How To Avoid Getting Permanently or Temporarily Blocked Or Banned on Instagram

How To Avoid Getting Permanently or Temporarily Blocked Or Banned on Instagram

Instagram has become tougher and tougher towards spam and spam-like behavior on the platform throughout the years. And they won’t hesitate to take actions against t if necessary.

When Instagram was still in its early stages, there was no limit to how many accounts you could follow, no limit to how many posts you could like, or how many comments you could leave.

If you’re using Instagram regularly, you know that today’s modern Instagram version looks completely different.

Today, Instagram has become so anti-spam and overprotective that even regular users are affected by Instagram’s tough rules and restrictions on anything that might potentially be spam.

Of course, Instagram has had big problems with fake accounts and spammers since the birth of the platform, so the intentions are good. The only problem is when it starts to affect regular users and their everyday use of the social platform who really have no bad intentions, they’re just active users of the platform.

If you are here, chances are, you’ve found yourself blocked or banned on Instagram, and being so is frustrating, to say the least.

Whether you are someone who can admit that you are using the platform in a spammy way, and using the features to perform a spam-like behavior or are a completely innocent user, in this article, we’re looking at how you can avoid getting permanently or temporarily banned or block on Instagram.

By learning what kind of behavior Instagram hates, you can avoid it and not be afraid that you’ll wake up one day with a banned Instagram account or to have been blocked for performing actions 

1. Have you just created a new account?

If you have created a new Instagram account, you should be extra careful.

Instagram is particularly tough against new accounts because normally, the bot accounts are created and then instantly used for spamming.

Think of it this way:

When you are a small child, your parents have full control over you, every step you take, what you eat, and what you drink.

As you grow older, the control becomes less present. You get more freedom.

The only difference with Instagram is that they never really give you full freedom. They’re always close behind watching your every move. Even though it may feel like you have freedom on the platform.

What this means is that you should always be careful with performing actions that may be understood as spam-like behavior, but it is particularly important when your account is new.

What should you do?

Instagram is particularly strict on the misuse of the like and follow actions, so when starting out, you want to be gentle on those. Don’t start liking and commenting on a bunch of posts the first thing you do when creating your account, because this is, in Instagram’s eyes bot-like behavior.

The reason why Instagram is particularly tough on new accounts is that these are most often the accounts which are spamming on the platform. The services who use Instagram to spread their spam messages using fake accounts create endless new fake accounts using various methods, use them to spam, then have them banned, and then create new ones.

Since Instagram is quite fast at banning accounts that are misbehaving so blatantly, these services need to create new accounts frequently to continue their services and strategy, and this means using new accounts to do so.

To be on the safe side when begin with optimizing your bio. Choose a profile picture, write a bio, and fill in all information necessary, such as website and gender.

Doing this will instantly set you apart from the bots. Because most of them look like this:

Or this:

2. Start sharing posts

Once you have set up your profile, you want to start sharing a few posts. Again, you don’t want to share 5 or 10 in the course of a few minutes, because often times, bots upload a few posts right away when they create their account to make it look more genuine, and then never upload another post again. 

Again, this is because the accounts are often blocked extremely fast, plus, uploading posts on the platform takes time, and time is money.

A recommendation when it comes to uploading posts is to post a maximum of three posts a day when you’ve just created your account. When one week (or a few weeks) have surpassed, you can start increasing that number (if you’d like). It’s better to continue uploading posts on the platform regularly because this is what most normal users do. Not upload a few posts they stop.

3. Do not spam-like posts

Probably the most common spam-like behavior on Instagram is spam-liking posts. This means ”liking” a large number of posts in a short period of time. Obviously, the like feature is there for a reason – you’re supposed to use it!

But when you start using it excessively, that’s when it sends signs to Instagram that you’re up to no good.

If you’re spam-liking excessively in a short period of time, chances are, you’ll see this message:

There is no clear limit to how many posts you can like each hour since it depends on factors like how old account your is and if you’ve performed a lot of spammy actions in the past which caused you to be blocked or banned on Instagram. The general guideline, however, is 350 likes per hour, so keeping the number below is recommend in order to stay on the safe side.

If Instagram has blocked you from liking, you won’t know for how long. When it comes to liking, normally, these types of bans disappear after just a few hours due to the fact that spam-liking posts on Instagram isn’t that harmful to the community. However, you might be blocked from liking for a longer period of time.

4. Do not spam-comment

The same rule as liking goes for commenting. However, you can post a much smaller number of comments than likes. Commenting is Instagram’s biggest problem when it comes to spam on the platform. Obviously, while spam-liking, for example, is used as a way to get more eyeballs on the accounts, it isn’t really hurting anyone. However, spam-comments clutter the platform and make it a less pleasant and enjoyable place to be.

Therefore, Instagram is quite strict with how many comments you can post in a short period of time.

5. Do not post the same comment over and over

Duplicate comments are often a clear sign of bot-like behavior, and Instagram keeps an extra eye on these actions. The reason is that if you’re a bot and leaving comments where you are promoting something, it’s quite (and time-consuming) to change and update your comment every time as opposed to just copying and pasting.

If you’re posting the same comment over and over, eventually, you’ll also see this message:

…And..

Your comment won’t be posted.

If you continue doing this over and over, Instagram might just eventually block you permanently. However, Instagram is very shy about telling what exactly makes them ban an account that isn’t a bot, just acts like one.

Therefore, it’s better to stay on the safe side, because the ban will come unexpectedly without warning.

When you get temporarily banned from commenting, you don’t know how long it lasts. Sometimes, it only lasts a couple of minutes, but sometimes, it lasts for several hours.

8. Do not comment too many emojis

For some reason (probably because it doesn’t bring much value and can be seen as spam), Instagram doesn’t like when you comment emojis excessively. Limit yourself to maximum a few emojis per comment.

7. Do not spam-follow excessively

Spam-following is one of the actions that really screams bot.

Because on Instagram, most bots’ follower counts look like this:

Or worse!

There’s a reason to why the follow button is there. You’re supposed to use it. However, use it moderately!

What I have found is that there is no exact number you can follow each hour. On some of my accounts, I can follow several hundred each hour, and on some, I can follow less.

What I have noticed though, is that only in the last couple of months, Instagram has gotten much stricter with how many people you can follow at once.

If you only follow for example ten accounts each time, then take a break, then follow ten more, you’ll avoid being blocked because Instagram mostly focuses on when you repeat the same action over and over in a short period of time.

The reason why Instagram has put a limit on how many accounts you can follow in a short period of time, and become stricter for every year that has passed is that spam-following is one of the most common actions that bots use, and they might use it for one of two reasons. First off, it can be because the bot wants to bring attention to its account and thus draw attention to what it is they are promoting.

Secondly, and most commonly, a common service which bots sell is fake followers to users. When users buy followers as a service, these services need to provide them with that, and the way most of them do so is by creating a ton of fake accounts and then use them to start following the people who buy followers.

If a lot of people buy followers in a short period of time, the bots will constantly be following a bunch of accounts, and thus be considered to spam-follow.

The maximum number of users you can follow on Instagram is 7500, but preferably, you should follow less than 1000 accounts, at least if you care about the visual appearance of your account. If this is not possible, then obviously Instagram won’t block you because of it.

After all, it was Instagram themselves who set the limit to 7500.

8. Do not mention a bunch of users

This was an issue Instagram had to deal with a few years back, and luckily for me, I got to witness it.

The reason I said luckily is that, frankly, it was quite amusing.

What people did was use a humongous number of bots to comment on their own post mentioning a bunch of random accounts. The mentioned accounts would then check out the post out of curiosity.

And a lot of people would like the picture and start following the account of course.

I often came across accounts that had several thousand comments – all of which was bots tagging random accounts. The account in charge for this could have only a few hundred followers yet still have several thousand likes on their post.

And if you know Instagram, you know that it’s hardly possible unless you use some type of bot tactic.

But as you can imagine, Instagram put an end to it as soon as they realized what was happening.

The bottom line?

Don’t make it a habit to tag people who don’t follow (or that you follow) you in random posts. You’ll be fine if you just do it every now and then, but if Instagram even suspects you are doing it for spam-purposes, they’ll temporarily block you from commenting.

Also, don’t tag a bunch of people in posts. Whether or not you follow them, Instagram doesn’t like when you tag 5, 10, or even 15 users in a comment. It’s a clear sign of bot-behavior, and chances are, you won’t be able to post it from the start.

9. Think about the community guidelines

If you’re using Instagram without reading the community guidelines, you might be doing things that Instagram will ban you for as soon as they find out about it.

In fact, you should both read Instagram’s community guidelines and Terms of Use.

When reading them, it might seem like Instagram is a tough dictator who limits everyone from performing actions and saying what they want, however, they’re doing it for a good reason.

Without these anti-bot and spam regulations, Instagram would be packed with bots and spammers seriously harming the user experience.

10. Use Instagram like a regular user would

This is mostly relevant when creating a new account, but also when using an older account as well. In fact, if you want to avoid getting blocked or banned on Instagram, you should do this at all times.

When you use Instagram as a normal user, you show that you aren’t a bot. If you log in once a week and starts liking, commenting, and following excessively, you’re showing signs of Instagram usage that certainly isn’t normal.

11. Verify your email

This is an easy yet highly important way to avoid getting blocked or banned.

By verifying your email, you show that you are a real person who doesn’t use a fake email address like most bot accounts tend to do.

When visiting your account, you’ll see the following message in your profile if you haven’t verified your email:

You’ll also see a message asking you to verify your email when tapping “edit profile” and look at the email section:

What to do if you have been blocked

If you’ve already been blocked or banned, tough luck!

When you get temporarily banned, you never know for how long. It can be for hours or even weeks! Sometimes Instagram says how long you are blocked – sometimes not. Instagram’s rules really are a minefield where you never know your destiny.

If you’ve gotten permanently, banned, getting your account back is very hard – but not impossible.

Let’s look at the approaches you can take to make the block go away.

Report your issue to Instagram

When you see a message like the one below, tap “Tell us“. In this way, you can tell Instagram that they’ve made a mistake. And if they found that they have, and see that you haven’t done anything wrong, they’ll revoke your ban. Do note that the time when your block will expire may vary.

Report a problem

If you didn’t click “Tell us” when the notification appeared, don’t worry. You can contact Instagram and report a problem with your profile.

To report a problem, go to your profile and tap the cogwheel located just right to the “Edit Profile” button.

Scroll down until you see “Help Centre” and “Report a problem”

If you tap “Help center”, you’ll be redirected to their help section on their website. Here, you might be able to learn what caused the block.

If you’d like to reach out to Instagram, tap “Report a problem”.

When tapping that button you can choose the following options:

Considering the fact that you’ve been blocked, “Something isn’t working” is the most reasonable choice.

You’ll then be redirected to a page where you can write to Instagram and explain the problem you are experiencing.

And hopefully, if they find you innocent, they might remove your block.

If your account has been banned on Instagram

If your account has been deactivated, also known as banned, there’s only one thing to do. 

This is what Instagram says about your account getting banned:

“If you think your account has been deactivated by mistake, you can report it by opening the app, type in your username and password, then follow the instructions that follow.”

The main reason why Instagram might make a mistake when it comes to banning accounts is that they mainly don’t do it manually. Instead, they have programs that work to identify bots and spammers which harm the platform and do so at such a great degree that they should be permanently banned.

Of course, the bots can make mistakes, and if you have been banned from Instagram, your best hope is that Instagram has made a mistake. Because if that is the case, you’ll get your account back. Or, what Instagram say, ”you may be able to appeal the decision by opening the app”.

The way you know that you have been banned on Instagram you’ll see a message telling you when you try to log in. 

Do note that accounts that don’t follow Instagram’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Use may be disabled without warning.

To appeal the decision, log in to your account just like you normally would. Since you won’t be able to log in, you’ll get on-screen instructions. Follow those.

If you don’t see a message telling you that your account has been disabled, it might just be the case that you’re experiencing an issue with logging in.

You might have been blocked from creating new accounts

If Instagram has banned your account, you might be banned from creating new accounts in the future.

If Instagram sees you as a threat to the community, they’ll remember your IP address and block you from creating new accounts.

12. Do not use any automated service 

It is against Instagram’s rules to use third-party services and tools whose purpose is to perform spam-like behavior with your account. Worst of all, if you use a bot for your account to perform the actions discussed above, you won’t just be punished with a temporarily block from doing those actions, but also, if Instagram identifies that you are using a bot, chances are, they’ll ban your account.

The reason is that using bots and other pam-services is strictly forbidden and against their rules.

13. Managing multiple Instagram accounts?

 If you manage multiple accounts on Instagram and use bots (which you shouldn’t), you need to run the bots on different IP addresses. The reason is that if you put all accounts under one IP address if one account gets banned for using a bot, the rest of the accounts under the same IP will get banned as well.

14. Don’t buy fake followers or likes

It’s not just against Instagram’s rules to spam-like a bunch of followers and spam-follow on the platform, but it is also against Instagram’s rules to buy followers or likes.

Of course, this isn’t very surprising as Instagram doesn’t want anyone to manipulate their accounts on the platform, but rather use it the way it was intended to.

If Instagram catches you buying fake followers or likes, you might be punished for it by being temporarily blocked or even banned on Instagram.

15. Don’t buy or sell accounts

Instagram writes in their terms: “You are responsible for any activity that occurs through your account and you agree you will not sell, transfer, license or assign your account, followers, username, or any account rights.”. The reason you aren’t allowed to buy or sell accounts on Instagram is that the platform is created mainly for personal, individual use, which means accounts focused on you yourself, but if you sell accounts or buy them, they probably aren’t focused on a specific individual.

16.Creating accounts in a spammy way

As mentioned, the services who sell likes, followers, etc. have to consistently create new accounts in order to be able to continue providing their services as their old ones get banned, but the catch is that Instagram limits you to create a maximum of five accounts per device.

In their terms, they write “You must not create accounts with the Service through unauthorized means, including but not limited to, by using an automated device, script, bot, spider, crawler or scraper.”

obviously, the services who sell likes and followers etc need much more than just five accounts, they need thousands, and in order to be able to create these, they use methods that aren’t allowed, which party also causes Instagram to ban them.

17. Don’t send spammy Direct Messages

A similar principle to leaving spammy comments on posts apply to Direct Messages.

If you use it to send spammy messages with the purpose of spamming, Instagram might temporarily block or ban your account. One thing is for sure, they will temporarily block you from using the direct message feature.

In their terms, Instagram writes “You must not create or submit unwanted email, comments, likes or other forms of commercial or harassing communications (a/k/a “spam”) to any Instagram users”.

18. Selling illegal products/services or promoting such

Quite self-explanatory, but stay away from trying to sell or promote any illegal services or products on Instagram as this is against their rules.

Instagram says ”You may not use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. You agree to comply with all laws, rules, and regulations (for example, federal, state, local and provincial) applicable to your use of the Service and your Content (defined below), including but not limited to, copyright laws.”.

19. Don’t post inappropriate content, especially sexual or copyrighted content

To avoid being blocked or banned on Instagram, it’s extremely important that you stay away from sharing any type of spammy posts that are against Instagram’s guidelines. If you share inappropriate content, Instagram will be quick at deleting it and maybe even punishing you for it because Instagram has programmed bots which work day and night to scan and identify content which is against their rules.

Instagram writes “You may not post violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive photos or other content via the Service.”.

20. Don’t share the Instagram logo

While this isn’t a surefire way to get your account temporarily or permanently blocked or banned on Instagram, it might lead to it.

Using Instagram’s logo is copyright infringement, and this might cause them to take appropriate action, even though it is far from the most common reason why they take an action.

21. Automated posts using a non-Instagram approved third-party service

There are a few third-party apps out there which Instagram has approved and which you can use to automate and schedule your Instagram posts, however, Instagram forbids most services to post on your account, because these services keep logins and passwords, which is unsafe for users, and might cause their accounts to be hacked.

22. Don’t spread confidential information about other people

If you spread confidential information, such as credit card numbers, passport details, phone numbers or e-mails, Instagram might decide to temporarily block or ban your account as it is against their rules.

Additional types of blocks on Instagram

Apart from the regular ”blocked from liking”, ”blocked from commenting” etc, there are a number of other blocs that can hit your account on Instagram.

Phone number block

If you didn’t know, you can get phone number blocked on Instagram. This happens when you create too many Instagram accounts using one telephone number for reminding the password.

The block which takes place is permanent and leads to you not being able to add your phone number. The way to get around this is by using a different phone number.

E-mail block

Maybe doesn’t come as a big surprise, but similar to the phone number block, this will block your e-mail address or even whole domain on which the email was registered.

If you have your email blocked, you won’t be able to create new Instagram accounts using that email address. Instead, you need to use a new one.

IP block

Instagram might block your IP address. Instagram has set a limit of 5,000 actions which one IP address can perform daily, and so if you will connect to a network where there are many active Instagram users, your actions may be hidden by Instagram if the daily limit will be exceeded. The IP address might even be completely banned if this happens repeatedly.

Username block

Instagram can actually block your whole username. They can do this if the username you have is considered offensive or scandalous. Th

Instagram automatically rejects usernames which have “.com”.

URL profile block

Since Instagram has limited the places where you can share links on the platforms, the bots have to make the best of the situation, and the main place where you can share clickable URL on Instagram is in the profile bio. The catch, however, is that if your link is inappropriate, Instagram might block your URL.

Keyword comment block

This isn’t a block by Instagram, but instead, a block by the person who has shared the post. On Instagram, there’s a feature which enables users to type in their own keywords, and if a comment is left on their post includes any of those keywords, the comment will be blocked from being posted.

Location block

If a specific location has inappropriate photos shared with it, Instagram might block that place. Of course, this isn’t a block to your own account, but a block on a specific location which prevents you from getting exposure if you use those location check-ins.

Conclusion

With all of this knowledge, Instagram might feel like a dangerous place where you’ll get punished for the minimal mistake. However, do not fear. Use the platform like a regular user would, which means avoiding spammy actions, and you’ll be fine. Instagram’s goal with having tightened up their rules and actions against spam and spam-like behavior is to make the platform more enjoyable.