If your Instagram account has taken a sudden hit in engagement and reach, you might be shadowbanned—or (unofficially) penalized by the app’s algorithms, leading to limited visibility. Here’s how to address it:
- Confirm whether or not you’ve been shadowbanned.
- Create a post using a unique hashtag that you haven’t used before.
- Log out of your profile and switch to a different account.
- After several hours have passed, search for the unique hashtag in the app.
If your post doesn’t appear in the search results, it might mean that your profile is shadowbanned.
- Revoke permissions for any unapproved third-party apps.
- Click the hamburger menu in the top right corner of your Instagram account.
- Go to Settings > Security > Apps and Websites.
- Revoke access to all third-party apps.
- Delete content that violates Instagram community guidelines.
- Avoid spammy behavior like rapidly responding and generating fake engagement with bots.
- When applicable, add a content warning to enable users to skip your content if they choose to.
- Delete banned hashtags.
- Confirm if a hashtag is banned by typing it in the search bar.
- Don’t use too many hashtags per post or broken hashtags.
- Contact Instagram support.
- Go to Settings > Help.
- Report the issue and request assistance in removing the shadow ban.
Check out EmbedSocial’s complete guide to the Instagram shadowban.
