Ways to avoid the IG Shadowban

Must probably you have fallen victim to the Instagram Shadowban or maybe you are feeling worried about it. Well, let us explain what it means, how to fix it and how to actually avoid getting shadowbanned on Instagram. 

What is an Instagram Shadowban?

An Instagram Shadowban is an unofficial ban that restricts the visibility for an account and it does not appear in users’ feeds, Stories, Explore pages etc, this way, affecting the account’s reach negatively. Such situations might happen when an account posts sensitive content or enters a gray area of Instagram's Community Guidelines. But what makes it different from a regular ban? Well, the only difference is that users are not notified when their Instagram Account is shadowbanned. 

 A very important note is that according to Instagram, shadowbanning is not practiced on the platform, but there are many users that claim to be affected by the mysterious restrictions. 

How do Instagram Shadowbans work?

While shadowbans “apparently” aren’t real, Instagram, like other social media apps, has ways of promoting or restricting pieces of content. What many people refer to as “the Instagram algorithm” is really a network of many factors that can affect the potential reach and visibility of each post, either positively or negatively. 

Instagram references this power in their Community Guidelines: “Overstepping these boundaries may result in deleted content, disabled accounts, or other restrictions.”

The AI doing this in the background has good intentions: To keep Instagram spam-free and safe. These algorithmic tools exist to comply with global laws about internet security, misinformation, and political interference. Moderation and legal compliance are very different from what users report an Instagram shadowban is, though. Instagram tells you directly if you’ve run afoul of copyright or other specific laws or policies. 

6 ways to avoid an Instagram Shadowban

Do not violate the Community Guidelines

Before starting to make content, grab your favorite beverage and do some reading of Instagram’s official Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.

Make sure to create a positive environment and be respectful in all communications, even Direct Messages. You do not have to post inappropriate content or promote violence, and another thing very important for companies is to ensure you own the copyright (or have permission) for everything you post on your Instagram account. 

Don’t act like a bot

There are many actions that you can do and make Instagram think that you are a bot. For example if you follow more than 500 or more people per hour, or maybe you interact with an app with robot speed - in this case, Instagram may think you are a bot. There are a lot of opinions about how many follows, likes or comments you can do in a certain period of time. Some say it’s different for each account, depending on how long you’ve been a user or if you have any “red flags.” 

Meta’s spam policy, which covers Instagram, simply tells its users not to “post, share, engage .. either manually or automatically, at very high frequencies.”

Whatever the limits are, moving too fast can't get you a notification that freezes your account for hours, or even days. If you get this notification, you won’t be able to do anything on Instagram until it’s over (although there is an appeals process).

Be consistent

Your rocky engagement metrics may be the result of a random posting schedule instead of a shadowban. Posting often, at least several times per week, should keep your current Instagram Followers seeing your content in their feeds and keep new followers coming in.

Don’t use banned hashtags

What does a banned hashtag mean?

Well, a banned hashtag means Instagram has deemed it problematic and decided to hide or limit content that uses it from search and other areas. It is welcomed to periodically check your ursula hashtags to ensure they have not been banned. In case you find them, we recommend you to remove from recent posts to avoid potentially damaging your reach, or worse than that, being shadowbanned.

How to know if you’re using a banned hashtag? Search for it. If you see the message below on the hashtag page, it’s a no-go.

Use a content warning for sensitive topics

If we are talking about a news story or violent event, Instagram can mistakenly think you’re promoting violence, which goes against guidelines. However, they do make exceptions as long as your purpose is to raise awareness and benefit the community.

To be on the safe side, Instagram suggests blocking or blurring violent or sensitive images, and including a warning in your graphic and text. Also be sure to state your position on the issue clearly, so that Instagram doesn’t think you’re pro-violence. If seeing the original image is important to raise awareness, you can link to an external site with the full news story.

Don’t buy followers elsewhere than InstaShop

An important thing you should understand is that if you use InstaShop’s services , your Instagram account will not be affected in any way. Buying Instagram Followers or Instagram Likes, will only increase your account not make it be banned. 

That’s why we do not recommend buying Instagram Services from other vendors than us. We provide high quality services and our services come from real Instagram Accounts. The delivery comes gradually so there will not be any doubts for Instagram to shadowban your account. 

How to understand if you have been shadowbanned on Instagram? 

Users describe that Instagram shadowban as feeling like “the algorithm is against them.” Typical symptoms of an Instagram shadowban are:

1. A dramatic drop in engagement (likes, comments, impressions, etc) without an obvious reason.
2. Your Audience Insights show significantly less non-follower reach.
3. Your followers start saying they don’t see your posts anymore like they used to, or that your Stories don’t show up near the top of their screens.

The users that are shadowbanned say that after posting something potentially controversial, their organic reach, likes and engagement suddenly tanked, even for posts after that. Another thing is that their follower count stops growing like usual, no matter what they do on Instagram. 

How long does an Instagram Shadowban last?

It seems like the average Instagram shadowban lasts about two weeks. 

However, it is possible that Instagram imposes different levels of shadowbans. Some users report being back to their usual engagement and growth levels within a few days, while others say their account never recovered and remains at a stand-still almost a year later.

How to remove a Shadowban on Instagram? 

In case you think you are shadowbanned, here are some things you can do to fix it.

Delete the post that got you shadowbanned

In case your shadowbanned happened immediately after your last post, try to delete the post and see if your engagement goes back to normal for the next few posts. 

Delete all the hashtags from recent posts

Try editing your posts from the last 3-7 days to remove all hashtags.

Stop posting for few days

Take a break from all Instagram content, including Stories and Reels, for 2-3 days.

Check your hashtag

Search for each of the hashtags you use to see if they’ve been banned or restricted. If so, stop using those ones and delete them from all your recent posts.

Deactivate and reactivate your Instagram account

Some users report temporarily deactivating their account for 1-2 days and fixing a shadowban. However, there’s no real evidence this works, so do so at your own risk.