Facebook business page in February 2019 that addressed the problem users were having with their content not showing up for certain hashtags.
Their statement at least confirms the hashtag dilemma as a real one — but many speculate that the statement is Instagram's way of admitting to shadowbanning, without actually admitting it.
It's important to note that Instagram changes its algorithm often, so those alterations could be the reason you have witnessed a drop in your engagement rate.
However, shadowbanning could be a real tactic meant to hide users' content from the wider Instagram audience, and if you're being shadowbanned, it's important you take the necessary measures to get your content seen.
Let's explore how to know if you're shadowbanned, as well as our tips for getting yourself off the list.
Luckily, there's an easy test to figure out if your account is shadowbanned.
Am I shadowbanned on Instagram?
First, post an image with a hashtag that isn't often used. (If you use a hashtag that has millions of posts associated with it, it'll be hard to tell if content is banned, or just hidden by competition). Once you've posted, ask five employees or people who don't follow you to search the hashtag. If none of them see your post in those results, you've likely been shadowbanned.
If one or two of your employees can see your post, you might simply be dealing with a drop in engagement. If that's the case, you can take a number of steps to fix this.
Check out our Instagram Marketing: The Ultimate Guide for tactical advice on improving your reach and engagement.
While the method above is a simple way to test whether you've been shadowbanned, it may not be feasible for your business.
Maybe you're the sole proprietar and employee of your small business. In that case, you can't ask employees to check their hashtag feeds and you might not want to ask your customers. Below are other ways you can test whether you've been shadowbanned.
Instagram Shadowban Test
There is no foolproof test to tell if you've been shadowbanned on Instagram. While there are tools that advertise they can do exactly that, these tools are not reliable. Instead, try the steps below.
Check your hashtag pages.
If you look at pages of hashtags you regularly use and see a message that posts have been hidden, it's possible you've been shadowbanned for using those hashtags.
Take a look at the message below for the hashtag "mustfollow." Since users reported recent posts using this hashtag as not meeting Instagram's community guidelines, it's possible Instagram may be hiding your content with this hashtag (even if yours is not in violation of any guidelines).
Image Source
Check Instagram Insights.
Looking at Instagram Insights, if you notice a sudden and sustained drop in engagement, then it's possible you've been shadowbanned. One of the best metrics to look at is percent of accounts reached that weren't following you.
Take a look at the difference in "discovery" of the two posts below. This blogger duo went from reaching over 70K accounts, 32% of which weren't following them, to reaching a little over 40K, of which only 4% weren't already following them. This drop cued the bloggers in that their account had been shadowbanned.
Image Source
If you believe you've been shadowbanned, don't worry — we have a solution for you.
Why am I shadowbanned?
There are a few potential reasons your account could have been shadowbanned. To ensure this doesn't happen again, let's explore some actions you might have taken that led you to being shadowbanned.
1. You use bots or another automated "Instagram growth" tool.
If you aren't putting in the hard work yourself, you're not growing a following authentically. Instagram frowns on this — in their statement above, for instance, they encourage users to have a strategy that focuses on connecting with the right audience. Using bots is a spammy tactic, and could result in a shadowban.
2. You use broken hashtags.
Occasionally, a popular hashtag will become overrun with inappropriate content. When this happens, Instagram can remove the hashtag or limit its use. If you use a broken hashtag, it will prevent your other hashtags from ranking, and could also result in a blocked account.
3. Your account is often reported.
When users repeatedly report an account, Instagram will assume your account is posting inappropriate content or violating their terms of service. They might disable your account, or they could shadowban it.
4. You've been posting, commenting, engaging, or following people too quickly.
Instagram places time constraints on how often you can follow, unfollow, like, comment, or post within an hour or day.
This makes sense — if you're following 80 people within an hour, it's likely a bot doing the work, not you.
These actions might help you grow a following quickly, but they can't help you connect with the right people, which is why you're on Instagram in the first place. Additionally, these behaviors likely result in shadowban, which severely restricts your exposure to a new audience.
How to Get Unshadowbanned
To get your account back to normal, you'll want to reverse the damage. Here's how:
If you use a bot or another automated service, stop and delete it immediately.
To make sure the accounts aren't still attached to you, go to your desktop Instagram and click "Edit Profile", and then "Apps and Websites". If you see any of your bot accounts in the Active tab, click "Remove" to remove them from your account completely.
Image Source
Remember, it's better to have 100 followers who love your brand and purchase your products, than 1,000 followers who never buy from you or interact with your content.
Don't use hashtags that have been banned.
Take a look at Markitor's list of banned hashtags for 2021, and make sure to remove all broken hashtags from your content. Here's a few from the list:
Moving forward, be selective and careful with the hashtags you choose, and when in doubt, take a look at the hashtag's page — Instagram will likely post a message like, "Recent posts from #summer2020 are currently hidden … ", which will indicate to you that the hashtag is no longer in use.
Take a two-day break.
People have reported a full 48-hour break from using their Instagram accounts can reset the system and get you back on track, and it's worth the temporary social media cleanse anyway, isn't it?
Follow Instagram's rules and regulations.
Read and follow Instagram's Terms of Use, Community Guidelines, and Recommendation Guidelines. Some notable takeways from these documents are:
-
Only share content you created or have permission to share
-
Don't post content that's false or misleading
-
Do share content that's appropriate for anyone to see
The Foolproof Way to Avoid the Instagram Shadowban
The simplest way to avoid being shadowbanned on Instagram is to post helpful, authentic content, and abide by best practices when growing your audience.
It will take longer to do this, but slow and steady wins the race — and doesn't get shadowbanned.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Topics: Instagram Marketing
Don't forget to share this post!
Definition, reasons, checks and ways out
In the 21st century, maintaining an Instagram account requires time, creative ideas that can attract the attention of thousands of people, and financial resources. It happens that the activity of subscribers suddenly decreases and indicators fall. Engagement and reach suffer the most. This usually means that your account has been shadowbanned.
What is a shadowban
A shadowban is a blocking of displaying content to users who are not subscribers without the knowledge of the account. This means that only subscribers will be able to see your posts, and only the hashtags you use will be displayed in their feed.
If you see that the coverage has dropped dramatically, this may be the case.
Although the term itself appeared about fifteen years ago, it has recently gained wide popularity. Similar methods of optimizing the work of a social network are used not only on the Instagram platform. First of all, a shadowban is used to get rid of accounts that do not comply with the terms of the policy. Therefore, a shadowban is needed to ensure that users only see acceptable, authentic, and authentic content.
Promoting an Instagram account requires a lot of effort and resources, such as time and money. Even if money is not an issue, it takes months and years to become popular and gain thousands of followers. Some bloggers use dishonest methods, such as irrelevant hashtags or auto promotion services. For security purposes, the administration identifies "dishonest users" and puts them in a shadowban. The user is not informed about this. Only when the number of views drops sharply, you can understand that something is wrong.
Typically, a shadowban affects reach among users who are not your followers. This can manifest itself in different ways:
- Other users (not your followers) do not see your posts in the recommendation section;
- Posts are blocked in hashtag searches.
In this case, you can keep the existing audience. But increasing the number of subscribers becomes much more difficult. Some bloggers are sure that with a shadowban, content disappears even from the subscribers' feed.
Sudden and significant declines in performance, such as coverage, may also be due to other causes. Instagram is constantly changing the algorithm for displaying profiles in the "Search and interesting" section. Updates were released in June 2016. Since then, many influencers have noticed a significant drop in audience engagement. This is mainly reflected in the search for hashtags. The administration of the social network acknowledged the existence of such a problem in February 2017.
They even gave advice on how to create unique content that would comply with the policy.
If there are obvious violations of the rules, the platform may simply remove the content. In such cases, the account owner will receive a notification:
Am I shadowbanned on Instagram? How to check it?
When managing a business account, it is important to take the appropriate approach. Analytics is a good tool for assessing the real potential and current state of an account. It also helps to determine if your account has been shadowbanned. This is indicated by the following indicators:
- Decreased number of likes and comments. Sudden decline in engagement. This scares away subscribers who are already interested in your content. If an account is shadowbanned, it will affect several posts.
- Insufficient coverage of a new audience through hashtags. If this is a very popular hashtag and you are an average blogger, then this is not surprising. However, you need to be careful when it comes to less popular hashtags.
Unfortunately, users outside your circle of followers will not be able to see your account when searching for hashtags. - Reduced coverage. It is difficult to achieve high performance in this parameter, but it is an important criterion. If your reach drops significantly within two or three days while you're following your usually successful strategy, your posts may not be showing to a wide audience.
It is important to understand that judging by only one factor, it is impossible to say whether an account has been banned. The situation can be explained by a change in the algorithms (which was briefly described in the previous section).
Whether you are 100% sure or not, there are several ways to check if your account has been shadowbanned or not.
Use another Instagram account
This option enables hashtag search. This is a pretty easy way. What you need to do:
- Post with unpopular hashtags. This way, your post will be easier to find as it will be among fewer posts.
- Ask four or five non-followers to find this post using the hashtag. You can ask one of the subscribers to unsubscribe for the duration of the experiment.
If this hashtag is in search and the reach is still low, it's probably hidden algorithms. On the other hand, if no one can find a post by the hashtag, there is every reason to believe that the account has been shadowbanned.
Use shadowban checking services
There are many tools that can determine if an account has been shadowbanned. They can be paid or free, with additional features or basic evaluation criteria. To start searching, you need to enter your account information.
Usually, the service checks the last ten posts for viral and banned hashtags. For example, Triberr marks bad hashtags in red and good ones in green. It also lists all the "bad" hashtags so they can be easily removed. In addition, the service gets access to your analytics and gives recommendations on how to increase your reach.
Other services, such as the Instagram shadowban tester, provide a deeper analysis and help determine not only the use of banned hashtags, but also the overall level of compliance with security rules and the overall health of the account. This is the so-called personalized guide to creating healthy content.
Why is my account shadowbanned? What makes Instagram apply a shadowban?
Those who have already experienced the “charms” of the shadowban are trying their best to avoid a repeat of the situation in the future. This information will be useful, including for Instagram business accounts. Here we list the most common reasons for a shadowban.
Use of bots or other automated tools
Instagram's terms of use clearly state the use of automated systems. First of all, this applies to bots that increase your audience and engagement (for example, by increasing the number of likes). Instagress, Followliker, Boostly are examples of apps that offer similar services.
The ban of accounts using such services is mainly intended to encourage real influencers and punish those who use dishonest methods.
Auto-posting bots are also considered as a threat to the authenticity of the account. So if you were too lazy to wake up at 8 in the morning to post, it's best to set an alarm. However, this does not include scheduling apps that remind you that it's time to post.
A small note: using bots for one account can negatively affect your other accounts. The reason is that you are using a single IP address.
Using bad hashtags
Hashtags are a common way to reach a large audience. They help increase the chances of attracting real followers. This is probably why Instagram strictly enforces the rules for using hashtags. Even without an official list, it's easy to check the hashtag yourself. To do this, you need to search for a hashtag. If your search results only show up in the "Top" tab, it's likely that the hashtag has been blocked.
In some cases, the Instagram administration may notify that this hashtag does not comply with the policy.
The constant use of certain hashtags can be another trap. Some bloggers use the same hashtags to make their profile easier to navigate, but you need to be careful with this approach. This may be perceived by the social network as spam and, therefore, your account may be shadowbanned.
Your account gets frequent complaints
The easiest way to get technical support attention on your profile is to report it. A complaint means that the content is infringing or inappropriate. In short, your content violates the community guidelines and terms of use in some way.
If the number of complaints is significant, Instagram may place your account in a shadowban or completely block access. If you didn't break the rules, you have nothing to worry about. Contact technical support to manually check everything.
You post, comment, gain followers or follow other accounts too fast
Instagram has a limit on the number of likes, comments and number of accounts you can follow per hour.
This security measure is to identify users who use automation tools. Allowed limits per hour:
- 150 likes
- 60 comments
- 60 subscriptions/unsubscriptions
These are averages for most users. However, the limits may be increased depending on the age of the account. The older the account, the more loyal the rules will be.
In addition to the limits mentioned above, there are limits on the number of hashtags or deleted posts. However, violating these restrictions is unlikely to result in a shadowban. Usually in such cases, you will immediately receive a notification from the platform.
How to get out or avoid the shadowban on Instagram?
To date, there is no panacea for the shadowban. The situation will change for the better when Instagram talks about the “virus” and suggests concrete steps for prevention. If you understand the reasons for getting shadowbanned, then focus on them in your Instagram shadowban avoidance strategy.
The most obvious steps are as follows:
1. Don't use banned or "bad" hashtags
Banned hashtags are like a red rag to a bull. Their use is the surest way to the shadowban. These hashtags will do more harm than good.
Check all your posts for banned hashtags. We have already mentioned ways to check the status of hashtags using Instagram search. Another option is to use the list of banned hashtags on Instagram. Don't forget to check the hashtags in the comments.
It's best to stop using hashtags in comments altogether. This practice increases your chances of getting into a short-term shadowban.
Don't be surprised if this helps bring your account back to normal reach. Before using an "unknown" hashtag, check it out. Thus, you will be able to avoid getting into the shadowban and develop your business steadily.
2. Take a break
Inactivity on Instagram for a few days can help you get out of the shadowban. This applies to likes, comments, and even logging into the app itself.
On average, it is enough to be absent from the social network for 48 hours. To increase your chances, try extending your break to 72 hours.
After returning, we advise you to follow the Instagram rules 100% of the time. Some also point out that reducing activity (such as giving fewer likes or leaving fewer comments) for a while can also help solve the shadowban issue.
3. Report your shadowban to Instagram support
It is known that getting a response from the Instagram administration is not easy, but reporting a problem can be effective. It's best to send a request from the app itself. This can be done from any device. You need to go to the profile section, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner, select the "Help" section, and there "Report a bug".
The best description of the shadowban problem is "something is not working right". After choosing this option, you will have the opportunity to describe the problem in more detail, so that it is easier for technical support to understand the situation.
It is important to remember that Instagram does not officially acknowledge the existence of this problem. Therefore, it will be useless to complain about the decline in engagement and other indicators. One of the best options is to say that posts are not identified in the search by the hashtags used.
In any case, you can contact support an unlimited number of times, so you can experiment. Remember that you won't always get a response, much less a quick one.
4. Switch from a business account to a personal account
Switching to a personal account is a rather controversial decision. There is no evidence that it is effective. Although some users claim that it works. Potentially, the reason may be that a business account automatically assumes the role of a marketing tool, which means making a profit.
Some say that ever since Facebook bought Instagram, social networks have focused on monetization. Business is the main resource. A popular way to earn your place on Facebook is through paid advertising.
The ability to constantly expand the audience and increase the level of engagement using existing free tools limits the ability of the social network to earn from paid advertising. It can be assumed that the shadowban arose precisely for this reason.
5. Avoid complaints about your account from other users
Although the Instagram representative is difficult to contact, their technical support responds quickly. Not for questions, but for complaints. Obviously, we are talking about complaints from users. This is a sure sign that something is wrong with your content. Typically, complaints come about inappropriate content or spam.
Social media policies must be strictly followed to avoid complaints. There are two main categories: Terms of Use and Community Guidelines. In short, the content must be genuine, non-offensive and appropriate (i.e. without any form of harassment, no nudity, etc.) This guide also covers ways to promote an account. Only manual and predictable methods are allowed.
If you have been reported, this does not always mean that the account's reputation has been destroyed. However, a reduction in coverage, engagement and other indicators is guaranteed. In more serious cases, access to the account may be lost forever.
Instagram banned hashtag list
The first Instagram banned hashtag list was published in 2018. Previously, all banned hashtags had to be checked manually using a search, as mentioned above. Listings cannot guarantee 100% quality. This does not mean that the compilers made a mistake. The fact is that a hashtag ban can be temporary.
The list may seem too varied. It includes the most popular hashtags like #alone, #always, #italiano, #popular etc. Many of them are related to the topic of sexuality or popular trends on Instagram like #likeforlike.
Here you can find the current list of prohibited Instagram hashtags.
Shadowban in other social networks
The term "shadowban" is gaining popularity in all social networks.
Giants such as Twitter and Facebook have been hit by accusations over this issue. Although none of them have confirmed the use of the shadowban, several updates have been posted regarding changes to the algorithms.
Twitter has announced that it will implement a special rating to get rid of "bad" users. The rating is based on the authenticity of the content and profile usage. Facebook, in turn, is flooded with news publications. In an attempt to detect false news, random accounts are placed in the ban.
They claim to rely on complaints from users and fact checkers. However, both platforms may still limit engagement and reach if the account was overly active or violated the rules.
Youtube is also known to use shadowban. In addition to the usual blocking due to non-compliance with the rules, this platform also hides some comments. They are marked as spam and are visible only to the author of the comment and the owner of the video.
How Instagram shadowban works
Coverage has dropped.
Posts are not shown to subscribers. Probably every owner of a business account on Instagram has at least once encountered such a phenomenon on their page. The first reaction is panic. What to do? Grab your head, sprinkle ashes on your head, redo your content plan, invest in a target...
No! Stop, breathe, relax. If you see a drop in reach and activity in your profile, the first thing you need to do is make sure that you are not shadowbanned.
What is a shadowban and does it really exist
In general, a shadowban is a drop in the reach and impressions of your posts, which can be observed by analyzing statistics. There is no official confirmation of the existence of such a ban, but, as practice shows, there is still a shadow ban on Instagram.
One photographer was the first to put forward the theory about the shadow bath. He posted his post under certain hashtags and noticed that his post did not show up in searches under those tags. He wondered why this happened? He put forward a theory: when Instagram switched from a chronological feed to an algorithmic one, this also affected the work of hashtags.
That is, before users saw posts by the time they were published. But, as it turned out, there are drawbacks in such a feed: the user could miss very necessary and important information, it was simply lost among the rest of the posts. Therefore, the social network switched to a smart feed, which began to show posts based on the preferences of each individual user.
And here there was a misunderstanding. Users of the social network considered that if posts of a certain profile were no longer shown to a particular person, then this profile fell into a shadowban. Of course, this is not so. The only thing is that for this person, the posts of this profile have become uninteresting, he does not interact with them, and the smart feed excludes them from the display.
Shadowban works differently. It reduces reach and views for all subscribers, regardless of their interests and preferences. The mechanism is simple: for each individual post, a coefficient is introduced, which is called the “trust level”.
It is managed manually by those who have access to the administrative part of the social network. So, for example, if your account is objectionable to the administrator, then you are assigned the lowest coefficient. Thus, publications will be less likely to catch the eye of subscribers.
How to understand that you are under a shadowban?
Unfortunately, there is no notification that sanctions have been imposed on you, the social network system does not warn about this.
The very concept of a shadowban is relevant only for business accounts (instructions on how to transfer a profile from personal to business are here). Next, go to the statistics and look:
-
General coverage
Have they fallen or is everything the same? You will immediately see a sharp decline.
By the way, reach is the total number of users who viewed your post, story, or account itself. You can find more information about reach and how to raise it here.
-
Hashtag reach
Hashtags are tags that relate your post to a specific topic. They are needed to increase the coverage of the post and attract a new audience. More detailed information on hashtags is described in the article. If you fall into the shadowban, your hashtag coverage will drastically decrease or disappear altogether.
-
Subscriber growth
He is walking at the same level as before, or has fallen.
For example, real screenshots from profile statistics to the shadow ban and after its application:
Statistics to the shadow ban
Statistics after the shadow ban
As we see in screenshots, coverage and showing greatly reduced. . There are almost no clicks on the hashtags, hence we conclude that the account has been shadowbanned.
If this sanction still affected you, then you violated the rules of Instagram.
Naturally, you categorically disagree with this and think that you were punished unfairly. But, if you sit and remember your recent actions, you may still find an explanation for this.
Why you can get shadowbanned
You can collect a whole list of different methods and tools, the use of which may well end up with a shadowban. So, what to do is not recommended:
-
Take part in your favorite Giveaway
Giveaway or just giveaways were at the peak of popularity a couple of years ago, today their effectiveness as a promotion method is a big question. The problem is that when the giveaway ends, a mass unsubscribe from your account begins. Instagram perceives it like this: "Your page is of no interest to anyone, you do not provide any benefit, so we will not show you to anyone."
-
Use mass following and mass liking promotion services
Most readers probably already know the essence of these techniques, but still let's clarify.
Mass following is a mass subscription to a target audience in order to receive a return subscription. Mass liking is the mass setting of likes to accounts in order to attract attention. These promotion methods are considered gray and are not approved by the Instagram community policy. More information is here.
-
Cheat subscribers
You wind up bots on your page for money, thereby increasing the number of subscribers. Yes, there is a number, but there is no meaning. A cheated audience gives neither likes, nor reach, nor impressions. In more detail about why you should not wind up subscribers, we tell here in this article.
You can attract subscribers using the methods listed above, but be very careful, observing community limits.
-
Post erotic content
Even if you post your child without a T-shirt on your story, you will most likely be blocked.
Harsh, but rules are rules. In general, Instagram is very categorical about 18+ content, since this popular social network is used not only by adults, but also by children. -
Put a lot of hashtags, also the same under each post
Ctrl C + Ctrl V doesn't work here. Be unique, select hashtags for each post on the topic, try not to use high-frequency tags. In addition, you cannot use prohibited hashtags, there is a whole list of them:
- Hashtags related to adult content, 18+;
- Hashtags calling for aggression and violence;
- Hashtags that violate community norms.
-
Exceed the limits on subscriptions and likes, etc.
Instagram has limits on every action. Particular attention to these limits should be paid to new Instagram users whose accounts have existed for no more than 6 months.
So, what are the restrictions on actions on Instagram:
| Limits | For accounts older than 3 months | For new accounts | Comment from SMM specialist |
| Storys | no more than 20-40 per day | no more than 20-40 per day | Do not get too carried away with stories, I will add from myself that it is terribly boring and uninteresting. Oh yeah, most of your followers won't even watch that many stories. By the way, we talked about using stories to promote a business here. |
| Likes | no more than 60 per hour | no more than 30 per hour | Excess may be considered spam, which leads to unnecessary attention to the profile |
| Comments | no more than 60 per hour, | no more than 30 per hour | Similar to likes. |
| Subscription | no more than 60 per hour | no more than 30 per hour | Similar to likes. |
| Unsubscribe | no more than 60 per hour | no more than 30 per hour | The interval between unsubscribes is 30-40 seconds. Please note that unsubscribing / subscribing are considered in aggregate, i.e. subscribed to 60 accounts, it will be possible to unsubscribe only after an hour. |
| Limits in Direct | sending messages to subscribers no more than 100 per day, non-subscribers - 30-40 per day | sending messages to subscribers no more than 100 per day, non-subscribers - 30-40 per day | |
| Adding posts to the main feed | no more than 9 per day | no more than 3 per day |
These simple restrictions are best observed in order not to get banned. :)
How long does the imprisonment under the shadowban last?
Since there is no official concept of "shadow ban", it also has no deadlines. But as practice shows, blocking can last from one day to several weeks.
You need to understand that a lot depends on your actions. If the user continues to violate the rules, the ban can be extended up to six months.
How to get out of the shadowban?
No magic. The simple steps to follow if you are blocked are listed below.
So, the most important thing! Stop any activity for a few days, again, ANY. :)
What is meant by activity:
- Don't post;
- Don't post stories;
- Do not go live;
- Do not answer or write to anyone in direct;
- Don't like. At all. Nobody. Generally. Otherwise, they will extend your ban until retirement;
- Stop all promotion methods;
- Do not use new devices to sign in;
- Remove hashtags from recent posts;
- Convert business account to personal;
Official instructions for converting a personal account into a business.
Important: after converting a business account back to personal, all statistics are erased.
Verify your identity through customer support. This is how you indicate that your account has not been hacked. During confirmation, at one of the stages you will need to send your photo with a code that will be sent to you by the support service.
In addition: do not use any third-party programs during the shadowban and after exiting it for a while. These include programs for auto-posting, cheating, mass following, etc.
If you follow the correct algorithm of actions, there is a high probability that your account will return to normal life as soon as possible. If, nevertheless, these actions did not help, then there is only one way out - to wait. Sooner or later, the shadow will retreat.
Another frequently asked question - are there programs and services that will help you check if there is a block on your account? No no and one more time no! No program will give you accurate information whether your account is blocked or not. Do not use any third-party services, you can only make things worse.
So, in order not to fall into this trap, we follow the rules:
-
We use only white promotion methods: those recommended by Instagram itself. This includes targeted advertising, geotags, hashtags.
