Imagine you’re using Instagram, you’re posting your content, your reels are going viral, but all of a sudden, your engagement plummets, and before you know it, you have been shadowbanned. You get fewer likes, fewer comments, your content is not reaching people like it used to.
Trust me when I say this, It has happened to the best of us, and we’ve recovered from it too as well. So, don’t start thinking of opening up a new account just yet.
What do you mean by Shadowbanned?
Instagram shadowban refers to when a users content has been restricted from others view without prior knowledge of the user. It typically happens when a user violates Instagram’s community guidelines — or the content is inappropriate. If you are shadowbanned, your content will not appear on anyone’s feed, Explore, or hashtag pages.
Shadowbanning allows Instagram to monitor its community and churn out inappropriate content or users who use underhanded methods to increase their following and engagements.
Here is how you can find out if you are shadowbanned:
- Post a picture from your account with the hashtags you regularly use.
- Ask someone who doesn’t follow you to search the hashtag and find your post on the hashtag feed.
If your post does not appear the first time, you don’t need to panic search for it again after 3-5 minutes.
If your post appears on the hashtag feed of the person who doesn’t follow you, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You have not been SHADOWBANNED!
But in the scenario that your post does not appear, my friend, brace yourself because you are shadowbanned.
Another way is to look at your insights. If you closely monitor your insights and see there is a significant downward trend in your engagement, even with constant posting, you might be shadowbanned.
Don’t get too tense. We’re going to show you how you can get unbanned and what are the things you need to do to avoid being shadowbanned in the future.
How to get yourself unbanned:
Bots or Automated Instagram Growth Tools:
Do you use any Instagram bots or tools to increase your followers, get more likes or get more views on your reels? You don’t have to tell us, but if you are using any, It’s time to bid them farewell as Instagram considers all of these as spammy tactics.
Using banned or Broken Hashtags:
A lot of us unknowingly use banned or broken hashtags that lead us to get shadowbanned. In order to to avoid getting banned or unbanned, you need to research the hashtags you use and see if they are alright.
https://app.iqhashtags.com/en/banned-hashtags-checker is a great way to see if your account is using any banned or broken hashtags or to know if any hashtag is banned.
You post content that violates Instagram guidelines and are often reported:
Yes, Instagram is a free space where you can post your pictures and views openly, but there is certain inappropriate content that you need to steer clear of, for example, nudity.
https://thepreviewapp.com/instagram-community-guidelines/ here is a link to find out if your post violates any guidelines.
You’ve been posting, commenting, engaging, following and unfollowing people too quickly.
Like most processes in this world, posting, commenting, engaging, following and unfollowing people on Instagram needs to be done in moderation. If it’s done too quickly, Instagram might flag your account as a bot.
So, you know what to steer clear of.
Take a break:
After carefully inspecting other reasons for your ban take a 48-56 hour break from Instagram, It helps the algorithm in removing your shadowban status and taking your account back to track.
Hopefully, this helps you to avoid getting banned and if you have been shadowbanned, help you resolve it.
And if you’re out of captions ideas this guide may be able to help you. Best Instagram Captions.