Instagram Shadow Ban: What Is It And How Can You Remove It?

The digital media realm is a tricky place. One day, you find your post going viral, and the next day, you see the audience reach and visibility plummeting.

Especially on Instagram, accounts can face this issue out of the blue. Making the users confused about what went wrong and how to fix it.

Generally, this happens when the Instagram account is shadowbanned.

That is, Instagram restricts these accounts from gaining visibility due to their use of flagged hashtags in the content.

But there are no credible facts stating whether this really happens or not. So, naturally, users are confused if this is just a rumor. Raising questions like — “What is Instagram Shadowban?”

Well, that’s exactly what I am going to explore today. In this blog, I am going to delve in-depth into the diverse aspects of shadowbanning on Instagram by focusing on—

• Instagram’s shadowban guidelines,
• How to identify shadowbanned accounts,
• How to fix the shadowbanning, and more.

Stay tuned!

What Is An Instagram Shadow Ban?

First things first, there is no solid proof or credible source stating any information about Instagram’s shadowban. Mostly, community threads and forums are discussing the shadowban’s existence.

Nevertheless, knowing what it is and how to fix it can always come in handy.

To explain in simple terms, Instagram shadowban is the restriction that the platform imposes on accounts to limit their reach and online visibility on social media.

Generally, this prevents accounts using flagged hashtags on their content from making their way on the Explore Page. So, they cannot reach a wider audience or get any visibility apart from their followers.

According to the report from Later on shadowbanning on Instagram—

“Shadow ban’ isn’t an official Instagram term, but we know that Instagram has the power to deprioritize posts (or accounts) on the app. This can make your content (or account) undiscoverable, hidden, or restricted. And in some cases — the content may be taken down completely”.

What Is The Shadow Ban Policy? Understanding Instagram’s Community Guidelines

As a by-product of Meta, Instagram follows the basic “Remove, Reduce, and Reform” strategy of Facebook.

So, it reduces the reach for content that doesn’t serve any valuable purpose or potentially attempts to violate its community guidelines.

According to the comment by Will Ruben, Instagram’s Discovery Product Lead on TailWind—

“We’ve started to use machine learning to determine if the actual media posted is eligible to be recommended to our community”.

Moreover, Instagram moderators label this kind of flagged content and accounts. And, the algorithm reads these labels and reduces its reach on the Explore Page.

SEE ALSO : My Instagram Was Hacked: How To Recover An Instagram Account? 

Which Types Of Content Get Shadow Banned?

Generally, borderline content gets shadowbanned on Instagram. This kind of content refers to inappropriate or flagged content that has the potential to violate the community guidelines of Instagram.

Some of the examples of borderline content on Instagram include—

• Violent content.
• Highly graphic or shocking content.
• Suggestive sexual content.
• Spammy content with fraudulent links.
• Fake or misinformed content.

User Opinions On Instagram Shadow Ban

Even though Instagram has made no official announcement of its shadowbanning policy, users discuss it over various community forums.

According to the Reddit user’s claim on Instagram shadowban—

“Actual shadowbans are not a matter of guesswork, Instagram will actually notify you of the fact that your account got restricted. If you go into your account status and see that all four categories (removed content and messaging issues, what can’t be recommended, monetization, and features you can’t use) are all green, then you are not shadowbanned, you’re simply not being pushed by the algorithm due to lack of engaging material”.

Another Reddit user comments about the sudden lack of visibility on Instagram—

“This is very common. Instagram lets you go through a growth phase. Once you hit a certain size, it seems to put you into the sandbox. The sandbox rules seem to be. Your content only gets shown to your followers. If it gets lots of shares and lots of watch time, it will get shared to more of your followers. And more and more, and if it’s proven to be good enough, then it starts getting pushed out to non-followers”.

How To Know If Your Instagram Account Is Shadowbanned?

If you can’t really tell whether you are penalized for any flagged hashtags or being shadowbanned, here’s a checklist—

Testing Posts With Popular Hashtags

Firstly, try posting something using a popular hashtag. Then, ask a few people who do not follow your account to use the hashtag to find your content.

If they cannot find your content on the Explore Page, then your account is probably shadowbanned.

Checking Used Hashatgs

Since Instagram has confirmed that it bans controversial hashtags, checking them under your post can be helpful.

So, look for any banned hashtags that you already used in your content to know if you are shadowbanned.

Reviewing Instagram Insights

Moreover, the Instagram insights can clearly show how your content is performing on the Explore Page.

So, if you notice that it is having limited to zero non-follower activity, chances are that your account is shadowbanned.

SEE ALSO: How To Change Background Color On Instagram Story?

How To Remove An Instagram Shadow Ban?

To remove the shadowban from your Instagram account, here are a few ways you can try.

1. Reporting The Shadowban To Instagram

First things first, if you notice any suspicious drop in audience reach or visibility, instantly report it to Instagram. That is, follow these steps to report—

• Check the Account Status and request a review if the post is flagged.
• Simply, use the Report a Problem option on Instagram from the Settings to describe your issue.
• Then, wait for them to respond with a plausible cause and solution.

2. Removing Autobots

If you are using any third-party tools for managing your social media posts, it’s high time to remove them. That is, removing the autobot services on your account.

Generally, they are not official partners of Instagram, so it doesn’t support them. And, using them can make the algorithm detect your account as a bot and shadowban.

3. Modifying Your Hashtags

Along with its algorithm, Instagram regularly updates its hashtag ban list. So, keep an eye out for the popularly banned hashtags and remove them from your posts.

Moreover, if you tend to use a specific hashtag, and suddenly Instagram flags it, you need to remove it from all your posts. This way, you can remove the shadowban.

4. Taking A Break From Social Media

Just following these measures cannot bring back the visibility overnight. Whatever reach and count drop you have noticed is non-recoverable.

So, it’s better to take some off the platform. Simply, avoid posting, commenting, or sharing content on your account for a couple of weeks.

Then, check if your posts are getting the digital engagement again. If they do, you can start consistent posting on the app.

Tips To Optimize Content To Avoid Shadowbanning On Instagram

Now, removing shadowbans can be time-consuming. So, it is always better to avoid making content that might potentially get shadowbanned.

Here are a few tips for creating optimized content that prevents any kind of Instagram shadowban—

• Removing third-party software that violates Instagram policies.
• Avoiding all forms of fake engagements with payments.
• Using a few relevant hashtags over spammy lists.
• Removing banned hashtags from older and newer content.

Moreover, the algorithm is becoming advanced day by day. So, gaming is not the solution to boost your growth. Rather, try to organically engage and grow your Instagram profile.

And, if you notice shadowbanning, it’s time to review what you share and how you interact with the audience. So, just use the methods to remove the ban and start enjoying the app all over again.

FAQs

Here are some common questions about the Instagram shadow ban.