Are you getting less likes and interactions than you were a while ago? If you suspect that your posts or stories have less reach than they should, it is likely that the platform has you in the shadows. How to know if I have been shadowbanned on Instagram in 2023 may be somewhat easier than in the past. Although Instagram does not reveal it 100%, it does reveal through some loopholes if our account is likely to be hidden from our followers and the general public .
What is the shadowban on Instagram
Before going into the matter, it is convenient to clarify what the shadowban is on Instagram . This term is quite common in the jargon of current social networks, and applies to those accounts that, although they have not been directly reported or blocked by the platform, appear much less frequently, which is why it is considered a shadow punishment for have breached its terms of use. This form of censorship is not only typical of Instagram, but it is also common to find other Twitter or TikTok users complaining about having suffered shadowbans for no apparent justification.
Now yes, it is time to go into detail on how to check if you have suffered a shadowban on Instagram . Within the innumerable functions and configuration settings that this application has , diving into it you can check whether or not an account is susceptible to having suffered some measure that limits its scope. When you open the app, you have to click on the icon with your profile picture in the lower menu bar, and then on the icon with three horizontal stripes at the top. When the settings menu opens, select ‘Settings and privacy’ and then ‘scroll’ until you find the ‘Help’ section.
Once inside ‘Help’, we will see that there is a section called ‘Account status’, which is where we can check if Instagram has ever taken action against our profile. The information included in this section reflects whether any publication, story or reel has been removed from Instagram and allows us to know if our content on Instagram is not recommended for the majority of the audience or if any publication has not been monetized (the latter applies only to professional accounts).
How to remove the shadowban on Instagram
Once we have known if the social network has taken action against users, the following question arises: how to remove the shadowban from Instagram ? For years, the main managers of Instagram and Meta, the parent company, have insisted that there was no shadowbanning phenomenon as such, although they did recognize that certain types of content could get less exposure (which in practice implies its existence). .
Knowing what is the mechanism that allows a user to come out of the shadows and stop their content from being limited or directly hidden by Instagram itself is impossible today. However, by reviewing the status of the account as explained in the previous section and respecting the terms of use of the social network, it is likely that a user can detect which posts have been problematic and delete them (or create a new account). .
There is not much difference between the terms of use of Instagram and that of the rest of the main social networks. Inappropriate content such as violence (hate messages, harassment, graphic violence of any kind, etc.), illegal activities or spam are not allowed, as are explicit nudity and other types of erotic or pornographic adult publications. This link to the Instagram community guidelines shows what are the red lines that can lead a user to see their content removed, or if they play in the limits, to be hidden and limited with a shadowban.
