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If you’ve noticed a drastic and sudden drop in your engagement on Instagram, there’s a high chance that you’ve been shadowbanned. If that’s the case, here’s what you should do to get rid of the account restriction.
1. Check the Status of Your Instagram Account
Before you take any drastic measures, it’s a good idea toconfirm whether you’ve been shadowbanned on Instagram. Luckily, Instagram has a built-in tool that you can use to check if you’ve posted anything violating Instagram’s Community Guidelines.
While this is a definitive way of checking if your account’s visibility has been restricted from Instagram’s end, the only catch is that you need to have a creator or professional account on Instagram to use the feature.
To check your Instagram Account Status, follow these steps:
You’ll now be able to see if you’ve posted anything that violates Instagram’s Community Guidelines. If you have, you canAppealthe decision. Or you canEditthe post and ensure it’s in line with the guidelines. you’re able to also choose toDeletethe post entirely.
2. Delete Any Content Violating Instagram’s Community Guidelines
Being shadowbanned on Instagram is often a consequence of breachingInstagram’s Community Guidelinesand continuously violating them might even prolong it. One of the simplest yet most effective ways of getting your shadowban lifted is playing by Instagram’s rules.
This means consistently sharing original and non-offensive content, growing your account organically, and steering clear of any material that may go against these guidelines.
Carefully go through your Instagram profile and examine your posts. Look for any content that may potentially violate Instagram’s guidelines. This includes posts with explicit or inappropriate material, hate speech, or any form of harassment.
Once you’ve determined what needs to go, follow the steps below:
Similarly, determine whether anything you’ve shared on your Instagram story violates Instagram’s guidelines anddelete the post from your Instagram Story. This includes images, videos, and posts you may have shared.
3. Stop Using Banned Hashtags on Instagram
Although pairing your posts with hashtags is important and ensures your content is discoverable on Instagram, using hashtags associated with inappropriate content could tank your account’s visibility. If you weren’t able to identify a specific post using the Account Status feature, another thing you can do is go through your Instagram posts and check if you’ve used banned hashtags.
Surprisingly, Instagram has banned hashtags like #snapchat and #alone. Therefore, it’s likely that you may have unintentionally used a banned Instagram hashtag simply because you didn’t know it wasn’t banned.
If you’re unsure if a hashtag violates Instagram’s community guidelines, a simple way to check is to type it into the search bar. If the hashtag does not appear in the results entirely or states that it violates Instagram’s guidelines, it is a good idea to remove it from your existing posts and avoid using it in the future.
4. Revoke Instagram’s Access to Third-Party Apps
According to Instagram’s community guidelines, generating inauthentic activity is prohibited. Users may notice that certain parts of their Instagram account are limited if they continue to use third-party apps.
Regardless of whether you’re using a third-party app to schedule posts or a follower-tracking app, using a third-party app that isn’t affiliated with Meta is one of the most common reasons why you might be shadowbanned. Luckily, you can revoke Instagram’s access to third-party apps and your shadowban will hopefully be lifted.
Here’s what you need to do:
5. Use a Content Warning for Any Sensitive Posts on Instagram
It’s especially important to be cautious and mindful when posting graphic images or videos that may upset your audience. People reporting you when your reach is already restricted won’t help your case. For example, spreading awareness about an earthquake that occurred is okay. However, if you choose to share graphic clips of injured people, you’re bound to upset your audience.
Therefore, if you choose to continue posting despite being shadowbanned, it’s a good idea to use content warnings on any sensitive posts to avoid getting reported. This way, every viewer would be provided with the opportunity to decide whether they’d like to engage with your post or not.
While Instagram automatically displays content warnings on posts that it deems sensitive, this feature isn’t directly editable by users. Instead, we recommend including a slide or a clip at the beginning of your reel or post, explicitly stating that the upcoming content may be sensitive for some users.
6. Stop Any Bot-Like Activities and Spamming on Instagram
Similar to purchasing Instagram followers, engaging in activities such as rapidly following hundreds of accounts, mass commenting, and liking numerous posts within a short timeframe may cause Instagram’s systems to flag your account as potentially automated or spammy.
While you may see this as a way toget followers on Instagram fast, you’ll ultimately put your Instagram account’s reach at risk. Instead, we recommend interacting with creators who post content that aligns with your interests.
7. Take a Break From Posting on Instagram
If you can’t identify the cause of your shadowban on Instagram, we recommend temporarily taking a break from posting on the platform. If your engagement has already tanked, any new content you post won’t be visible to most of your following regardless of its quality. Therefore, taking a break from posting stories, reels, or posts is a good idea.
Although there’s not much information about the duration of a shadowban, it is automatically lifted eventually. We recommend starting with a short three-day break and extending it to 14 days at most if your shadowban is still in place.
Unfortunately, the duration of an Instagram shadowban can vary, lasting from a day to several weeks. If all else fails, and you’ve taken a two-week break from posting on Instagram, it’s worth contacting Instagram’s support team.
