If you’re struggling to get engagement on your Instagram posts, it might be due to more than just the algorithm.
Today’s guide will show you how to recognize the signs of an Instagram shadowban, how to remove it, and how to prevent one from happening again in the future.
Key Points:
What Is A Shadowban On Instagram?
On Instagram, and many other social media platforms, shadowbans result in a user’s posts not appearing outside of their followers’ feeds.
That means when you’re shadowbanned on Instagram, the platform won’t promote your posts on the Explore page, recommended feed posts, search results, and your profile as a whole may not appear as a suggested profile for users to follow.
Instagram uses shadowbanning as a way to temporarily put a hold on activity from a specific profile, rather than suspending them outright. It’s their way of gently restraining certain profiles from continuing to behave in a way that they don’t want to promote.
In fact, most users who get shadowbanned aren’t doing anything that’s necessarily considered malicious it’s just that Instagram prefers a certain type of user behavior and needs to maintain that standard in order to keep the platform running the way they like.
Why Would Instagram Shadowban You?
The causes of shadowbans can vary widely, from outright malicious behavior to simply liking too many posts within a short period of time.
Here are a few of the most common reasons Instagram shadowbans users.
Liking, Commenting, & Following Too Quickly
Ironically, though Instagram’s sole purpose is to get users to follow profiles and engage with their content, doing so too quickly within a short period of time can trigger a shadowban.
This means following dozens of accounts within a five minute span, or liking every post that comes across your feed.
If your account is brand new, consider making a post and following just a handful of close friends before you branch out further.
Posting Too Much
Just like over-engaging, posting too many times within a short period of time can also trigger a shadowban.
What qualifies as “too much” is up for debate, but generally posting more than three times a day is overkill.
Using Flagged Hashtags
This one is tricky, because more often than not the average user has no way of knowing whether or not a hashtag is flagged by the algorithm.
However, one simple way of ensuring you don’t mistakenly use a spammy hashtag is to quickly browse that hashtag’s page. If you notice a high number of low-quality or scammy looking posts, avoid using that tag. Otherwise, your post and profile will be associated with those creators which can backfire on your account in the long run.
Sometimes certain hashtag pages will also include a warning regarding spam. In this case, avoid that tag entirely.
Violating Instagram’s Community Guidelines
While it might seem obvious, violating Instagram’s Community Guidelines can also result in a shadowban - though more often than not it’ll result in an actual ban or suspension instead, depending on the severity of the infraction.
This could include anything from posting something that seems a little too much like spam, using profanity or graphic phrases in your captions or posts, or sending harmful messages to other users.
What Are The Signs Of A Shadowban?
The trouble with shadowbans is that they’re hard to identify. Instagram won’t alert you outright if you’ve been shadowbanned, hence the name.
So how can you tell if you’ve been shadowbanned at all?
There are a few things to keep an eye out for, and a few simple Instagram shadowban tests you can run depending on your account type.
You’re Noticing A Dip In Engagement
The most obvious sign would be a stark decline in engagement.
If you’re used to receiving 100 or more likes on average and suddenly notice that you’re down to 20 (and most of them are followers), that could be a sign that you’re shadowbanned, especially if your content quality hasn’t changed.
You Have Little To No New Followers
While this isn’t always an indicator of a shadowban, if you stopped gaining new followers, it could be a sign that your profile is no longer being recommended to new users.
Test #1: The Hashtag Test
The quickest way to test for a shadowban would be to use a niche or unique hashtag in a post. Choose one with a small number of posts so that you can easily spot yours in the mix.
Publish your post with this hashtag, then search up that hashtag from a different account or ask someone to unfollow you and search for it.
If your post doesn’t appear in the search results, it could be a sign that you’re shadowbanned.
Test #2: Check Your Account Status
Your account status can tell you about any infractions you’ve received or limitations your account is under.
You will need to have a professional account (Creator or Business) to view your Account Status.
Tap the three horizontal lines on the top right corner of your profile page.
Scroll down to the More Info And Support section and tap Account Status.
From here you will be able to see any issues that your account is having regarding access to features or content violations.
Test #3: Check Your Insights
Instagram Insights can tell you a lot about your account, if you know where to look.
You will need to have a professional account (Creator or Business) to view your Insights.
Tap the three horizontal lines on the top right corner of your profile page to access Instagram settings.
Tap Insights.
Tap Accounts Reached.
From here, look at the percentage of reached accounts that are non-followers.
Filter by timeframe to change the date range.
If you notice the percentage of non followers reached has significantly dropped from week to week, this could meant that your content isn't reaching non-followers like it used to.
How Long Do Shadowbans Usually Last?
Most of the time shadowbans are temporary, ranging from 48 hours to a few weeks. Of course, this depends on your specific account and what you did to get shadowbanned, but the key is to be patient and avoid repeating any bad behavior.
Consider taking a break from engaging or posting while you wait for the ban to lift, then test it by using the hashtag test outlined here.
How Do I Remove My Shadow Ban On Instagram?
This is the simple part! To remove a shadowban on Instagram simply...do nothing.
Yup, all you have to do is wait it out. It’s best to avoid posting for a while (especially since your content won’t be reaching anyone for a while anyway), and stop engaging with content for the time being.
If you suspect the cause of your shadowban was a post that included a spammy hashtag or questionable caption, consider removing the post.
How To Prevent Being Shadowbanned
So your shadowban has lifted, or maybe you’re just paranoid and want to avoid one in the future. There are a few things you can do to avoid being hit with a shadowban on Instagram, and these tips apply to other platforms as well.
Engage Carefully
It’s tempting to want to engage with every post you see, especially if you’re new to the platform and want people to know you exist. But as we’ve explored, this can easily backfire on you.
Follow only a few accounts per day, and engage with only the posts that resonate with you the most.
Post Quality Over Quantity
When you do post, avoid posting more than three times a day. Most users post just once per day, or a few times per week.
If you post too many times within a short period of time, your account could be flagged and shadowbanned, so stick with quality over quantity.
If you have multiple images to share, consider creating a carousel instead or posting an Instagram Story.
Watch Your Hashtags
Before you use that niche hashtag on your post, browse the tag page to make sure there are no warning notices about spam. Quickly scroll through any posts that use this tag to make sure you’re among good company.
Beyond Shadowbans: Other Causes Of Low Engagement
If you’ve run through this entire guide and have come to the conclusion that you aren’t shadowbanned, but are still struggling with low engagement, there could be a few other culprits.
You Don’t Have Enough Followers Or Engagement
New or low-performing accounts often struggle with that classic dilemma of needing engagement to be promoted by the algorithm, but not having any way to get the engagement because the algorithm isn’t promoting them.
It’s frustrating, and unfortunately the only way to get around it is to either get lucky and gain engagement from appearing on the Explore page, or consider boosting Instagram engagement with a service like QQTube.
You’re Not Using The Right Hashtags
Now that Instagram has lowered their hashtag limit, there’s only a finite number of chances to get your post seen by the right people.
Check out our Instagram tagging guide here.
You’re Posting At The Wrong Times
Knowing and posting when your followers are most active can be the difference between 100 likes and 0. Use your Insights to determine when your followers are online so that you can create an effective posting schedule.
Read our free guide to the best times to post on Instagram here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a shadow ban?
Shadowbans can be triggered by anything from using the wrong hashtag to engaging too quickly within a short period of time.
Does deleting posts remove a shadowban?
That depends on the cause of the shadowban. If you received it because of a specific post, deleting the post will likely increase the chances of it being lifted quicker.
Do shadow bans go away?
Yes, shadowbans are often temporary.
Does posting too much get you shadowbanned?
Yes, posting too much within a short period of time or engaging too much on other people’s posts can get you shadowbanned on Instagram.
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