Instagram shadowban. Have you ever experienced that your posts are not appearing in the hashtags, no likes, no follows, no comments? If so, I am here to unveil this enigma: This usually means that you are shadowbanned.
Every creator needs to know about the social media platform’s so-called ”shadowbanning”, from how to point it to how to stop it. This isn’t exclusive of Instagram and is a way to tell you that you’re doing things they don’t like, that they don’t see as legal and that’s why they’re taking away your visibility, without noticing you.
You’re probably alarmed by all this right now, but don’t worry. In this guide, I’ll explain to you everything from preventive activities and banned hashtags to tips for removing a shadowban if you find yourself under it.
What is an Instagram shadowban?
Instagram shadowban is hidden for a user ban that blocks the content from other users throughout social media. It means that only followers will be able to see the posts and have the hashtags appear in the feed, but to anyone else, they don’t exist.
The primary usage of Instagram shadowban is to clean up the online social space from the accounts that fail to comply with the policy terms. Therefore, the main reason for the shadowban is to ensure that users are receiving acceptable, authentic, and engaging content. There is no notification when this happens. The users can spot that something goes wrong only when the number of views has decreased.
Officially, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook don’t confirm the existence of a shadowban.
But keep in mind, a sudden and significant drop in the metrics, such as reach, can be caused by other reasons. Instagram is constantly changing the explore page algorithms. The updates have come out in June of 2016. Ever since many influencers have suffered from a significant decrease in engagement. This mainly relates to a hashtag search.
How can I check if I’ve been shadowbanned?
One of the things that make an instagram shadowban so frustrating is that you probably won’t know about it. Instagram doesn’t notify you if you’ve been flagged, so how can you know if you have it? It is rather straightforward.
All you need to do is to gather a few users that don’t follow you. Here are three simple steps to check if you’ve been shadowbanned:
- Find a user that doesn’t follow you or create a second Instagram page.
- Create a post on your Instagram account using hashtags you usually use.
- Ask somebody who doesn’t follow you to check the feeds of those hashtags that you tagged on your post.
- Check in to view your Instagram Insights daily and look out for a sudden and significant drop in the number of followers that you get.
If your post doesn’t appear the first time, don’t panic, check again 3–5 minutes later. Connection and updates aren’t always reliable and that can have an impact on the timing in which a post shows up on a hashtag feed. When your post shows up on the hashtag feeds of the person who doesn’t follow you, you are not shadowbanned.
But if your posts don’t show up on the hashtag feeds of the person who doesn’t follow you (even after checking twice), you are shadowbanned.
Why can I be shadowbanned by Instagram?
Instagram hasn’t confirmed the reasons for what content is being shadowbanned. However, there are many reasons why Instagram bans you. The bright side of all this, that they’re rather obvious:
➔ You post “Inappropriate” borderline content
Instagram automated the process of shadowbanning accounts that have been reported as “Inappropriate” many times.
What is “Inappropriate” borderline content on Instagram?
Instagram published a brief article in the Help Center in 2019, but it doesn’t define borderline content. For sure, it contains the next topics:
● Content depicting violence
● Graphic or shocking content
● Sexually suggestive content
● Posts with misinformation
● Spam messages
➔ You use services that breaks Instagram terms of use and publish something for you
Instagram’s terms of service prohibit the usage of automated software. It mainly concerns bots that grow your audience and engagement. This is a way to give more benefits to authentic influencers and reduce those who try to cheat.
Auto-posting bots are also considered a threat to account development authenticity. So, if you are lazy about waking up at 8 am to create a post, use the reminder-apps, which will send you a push notification to post on time.
A small note to remember: using bots for one account, may hurt other accounts, because of the same IP address.
➔ You post, comment, engage or follow people too quickly
Instagram has set specific limits for the number of likes, comments, and following activity. This is a safety measure to identify those Instagrammers, who are using the software. The permitted numbers per hour are:
● 150 likes
● 60 comments
● 60 follows/unfollows
Nevertheless, the limits can lighten up depending on the account age. It means the older it is, the less strict the rules will be.
I’m talking about hashtags that Instagram blocks to prevent a huge number of posts with them and avoid its wrong use. Most of them refer to adult content or porn, but you might be surprised to find some other hashtags harmless in the blacklist: #ice #gloves #italiano #snowstorm #valentinesday #workflow, etc.
Here is the complete list of banned Instagram hashtags in 2022:
A: #alone #assday #abdl #addmyonlyfans #adulting #always #asiangirl #ass #attractive
B: #balls #bang #bangbang #beautyblogger #bikinibody #boho #brain #babyrp #bacak #baddie #balenciaga #besties
C: #curvygirls #costumes #customers
D: #date #dating #desk #dildos #direct #dm #direct #DM
E: #edm #eggplant #elevator
F: #fetish
G: #girlsonly #gloves #graffitiigers
H: #hardworkpaysoff (**Note: #hardworkpaysoff? works) #hawks #hotweather #humpday #hustler
#happythanksgiving
I: #ice #instasport #italiano #iphonegraphy
K: #kansas (**Note: #kansascity works.) #kickoff #killingit #kissing
L: #loseweight #lulu
M: #master #mileycyrus #milf #mirrorphoto #models #mustfollow
N: #nasty #newyearsday #nudity
O: #overnight
P: #parties #petite #pornfood #prettygirl #pushups
R: #rate #ravens
S: #saltwater #samelove #selfharm #single #singlelife #skateboarding #skype #snap #snapchat (**Note:
#snapchat? works) #snowstorm #sopretty #stranger #streetphoto #sunbathing #swole #shit #shower
T: #tag4like #tagsforlikes #tanlines #todayimwearing #teen #teens #thought
U: #undies #underage
V: #valentinesday
W: #workflow
Y: #Youngmodel
There is also another trap here is the continuous usage of irrelevant and repetitive hashtags. Even though some bloggers come to such a technique in an attempt to develop a convenient navigation system throughout the page, one must be careful. Social media will consider it to be spamming, and, therefore, can put you under the Instagram shadowban.
And you also need to be wary of using popular hashtags that are suddenly blacklisted on the platform after hitting mass numbers. For example, on Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, et cetera, the hashtag of the day will be used by an enormous number of users on the platform, so Instagram suddenly and without warning will ‘blacklist’ such hashtags, putting a shadowban to every Instagrammer who used them.
➔ To have been reported recently by someone else
When an account is reported, Instagram will analyze it thoroughly to detect if it is truly violating the terms of use content or ifthis profile is uploading inappropriate content.
How long does Instagram shadowban last?
The good news is that shadowbans don’t appear to be permanent—most users tend to get theirs lifted within 2-3 weeks. Many users have shown that after being silent on Instagram 2-7 days, their shadowbans were removed.
How to avoid Instagram shadowban?
If you want to make sure that you don’t get shadowbanned by Instagram, pay attention to a few points listed below.
All in all, make sure that you follow the Instagram terms and conditions. If you are a responsible and obedient user of the platform, you shouldn’t bother about the Instagram shadowban.
Get an Instagram shadowban immunity, becoming a verified account on Instagram
I have never seen a BlueCheckMark account get an Instagram shadowbanned, it’s very likely they are immune to the shadowban penalty. Automatically, you gain trust not only from the Instagram algorithm but also from your audience. Nothing shows “trustworthy” on Instagram more than a verified blue tick. It seems like having the blue badge you have passed some kind of test of reliability.
And there are more significant business/brand advantages to being Instagram verified even (especially) if you are not famous:
- Increases brand awareness
- Give early access to special features
- Evaluates the exclusivity of your brand
- Businesses choose to work with verified Instagram accounts
In case you want to get an Instagram blue badge from the first try, check out this Instagram verification service.
How To Get Verified On Instagram
They will save your time with their service of flexible news websites that will provide you with sponsored content placements, share your PR materials with credible news publishers and influencers worldwide, save your money, choosing the web sources, and paying for posts on the selected publishers only with no monthly charges or hidden fees.
Is your Instagram account ready for verification?
Read more: How to Get Verified on Instagram?
Don’t use software that violates Instagram’s terms of service:
Instagram recently updated its algorithm to be tougher on bots, including bots that auto-like, auto-comment, auto-posting, and bots that grow your followers. If you use any kind of automation or bot-like software on your account, there’s a good chance that a) Instagram knows, and b) you’re going to be shadowbanned.
Instagram applies shadowban to ensure that the community standards or terms of use are respected. That is why they ban specific hashtags.
Avoid big surges in your Instagram activity
In other words, make sure that your engagement and growth are organic. Try not to like hundreds of posts in only a few hours, don’t spam comments, and stop using artificial growth methods.
Avoid being reported by other users
When other users report you for violating Instagram’s terms of use, you likely get a shadowban. Only a few reports cannot bring you an Instagram shadowban, it must be a significant number.
How to remove Instagram shadowban?
If you are under an Instagram shadowban, your engagement rate drops dramatically. You don’t gain new followers, nor reach new people. Yet don’t be upset. There are some ways to lift it.
In short, your main goal should be bringing a unique value to stand out. Follow this simple and set things to right with your account as soon as possible.
Stop using all types of automation software and cancel access from your API.
Remember it’s always better to have 100 followers who truly love and support what you do, than 10.000 followers who are using bots to like your posts and never will be interested in your products and services.
Once you’ve deleted and logged out of all automation services, you need to check and remove any questionable 3rd party apps or software that has access to your Instagram account. To check what apps and websites have access to your IG account:
- Sign into IG on desktop
- Go to “Settings”
- Go to “Apps and Websites”
- Remove third-party apps and websites that you have given access to your profile in the past.
- For anything you don’t recognize or aren’t certain is safe to use, cancel their access by clicking the big blue “Revoke Access” button.
If you did find you were using the broken hashtags, remove them from those posts by either editing your caption and deleting the tag, or deleting the comment that contains them.
Complete the steps above and take a break for 48 hours.
With these breaks, many of the accounts that have been affected by the shadowban return to normal. After two days (or if you decide – more) break, you can begin engaging with your audience again. But remember, it must be manual. Manually engaging with people on Instagram is your best bet to staying clear of Instagram. Shadowban will also help you build relationships with your audience and potential customers. If you want to gain true followers on Instagram use organic methods.
Avoid any “growth hacks” and abide by all community guidelines.
For example, there is a “growth hack” going around that suggests adding 30 hashtags to comment, then editing your caption and adding 30 there. This leaves you with 60 tags when normally you’re not allowed to do it.
Contact the Instagram support team.
Instagram and Facebook are hard to get in contact with but reporting your problem is worth a shot: go to your profile, tap the cog icon in the top right, find and click “report a problem”. Then tap “something isn’t working” and write a short message explaining your issue.
I suggest you say that your posts aren’t being categorized in the hashtags you used (not that your engagement has dropped; that’s not a concern for them). Rumor has it that Instagram uses shadowbans to motivate businesses to use Instagram ads. So you may also mention that you want to launch an advertising campaign. Feel free to repeat this process multiple times a day.
Switchback from a Business Account to a Personal Account.
Instagram is owned by Facebook and Facebook is known for limiting reach and engagement to force you into purchasing ads. They may control business accounts more because they are more likely to need the engagement. By coming back to a personal account you could potentially remove such special attention.
Sum up
There are no shortcuts when it comes to growing an audience on Instagram. If you’re trying to cheat its algorithm, you already have lost. The rules of the Instagram shadowban are rapidly changing so if I find out any new information or possible remedies I will add them to this blog. Meanwhile, make sure you’re applying my tips above to keep yourself safe from an Instagram shadowban.
Have you ever been shadowbanned? Did I miss anything? Leave a comment below this post.
Read more:
- Twitter Shadowban: What Is It and How to Remove It
- How to Become an Instagram Influencer
- How to Make Money on Instagram?
FAQ: instagram shadowban
Is shadowban permanent?
Shadowban is not for all your life anywhere throughout the web. If the administrators decide to ban the account forever, they will just delete it.
How long does Instagram shadowban last?
The period of shadowban differs. Normally, it lasts from a couple of days up to several months. But the latter is more of an exception rather than a norm. Generally, time is limited to one to two weeks, as a long-term punishment.
How do I fix shadowban on Instagram 2020?
There is no one magic button to remove this limitation, but the list of activities is not very long. To remove Instagram shadowban try this:
- If you use a bot or another automated software, delete them immediately.
- Don’t use banned hashtags.
- Take a full two-day break.
- Follow Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.
- Does Instagram shadowban go away?
There is no exact answer to this question. Normally, it must disappear after all guideline violations have been removed. It is also advisable to minimize your activity on the platform to speed up the process.
What happens when Instagram shadowbans you?
If you’re shadowbanned on Instagram, your content doesn’t appear on anyone’s feed unless they already follow you. More specifically, your posts will no longer appear in the hashtags you’ve used which can significantly influence the engagement rate.
