To increase your Instagram exposure and fan base, you must utilise the platform’s Explore and trending hashtag sections. For this reason, it might be more than a bit discouraging to notice that your material appears nowhere.
You may have been shadowbanned if you suddenly start seeing less likes and comments on your posts, or if they stop showing up for specific hashtags or on the Explore tab.
What exactly is a “Shadowban” on Instagram?
The term “shadowban” is used to describe when a user’s Instagram material is secretly hidden or restricted without the user’s knowledge. If you’ve been shadowbanned, no one who doesn’t already follow you will see any of your posts in their feeds, on Explore, or on hashtag pages. When a user’s account is deleted, it’s usually because they’ve broken Instagram’s rules or the material is offensive.
Instagram’s goal of censoring “inappropriate” content makes sense (although its enforcement has been criticized.)
As to why Instagram uses shadowbans, think about it
Shadowbanning is a method Instagram uses to remove users who violate its rules from the service. To artificially boost their Instagram popularity, some users buy followers or employ a large number of hashtags that have nothing to do with the actual material they post. If that’s the case, then it makes sense for Instagram to prevent users from seeing posts from such accounts.
Instagram has not come out and admitted to shadow banning, however in February 2019 they made a statement on their Facebook business page to address the issue of users’ posts not being indexed for particular hashtags.
Instagram’s algorithm is subject to frequent modification, so it’s possible that these updates are to blame for your declining interaction.
Yet shadowbanning might be a real technique to hide users’ material from the larger Instagram audience, so if you suspect that this is happening to you, it’s crucial to take the required steps to ensure that your posts are visible to the Instagram community at large.
Let’s talk about the signs that you’ve been shadowbanned and the steps you may take to unban yourself.
Do I have a shadow ban on Instagram?
Anybody with a business profile on Instagram can now utilise the app’s Account Status function to see if their content is being suggested to other users. Account Status is where you’ll be able to see whether any of your posts have been removed or disabled because they don’t adhere to Instagram’s policies.
To check your account’s status, go to your profile and then to Menu > Settings > Account > Account status. With this function, you may find out what’s wrong with your account and how to fix it if there is a problem.
A simple test can tell you if your account has been shadowbanned or not, even if you don’t have a business profile.
Is Instagram secretly blocking me?
There are further techniques to check if you’ve been shadowbanned, which I’ve detailed below.
Tryout for Instagram’s Shadow Ban
See whether any of your hashtags have been posted
Shadowbanning can occur if you repeatedly use certain hashtags and then discover that postings to those hashtags have been hidden.
Find the “mustfollow” hashtag in the statement that follows. Instagram may be suppressing your content if users have reported recent posts using this hashtag as violating Instagram’s community rules (even if yours is not in violation of any guidelines).
Verify your Instagram statistics
If your Instagram Insights show a significant decline in activity, it’s conceivable that you’ve been shadowbanned. Percentage of accounts reached that were not already following you is a great indicator of success.
When did I earn a shadow ban?
You may have been shadowbanned for one of several reasons. Let’s figure out what you did wrong to get shadowbanned in the first place so it doesn’t happen again.
You employ Instagram “growth” tools like bots or other automated systems
You can’t expect to gain a loyal following if you aren’t putting in the effort yourself. Instagram disapproves of this, as seen by the above remark in which they advise users to develop a plan for reaching the appropriate demographic. The use of bots is considered spammy and may lead to a ban in the shadows.
Your hashtags don’t work properly
There are times when unsuitable posts dominate a trending hashtag. As a result, Instagram may disable the hashtag or restrict its use. If you use a hashtag that has been deactivated, it will prevent all of your other hashtags from being ranked and may possibly have your account blocked.
Your profile is frequently mentioned
Repeated reports to Instagram will lead the company to conclude that you are sharing stuff that is against their guidelines. The account might be banned in secret or made inaccessible altogether.
A Guide to Overcoming Instagram’s Shadowban
You should undo the harm to your account so that everything is back to normal. To explain how:
A bot or other automated service should be abandoned and removed immediately
Instagram on a computer allows you to check that third-party apps and websites are no longer linked to your account. Any bot accounts you no longer need will be displayed on the Active page; click “Remove” to deactivate them.
When necessary, a content warning should be displayed
Warning viewers in advance that some of the material they are about to encounter deals with a sensitive issue is essential when dealing with such material. Although the new Sensitive Content feature cannot be used on your own articles, there is a workaround.
In order to give users a chance to reconsider continuing, you’ll need to first build a slideshow post with the cautionary graphic. Get started using the story editor. Go to “New Post,” “Story,” and “Create” in your app profile.
Adhere to Instagram’s guidelines
Please familiarise yourself with Instagram’s Rules for Usage, Community Standards, and Recommended Standards. Important lessons learned from these files are:
Only post stuff that you have written or have authorization to post.
Don’t spread misinformation by sharing fabricated material.
