If you intend to keep your Instagram profile safe, be mindful of the platform’s rules. For instance, there are certain limits for likes, comments, and subscribing per day and hour. Exceeding them is possible but result in restricting your actions. There are also limits, exceeding which is technically impossible, but you should no them to be able to use the app.
In this article, we will talk about fundamental principles of the Instagram limitations, their reasons, and ways of avoiding them. Note, Instagram policy and features often change, this article is updated in June 2022.
Instagram has over a billion active users monthly. Every day, many of them upload new photos and videos. Statistically, the website gets more than 500 million Stories per day. Being such an overcrowded community, Instagram has to limit its users in terms of their everyday activity. If it doesn’t, it will unavoidably plunge into chaos.
There are many businesses on this social media. They try their best to promote various goods and services, get new subscribers, and increase revenue. Like any platform with sales tools, Instagram requires specific regulation and limitation so that it can work like a well-oiled machine, without interruption and fraud. And account owners must help the website achieve this goal.
Reaching some of the limits cause restricting your actions on Instagram or even the account ban. When this happens, you get the message from the app:
Try again later. We limit how often you can do certain things on Instagram to protect our community.
Fortunately, accounts are rarely banned for more than 24 hours. After this time, keep it slow down. Think over the content you share, check your comments, and, naturally, do not overuse likes and tags.
You can also get shadowbanned if you do not keep Instagram limits. Your account will not be restricted. You won't get any notification or warning. But you will see your impressions fall.
Now let's see what these Instagram limits, limitations, and restrictions are.
Let us go through the most frequently asked Instagram limits. There are no accurate numbers. The website does not share this data, and the users tell different numbers. That's why the answer is complicated.
We can't tell the accurate numbers for safe activity limits on Instagram either. But we will explain how they can be figured out and give the safe intervals.
Consider the following primary factors that influence Instagram limits.
It is crucial for the platform to have enthusiastic users with lots of high-quality content. Thus, the more active you are on Instagram, the higher are your activity limits.
If you open Instagram several times a day, chat with your friends, share new posts, and comment on other users’ stories, the network sure allows you more. Provided, of course, that you do not misuse it.
In accordance with Instagram policy, every profile that was created more than three months ago is considered as old. Like, comments, follow/unfollow limits set for such accounts are higher.
This is quite reasonable as this time is enough to add a lot of posts, get followers, comments, and likes. But when hundreds of photos or videos appears on a two-days page, it looks suspicious. And the platform’s algorithms pay special attention to such activity.
This Instagram limit factor expectedly derives from the previous two ones. The older your profile is and the more you use it, the bigger the number of your Insta-friends is. And users with more followers are permitted to do more activities in the app.
It is different if your Instagram page is just a couple of weeks old, but you have already subscribed to thousands of users. It seems strange, and the network will remove your page as a bot.
Instagram limits for your specific account are based on your average activity. If you usually like a hundred of posts, leave a hundred of comments every day, then it's not a reason for banning. But if you rarely like a post and then suddenly start liking each one you see in the feed, then there is a risk.
It is a basic criterion that reflects your activity in the Instagram app over a period. Your engagement is calculated based on multiple factors, but the most essential of them are likes, comments, shares, and saves. In other words, if you interact actively with other people on Instagram, your engagement is high.
Now let's get to the numbers and see what activity Instagram consider normal and does not limit.
Instagram users are limited to like up to 1,000 posts per day. This number is average: some accounts are blocked after 700 likes, while others have more freedom in this regard.
If your Instagram page is comparatively new and you have few followers, it is better to stop at 300-400 likes per day, gradually increasing this range.
Also remember about the limit of likes per hour on Instagram. The safe number for new accounts is 60. Old accounts with a lot of followers can like up to 120 posts.
The number of comments you are allowed to write on Instagram is from 180 to 200 per day.
This limit depends on the age of your account. The longer you use the app, the more you can comment.
Remember to increase the limit gradually to avoid banning on Instagram. If you didn't comment often, start with 10 comments a day. Increase the number by 5 with every day.
It is not recommended to post the same comment again and again. Instagram distinguishes duplicate texts and deletes them. Leaving an emoji without even a couple of words is also not recommended, it looks like spam too. Remember, it punishes users who spam in these ways.
Typically, people are allowed to subscribe or unsubscribe to no more than 200 users per day. Besides, you are recommended to subscribe to no more than 10 users per hour. Exceeding this Instagram limit can cause problems.
If your page is comparatively new, the follow and unfollow limit can be reduced to 150 Instagram users every day.
What more, your following and unfollowing activity must look natural. If you make it run over the cup, Instagram can block your account without you reaching the 150-200 accounts limit.
The good news is that the number of users who start following you on Instagram is not limited. This is why influencers gain such impressive amounts of followers in a short period. And they are never blocked for that.
To protect your Instagram profile from any risks, try to avoid spamming. It means your following and unfollowing activity should not be aggressive. Try to increase it gradually, starting from 50 accounts per day on the first week, 100 on the second, and 150 on the third.
It is interesting to note that Instagram does not limit its users in terms of the number of new Stories. On the contrary, it encourages them to share high-quality, unique content as frequently as possible. Thus, it is a good idea to post them regularly, providing that your Stories are worth looking at.
As for Instagram Stories time limit, each one lasts 15 seconds maximum. This limitation is not a big deal. If you upload a longer video, it will be divided into several stories automatically.
If you upload a photo, the story will last 7 seconds.
One Story remains on your Instagram page during 24 hours. After reaching this time limit, it goes to Archive. You can get Instagram Stories back from Archive to make them appear on your profile page for another 24 hours.
Now we know the Stories limits, but what about other Instagram videos? Here is the maximum length for:
Instagram DM also has limits. The safe zone is from 50 to 80 new chats a day. For new accounts, this message limit can be smaller, so do not rush to text to all your contacts.
There are also limits exceeding which does not result in restricting or banning your Instagram account. These are the technical limitations, which you can't exceed in any way. And here we have accurate numbers.
Hashtags help Instagram users reach new people and obtain more likes.
But it is a bad idea to add hundreds of them to each of your photos or videos.
Generally, there is a hashtag limit, Instagram allows maximum 30 hashtags under a post. You can't add more.
Besides, the recommended number of tags is way less. It depends on the number of followers in the account. Read about it here.
If you like to tag and mention people in your posts, you should remember that the number of tags is limited to 20 per post on Instagram. As for mentions, their number can not exceed 10 users.
You set the age when creating an account. Later, you can change it in the settings anytime.
Instagram limits the age of people who use the social network. You should be at least 13 years old. But, this number can be higher in some jurisdictions.
Users can report accounts that are used by the children under 13 years old. This helps to enforce the age limit on Instagram.
A child under 13 can use the app. Instagram allows this if their account is managed by a parent.
This fact must be stated in the bio.
Character limits on Instagram usually refer to:
Instagram limits links you share on your and others' profile pages. For example, it doesn't approve of inviting its users to other apps and websites. That's why you have to use an ingenious way to add a Snapchat link to your bio.
There is more to the Instagram restrictions.
You can add:
You can't add:
If you don't want your activity on Instagram to be restricted because of the limitations, use the following tips.
Define your target audience and focus on them, avoiding all unnecessary communications and interactions. Do not waste your likes, comments, followings within the Instagram limits on people who are not interested in your account. It doesn't bring new engaged followers but put you at the risk to be banned.
For instance, if you run a page about healthy nutrition, interact with people who are interested in dieting. These users like and share healthy recipe posts and stories, actively discuss weight loss ideas in comments, and so on.
Do your best to make your marketing activities as natural as possible. Don't fall for the temptation to buy followers and likes. Instead, grow on Instagram organically. You will need to like, comment and post for this, and here you need to keep it under the safe limits.
You should act like a ‘normal user’ to avoid banning. It means you should watch videos, share Stories, visit users' profiles, etc. Do not neglect these activities even if they are beyond your marketing strategy.
If necessary, increase the number of your daily messages, likes and comments gradually, step by step.
You can get around some Instagram limits. Then you can increase your activity and add more information without being banned. Use Taplink for this. This is how you can help you to boost your page:
This is how it works: you create a web-page, don't worry, you can easily do it without programming skills, and then you add it to your bio, Stories, or even ads on Instagram. You can also tell about the page in the posts and reels caption, and thus, users can find it.
That's it! You can share anything with your audience without a risk of being banned because of the Instagram limits. Look at the users' pages to find inspiration.
Here are some examples:
Instagram limitations and restrictions are not an issue in regard to building a brand on socials if you keep your activity reasonable. Keep the number of likes, comments, new followings average every day, then your activity will look natural. Increase them gradually if you need more.
Exceeding Instagram limits can cause your account to be banned. Avoid it by keeping it under the limits we mentioned in the article and using the tools for organic growth like Taplink.
Alexandra | Dec 18, 2021
Wondering what Instagram Limits are in 2022 for likes, comments, following, hashtags, highlights, and EVERYTHING else?
Per hour and per day?
Let’s get straight into it.
Have you had your Instagram account for months or years?
If so, here are restrictions to know:
How many “Likes” can you do?
Are you liking or commenting on other people’s posts too fast?
How many accounts can you follow per hour or day?
You can follow a maximum of 7500 accounts.
Want to unfollow some accounts?
Don’t do it all at once.
“Combined actions” is the combination of likes, comments, follows, unfollows and messages.
Overall, Instagram puts a limit on the total number of actions you can do in one day.
It is around:
How often can you message? How many Direct Messages (DMs) can you do?
Here are tips to not get blocked because of DMs:
How many posts can you post on Instagram in one day?
Instagram hasn’t revealed a limit.
You can post as many times as you want during the day.
However:
We recommend you leave time between each post (a few minutes, or even hours).
If you post too many posts all at once, the Instagram Algorithm might think you’re a spam account and could block your account temporarily.
If you choose to auto-post to Instagram, make sure you schedule your posts at least 5 minutes apart.
Here is how I schedule posts with Preview App:
The less you look like a spam account, the better.
How many people can you tag on your post?
How many hashtags can you use on Instagram?
Click here to see the new Instagram hashtag trends.
Want to delete posts from your feed?
At the moment there is no limit on how many posts you can delete in one go.
Did you just create a brand new Instagram account?
Instagram wants to make sure new accounts are not spam or bots.
So you will have some limits.
I know it can be annoying. But I’m sure you don’t want fake followers or fake accounts liking or commenting on your posts.
So these Rules are important to keep fake accounts away from Instagram.
If you have a new account:
Take it easy.
After 4 weeks, you can go faster and send more DMs.
Now let’s talk about Instagram Stories.
Highlights are the circle under your Instagram bio.
Here are other useful Instagram limits and rules:
To limit spam and fake accounts.
Spam and fake accounts usually like, comment and message a lot, fast.
They act like “bots” (robots).
Instagram wants real people using the app.
2 things can happen:
Super simple: Don’t act like a bot.
Here are 4 things you can do:
Don’t do too many actions too fast.
For example, don’t like or comment too fast. Otherwise you will look like a bot.
I know a lot of you have your own business and might not want to spend a lot of time on Instagram.
If you can, try to divide your Instagram time into tasks and set your own Instagram limits.
For example:
This will ensure you don’t go over the limits.
If you have a brand new account, try to use your account regularly.
This will show to Instagram that you act like a human, not a bot doing a LOT of actions, all at once.
Many apps and websites out there are NOT approved by Instagram, and do NOT follow Instagram’s Rules and Policies.
You might have logged into them, which means that they could have access to your Instagram password.
This means they could be liking, commenting, following and unfollowing with your account, without you knowing.
Which puts your account in danger of being blocked.
What to do?
If you suspect you used an unapproved app or website in the past, change your Instagram password right now.
Tip:
Preview App has been officially reviewed and approved by Instagram. Preview follows all Instagram’s Rules and Policies to keep your account safe.
To sum it up:
Don’t act like a bot.
Act like a human (and go slow).
Use approved third-party apps.
Click here to use it
Instagram limits apply to any kind of content: the number of likes, comments, subscriptions, messages, and the like. The site algorithm checks the user's actions and blocks suspicious activity in the profile, and also warns against using "gray" promotion methods.
Note . You can read about the Community Guidelines in the Meta Help and the Instagram Guide.
The site has a negative attitude towards:
For one violation you will receive a warning, which can be viewed in the "Notifications" tab. If the moderators notice a large number of identical actions in the account, you will receive a warning, followed by blocking or deleting the profile.
Particularly strict requirements apply to new accounts that have been in existence for less than six months.
Recommended reading! Learn how to unblock Instagram.
You may also receive a warning for content that does not comply with platform standards. Because of him, account holders fall under the shadowban. To find out the status of your account, go from your profile to the menu and go to the "Settings" section.
Account settingsThen go to the "Account" tab.
"Account" tabAnd check "Account Status".
Account Status tabHere you can check the list of violations, see recommendations and options on how to get deleted posts back.
Check your profile for prohibited contentCreate a chatbot, automate communication with customers and improve sales in Instagram Direct.
Let's consider violations for which some functions can be limited or even blocked forever.
To increase the reach and attract users' attention to the profile, account holders put likes.
| Account age from 3 months | Account age from 6 months | Account is over a year old | |
| Daily | 300 likes | 500 | 900 |
| per hour | 12 likes | 20 | 50 |
| Minimum break | 1-2 minutes | ||
The site monitors the observance of the personal space of users - mass mailing to strangers who did not consent to correspondence is perceived negatively. Community members can file a complaint and your account will be blocked. Therefore, keep track of the number of messages sent to Direct.
| Account age from 3 months | Account age from 6 months | Account age over a year | |
| Daily | 20 messages | 35 | 50 |
| per hour | 3-5 messages | 10 | 15 |
| Minimum break | 10 minutes | ||
Accounts are often blocked due to comments - make sure that they are different and contain text, not just emoji.
Identical comments are treated as spam. This is followed by a warning, and if the action is repeated, the account is blocked.
| Account age from 3 months | Account age from 6 months | Account age over a year | |
| Per day | Not recommended to use in order not to get banned | 140 comments | 200-250 |
| per hour | Not recommended to use in order not to get banned | 7 comments | 8 |
| Minimum break | - | 4-5 minutes | |
The algorithm takes into account the total number of followers and unfollows per day. Therefore, if you have subscribed to a large number of users, it is better to postpone the unsubscribe to the next day so as not to get banned.
| Account age from 3 months | Account age from 6 months | Account age over a year | |
| Daily | 100 subscriptions | 300 | 500 |
| per hour | 20 subscriptions | 30 | 40 |
| Minimum break | 8 minutes | 5 minutes | 30 seconds to 1 minute |
You can start unsubscribing from 300 non-reciprocal and 200 mutual subscriptions per day, gradually increasing this number. But do not forget about the total amount of subscriptions and unsubscriptions per month - otherwise the account will be blocked.
| Account age from 3 months | Account age from 6 months | Account age over a year | |
| Daily | 500 unsubscribes | 1400 | 2000 |
| per hour | 20 unsubscribes | 50 | 80 |
| Minimum break | 2 to 5 minutes | ||
Let's look at other limits that do not lead to blocking, but limit the number of posts - for example, stories or hashtags.
Up to 100 stories can be added per day. If you upload another one, the very first story will be automatically deleted and the total number will be one hundred.
Up to three users per hour can be mentioned in comments, and up to 20 per day for new accounts. For profiles that have existed for more than six months, up to 50 users can be mentioned per day.
Up to 2200 characters can be added to the post. If this is not enough for you, you can overlay text on the image and add it to the carousel, as in the screencast below.
Carousel text exampleUp to 10 images can be added to a post. Up to 20 publications can be published per day with an interval of 5-10 minutes, but practice shows that it is enough to upload 1-2 posts per day, and send the rest of the content to stories. This way you won't bore your audience.
Up to 30 tags with target and near-target keys can be added to a post.
And for Reels, it is recommended to prescribe no more than 5 hashtags. You can also use tags in stories - geolocation, brand or thematic query.
Use spaces or periods in the text to separate tags.
An example of delimiting tags in the text for publicationBrands and bloggers constantly use account blocking: fakes, spam, trolls, competitors, and the like. At the same time, mass blocking is perceived negatively by the platform - so do not rush to take such measures so as not to receive a warning. It’s better to try to calm the person down or pause between blocks so as not to attract undue attention from the moderators.
Recommended reading! Learn more about Instagram:
Rules, tips, examples”; In this article, we looked at the new Instagram limits that are updated every year. You can learn about changes only by trial and error - the site does not talk about the operation of the algorithm and how it reacts to mass actions.
If you are banned, follow these precautions:
You can automate the process of communication with users using the chatbot on Instagram, which will send mailings to those who have agreed to the correspondence.
The SendPulse bot allows you to set up answers to frequently asked questions, create any chains, send data to CRM, place orders and notify customers about delivery.
SendPulse Chat Bot BuilderAnd also connect our other tools for comprehensive promotion: create multilinks using the landing page builder, send email, Viber, SMS and push notifications, set up chat bots in instant messengers and social networks — Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram!
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The time when it was possible to subscribe, like and bombard everyone with spam comments without restrictions around the clock with impunity has passed. Instagram limits in 2022 are much tougher and in order not to see the terrible “You are temporarily blocked on Instagram”, you need to take into account the limits of subscriptions and subscribers, likes and comments, and be aware of content restrictions. So you will not get banned on Instagram (the page will not be blocked).
Limits primarily apply to those who use third-party services and programs for Instagram promotion (mass following, promotion tasks). As a rule, the service itself will tell you the allowable limits and restrictions of Instagram, but you still need to know them.
Ban on Instagram can be obtained precisely for exceeding the limits on subscriptions per day, likes per day and comments. For everyone who does not use mass following or cheating, does not subscribe to everyone all day long, there is nothing to worry about - manually you are unlikely to like / subscribe so much. But you can also get banned for the content itself, so pay attention to the official Instagram restrictions.
In December 2018, new rules for 18+ content appeared , and in April 2019 they were further tightened and new restrictions were introduced for those who “asks for likes”. More on this at the end of the article.
Content:
We write about all Instagram updates in our account @grammarhelp
Instagram limits for brand new accounts (under 6 months old) are much lower than for older accounts.
Instagram looks at newbies more closely and strictly monitors their activity. Therefore, if you have just registered an account, then do not immediately rush to subscribe to everyone in a row, and do not turn on mass following. Big risk of getting banned on Instagram. So far, take care of filling your account, promote it with free methods.
| Limits for accounts from 6 months. | ||
| Subscriptions + unsubscribes* | 60 per hour | 1440 per day |
| Likes | 60 per hour | 1440 per day |
| Comments** | 60 per hour | 1440 per day |
| Mentions (@accountname) | 5 in every comment | |
| Limits for new accounts | ||
| Subscriptions + unsubscribes* | 30 per hour | 720 per day |
| Likes | 30 per hour | 720 per day |
| Comments** | 30 per hour | 720 per day |
| Mentions (@accountname) | 5 in every comment | |
* Instagram follows and unsubscribes together, i.
e. for example, if you follow 60 people in an hour, you can only unsubscribe in the next hour. The maximum follow limit on Instagram is 7500. If you want to continue following, you must first unfollow some to be less than 7500.
** All comments must be different. You can’t write the same “Great photo!” under all posts! or put the same smiley everywhere. Same comments=Spam=Ban on Instagram.
Limits on Instagram may change, the current ones are in the developer section on the Instagram website.
Update 2019. The link above no longer works. Instagram no longer publishes its official limits. Therefore, now the numbers in the table are approximate. You can still navigate them, because. there is no other official information.
In the table above, the limits that Instagram used to publish for subscriptions/likes/comments per hour. Multiply by 12 and get the limits per day. But at the same time the entire daily limit cannot be used at once , first of all, the limits on actions per hour must be observed.
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An Instagram ban can last from a few hours to a couple of weeks. Or you can permanently lose your account. How long the account suspension lasts depends on the severity of your violations.
The most common message is “You are temporarily blocked on Instagram” you will see for these these reasons:
As a rule, this happens when you use services for posting photos via a computer online or by mass following. Here, it is often simply “thrown out” of the account and you just need to enter your login / password again. Sometimes you will need to reset your password through the mail to which your account is registered. If you use several services at the same time, promote many different accounts, then use a proxy server. If you have been temporarily blocked, you usually just have to wait a couple of hours to a couple of weeks and you will be unblocked. After three such blocking, they can be banned permanently. That is why it is important to be aware of Instagram limits and restrictions if you are actively promoting your account.
Instagram has official rules and restrictions that users often violate without blocking their account.
The principle “not caught is not a thief” works here. Cheating and spam are easy to track using algorithms, and breaking the rules below can only be caught by stumbling upon the offending account in person.
In December 2018 Facebook (and with it Instagram, since the owner is the same) introduces new rules for adult content.
For this reason, many bloggers flew into the ban - both the authors of educational / psychological articles on the topic of relationships, and bloggers with too explicit photos. Now you can not only write about your preferences (or discuss other people's), but also use phrases like "I want to have fun tonight." For a complete list of the new rules for Instagram 2022, see the Facebook Help.
In April 2019 Instagram tightens the screws even more. Content that fell under the distribution:
An example of objectionable content. "High five"; "put a heart on the photo"; “Ask me how to make money without investments”
Such content may not be blocked immediately.
But Instagram will do everything so that it does not spread: remove it from the hashtag search and from the recommended one. Already, some posts in the feed are being blurred and warned about potentially offensive content.
Keep in mind that even if you are not trying to scam anyone out of money, and your photo in a swimsuit is just to show everyone how much you love the gym, such content can potentially be blocked. Especially if there are a lot of complaints about it. But Instagram makes it possible to appeal the blocking and return the content after verification.
Read the full Facebook/Instagram 2022 content restrictions here: Community Guidelines.
In the summer of 2019 , news appeared that now, before deleting an account, they will send an official notification, where they will show for which posts / stories / comments you can be blocked. Moreover, this content can be appealed if you believe that it was mistakenly considered to violate the rules.
