If you’re not receiving engagement on your Twitter posts, or struggling to have users find your profile, it could be due to a shadowban.

X, previously known as Twitter, is one of many social media platforms that utilizes shadowbanning as a softer method of punishing user behavior that violates its community guidelines.

Learn how to know if you’re shadowbanned on Twitter in just a few simple steps, plus what you can do to resolve it and how to prevent it in the first place.

Key Points:

• How Do I Know If My Twitter Is Shadowbanned?

• Why Does Twitter Shadowban Accounts?

• Types Of Twitter Shadowbans

• How Long Does A Twitter Shadowban Last?

• How To Fix A Twitter Shadowban

• How To Get More Followers On X

• Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Know If My Twitter Is Shadowbanned?

The tricky thing about a Twitter shadowban is that you might not realize you're under one for a while.

It can be easier to tell if you're running multiple Twitter accounts and notice a sudden decline in Twitter user engagement, but the average Twitter account could go months or longer under a shadow ban without the owner realizing it.

So how can you tell if you're dealing with a shadow ban?

Your account might be suffering from a Twitter shadowban if any or all of the following apply to you:

• You post consistently, but you're experiencing decreased engagement.

• Your Tweets aren't appearing in search results (even hashtag feeds).

• Non-followers are unable to view your Tweets.

Does Twitter Tell You If You’re Shadowbanned?

Unfortunately Twitter won’t notify you if you’ve been shadowbanned, hence the name. This is also why the status goes largely unnoticed by the majority of affected users.

How Can I Test If I’m Shadowbanned?

Thankfully there are a few ways to test your account if you suspect that you’ve been shadowbanned.

The first is by using an unbiased reference account. Try logging into this account from an incognito browser window for added anonymity.

From your reference account, you can do the following:

• View a thread that you've recently replied to and see if your replies are visible. By comparing the same links on your active accounts vs test accounts you can determine your visibility.
  
  

• Search for your username or Tweets using the search bar and the filter from:username

Many users also opt for third party automation tools to help test for a shadow ban. These tools can help you determine which type of ban you're suffering from, so that you can take targeted action.

Be careful not to use any third party tools that require handing over personal information - all you should need is the username of the account you want to test, that's it.

A few of the top Twitter shadowban test tools include:

• HiSubway's Twitter Shadowban Test

• Circleboom

• Shadowban.Yuzurisa

If you tested for a shadowban and came up with a negative test result, congratulations! 

Otherwise, click here to learn how to remove a shadowban.

Why Does Twitter Shadowban Accounts?

So why does Twitter shadowban accounts in the first place?

There are a variety of reasons, but one commonality is that the infraction isn’t so severe as to require a full suspension from the platform.

Shadowbans usually involve decreasing the account’s range for a temporary period of time, unlike a full suspension which results in the outright removal of a profile from the platform.

What Actions Trigger A Twitter Shadowban?

 A few common reasons for shadowbans include:

• Changing your Twitter handle or other account details repeatedly

• Inactivity (not logging in for a month or longer)

• Interacting with accounts that violate Twitter's Community Guidelines

• Interacting with spammy accounts or accounts that have more following than followers

• Excessive Tweeting

• Posting spammy content

• Posting the same content from multiple accounts

• Mass following and unfollowing of users

• Posting hate speech, or other content that violates the platform's rules

• You've been blocked by a lot of users

• Purely technical reasons such as changes to Twitter's algorithm
  
  

Any or all of the above can affect your account's standing and impact your account's credibility, but not every shadow ban is equal in severity or impact.

Who Decides Who Gets Shadowbanned?

In many cases, shadowbanning is done via automation but sometimes platform moderators are behind these decisions. It all depends on the severity of the infraction.

Types Of Twitter Shadowbans

So what type of shadowban is your Twitter profile suffering from?

There are four major types, and Twitter's signals determine which of the four is applied to your account.

Keep in mind that you could be experiencing more than one of these types of bans at the same time, so if you've confirmed that your account's visibility is unchanged in the search results that doesn't mean that your account's status is all clear, just that you're not experiencing a search ban.

Search Suggestion Ban

A search suggestion ban results in an account not appearing in search suggestions or People search results. This means that other users won't have your account recommended in their sidebar or even search page. In other words, your account won't populate search suggestions. 

Search Ban

A search ban results in a user's Tweets being hidden from the search results (including hashtag feeds). This is different from a search suggestion ban in that it affects all search visibility including Tweets - not just account recommendations.

Ghost Ban

Ghost bans result in hiding reply Tweets of the affected user. This means that even if you reply to a Thread, your replies will be invisible to anyone reading that thread - but you'll have no way of knowing, other than a significant drop in engagement.

Reply Deboosting

If you violate Twitter's rules, your replies may be hidden and only appear when a user clicks Show More Replies - this won't apply if a user is following you.

How Long Does A Twitter Shadowban Last?

Twitter shadowbans can last anywhere from 24-72 hours, or more depending on the severity of the violation. 

Repeated violations of harmful behavior can result in an outright suspension and deletion of your account.

How To Fix A Twitter Shadowban

Once you’ve confirmed that your account has been shadowbanned, the specific type of shadowban you’re suffering from, you can start to take action.

How Long Until A Shadowban Goes Away?

Usually, a shadow ban lasts anywhere from 24-72 hours - but this depends on the severity. Still, it's best to wait it out and re-test your account to see if your account status has been restored.

Does Deleting Tweets Remove A Shadowban?

If you suspect that you've been banned for specific Tweets, make an effort to delete the offending content. This also applies to spammy behavior, like posting the same content over and over.

Spammy behavior includes hashtags that are irrelevant, using online tools to schedule the same irrelevant content repeatedly, and posting irrelevant replies on other user's Tweets.

Stop Any Violating Activities

If you're repeatedly following and unfollowing users, Tweeting excessively in a short period of time, following suspicious accounts, or violating Twitter's Community guidelines with abusive content, such behavior could result in a shadow ban. This also includes posting the same content from multiple Twitter accounts.

Give it a rest, and go back to posting quality content.

Is A Shadow Ban Forever?

Not necessarily - but again it depends on what you did to cause the shadowban and the type you’re dealing with. If you’ve waited it out after removing any offending tweets and still haven’t had your account restored, contact Twitter support for additional insight.

How To Get More Followers On X

Now that your account is free from its shadowban and you’re able to post again, consider boosting your posts with high-quality retweets so you can start reaching your target audience again.

Don’t let the Twitter algorithm decide who gets to see your content. Invest in Twitter engagement from real users so you appear in the recommendations feed more frequently.

Frequently Asked Questions