Has your Instagram engagement and following recently experienced a significant decline? Are you urgently attempting various strategies to re-engage users but failing? The cause might be a shadowban on Instagram!

Despite Instagram’s denial that shadowbanning occurs, a sharp and persistent decline in engagement and followers suggests otherwise.

Users of Instagram are required to abide by a set of guidelines. If you violate them, the platform may restrict or shadowban your account!

What Does Instagram’s Shadowban Mean?

When the Instagram network hides or limits your content without giving you any notice or warning, this is known as a shadowban. You will still be able to see your stuff, but others who are not following your page won’t be able to see it. It serves as a safeguard against platform spamming by users.

According to reports, Instagram shadowbans users who break its Community Guidelines.

A shadowban might render your account inaccessible to anyone who are not followers and prevent you from generating interest and leads.

How Does Instagram Shadowban You?

You might be interested in learning how to get shadowbanned on Instagram if you suspect a shadowban.

To figure out where you went wrong, let’s look at the reasons why people are shadowbanned on Instagram.

• Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Use being broken
• Being repeatedly reported for exceeding Instagram’s activity limits
• Including prohibited hashtags in posts
• Hashtag-based platform spam and phoney engagements
• The first reason is a violation of Instagram’s community rules and terms of service.
• Instagram may shadowban your account if they determine it to be in violation of their Community Guidelines and Terms of Use.

The site limits accounts to prevent the exposure and spread of objectionable content there.

Additionally, Instagram has indicated that even if content complies with the platform’s Guidelines, it will not be displayed on the Explore Page if it is not appropriate for its worldwide community.

Receiving Numerous Reports

The platform may shadowban your Instagram account if it receives numerous reports for posting offensive content.
In addition, Instagram may impose restrictions or delete accounts that are reported for further reasons, such as:

• Impersonating another person or using their account
• Being a user under the age of thirteen
• False information dissemination
• Using hateful language or imagery
• Selling restricted or prohibited goods, and more
• A shadowban may be imposed as a result of reports of spam, abuse, or other actions that go against Instagram’s Community Guidelines.

Going Over Your Instagram Activity restrictions

Instagram has implemented specific activity restrictions to control the rising amount of spam and false accounts designed to gain more likes, comments, shares, and follows.

Instagram activity limits that have been exceeded include:

• Posting an excessive amount of stuff in a single hour or day
• Creating & disseminating several Stories in a single hour or day
• Several likes in a short period of time
• Making numerous comments in a short period of time
• The same comment on numerous posts
• A day of following or unfollowing a lot of accounts
• Sending many Instagram direct messages in one day

Instagram has the right to shadowban your account if it discovers you using the service excessively or connecting with it too much in a specific period of time.

Check the recommended daily posting limit and make sure not to go over it. Keep in mind that frequent posting can make your account appear spammy and necessitate Instagram placing limits.

Including prohibited hashtags in posts

Though Instagram hasn’t released a formal list of prohibited hashtags, those that break its Community Guidelines and contain offensive terms or posts are regarded as being forbidden.
When users flag a hashtag as having harmful content, the platform removes it from use. Therefore, it’s crucial that you double-check each hashtag before using it in a post.

If you use one or more of these prohibited hashtags in a post, your audience won’t be able to see it. The platform may also penalise or shadowban your account.

Overusing hashtags on the platform

Avoid hashtag spamming even though Instagram permits up to 30 hashtags for Feed Posts and Reels and 10 for Stories.

Your followers and Instagram’s ranking algorithms may perceive your use of repetitive hashtags or sharing unused ones as spam.

Additionally, using too many hashtags may divert your viewers and prevent them from engaging with your page. This can hurt your company’s reputation. There are several hashtag guides available if you’re unsure of how many to use.

Fake engagements

On the platform, fake interaction and followers can damage your reputation. These actions are easily detected by Instagram, which may shadowban your account.

Instagram fake engagements include the following:

• Buying supporters
• Increasing your following count with bots
• paying to get your posts liked, shared, and commented on
• signing up for Instagram pods

Additionally, you run the danger of getting an Instagram shadowban if you use auto-posting websites. The platform does not support these behaviours and has already taken down apps like Instragress and Mass Planner that allow automated posting.

How Long Does an Instagram Shadowban Last?

A shadowban typically lasts for two to three weeks, although its effects could linger for longer. Gaining restrictions on this social media platform will interfere with your Instagram marketing plan if you are a business owner or influencer. It can take weeks or even months for you to restore lost momentum.

Additionally, some users have stated that their accounts were shadowbanned for a few weeks to months. The limitations were presumably removed after two to three weeks, but it took them longer to get engaged again.

Last Words

Now that you are aware of what a shadowban is and how to avoid one, abide by the rules and avoid spamming the platform with offensive content and pointless participation.

Instagram has never stated that it restricts accounts, so there is still a lot of mystery about shadowbans. Unless you observe a sharp decline in your reach and growth rate, you might not even be aware that you have been shadowbanned.