‘Break the rules and you will receive your deserved punishment’ is a rule on Instagram. Being banned on Instagram means being unable to use your account for any purpose for a particular duration. The ban could take forty-eight (48) hours to thirty (30) days or even more, depending on the gravity of the violation.This is one bad experience that Instagram users avoid, especially entrepreneurs and creators as they make a living through this social media platform.
The major way to detect that your Instagram account has been banned is this: the inability to log in, post content, like pictures, comment or carry out other activities through your account. This is different from not being able to log in because you forgot your password because you will receive a notification of being blocked or banned. If you are sure you did not violate their rules, you can send them a message as there will be two buttons that will pop up: the ‘Tell us’ button and the ‘Ignore’ button but before then, let us look at the types of ban.
Types Of Ban
There are two types of ban: the temporary ban and the permanent ban. The temporary ban can last for a few hours, forty-eight (48) hours or more, depending on the kind of activities that were suspected to be against Instagram Community’s rules. A permanent ban occurs when you repeat those actions that caused you to be temporarily banned. Note that before this happens, you would have received warning notifications from Instagram.
So What Could Lead To A Ban?
Spam Activities:
The Instagram Algorithm has been automated to also check out suspicious activities. Some of them include:
• Using bots or any Instagram growth automation tool because you want to increase your likes, follows, and comments. (If you have noticed, recently, there has been quite a high number of unfollows in people’s accounts).
• Buying followers and likes
• Having a ridiculously high amount of comment activities on other posts as the algorithm would suspect a bot has been programmed for that.
• Duplicating accounts, and so on.
Instead, drive traffic to your page by providing valuable content and sharing your post to gain more audience because Instagram rewards efforts, consistency, and authentic interactions in building accounts.
Could it be that your account was reported?
Has your account been found to promote insensitive pictures or videos? ‘Insensitive’ cuts across immoral content, hate speeches, cyberbullying, discrimination, and any offensive post. Also, posting copyrighted content without giving proper credits or taking permission can attract a ban. Since Instagram is keen on protecting its users, your account, after being reported, will be banned temporarily and its activities will be reviewed.
The use of inactivated Hashtags
These are hashtags that are no longer approved. They are also known as broken hashtags. They contain posts that have been found to violate the Community’s guidelines. In this case, accounts that make use of these tend to hurt the visibility of their posts and when used frequently, this could attract a ban. Hence, proper research should be done before using any hashtag. Also, avoid spam hashtags like ‘like4like’, and ‘follow4follow’ as they irritate the Algorithm.
Exceeding action limits
There are limits to the different actions performed on Instagram. This serves as a check against bots as Instagram wants its users to be real. Here are some daily action limits you must follow:
200 comments
100 stories
About 400 likes
20 tags per single post
35 tags per carousel post
Exceeding these repeatedly is a call for a ban.
How Can I Know If I Have Not Violated The Guidelines?
Follow these easy steps to confirm your account status.
• Go to your profile
• Click on Settings
• Then go to Account
• Open it and click on ‘Account Status’
• You will see a message. A positive one explains that you have not violated any rule but if you see a negative one, read the Community guidelines (the link is in the last paragraph) to know which of the rules you have violated.
What Is The Next Step?
We cannot tell you about these without proffering possible solutions. Although banned instagram accounts are sometimes irrecoverable, here are ways you can do to recover your account:
- After receiving the notification of being banned the two buttons: ‘Tell us’ and ‘Ignore’. We advise you to click the first button to send a message explaining the problem.
- Appeal. Visit their website and go to the Help Centre or click on the ‘Get help signing in’ button when you are unable to log in. Fill in the form with your full name, email address, username, and number, and state your reason. You will receive an email on what to do next.
- Another option is for you to be patient as sometimes it takes 48 hours and if it takes more than this, send them an email.
- Have an alternative account. There is an Instagram feature that allows for inviting collaborators. Here is how to go about it:
Before you make a post, go to the ‘Tag people’ section and click on it. You will see ‘Invite collaborator’; add your backup account. This is especial if you have a business you run on Instagram. This will save you from losing potential clients. While rectifying the issue, you could be making use of the backup account.
What is your suggestion?
Just abide by the rules or read the Community Guidelines. Whenever you notice suspicious activities on your account, report it. This will avoid your account from being banned. Do well to avoid involving yourself in these activities. Let’s keep Instagram Community friendly.
