Emma Crameri
Instagram recently stopped me from liking other people’s posts and adding captions to my own photos.
I wasn’t fully blocked from using my account. I was able to post images to stories and the feed, however, I just couldn’t add a caption. To get around this, I was able to post an image and then swap to my personal account to add the first comment. (I hoped no one noticed the slight change).
I was also unable to like other people’s posts. When I attempted to do it, I got the error message: “Action Blocked. This action was blocked. Please try again later. We restrict certain content and actions to protect our community. Tell us if you think we made a mistake. Then I had two options, to hit OK or the Tell us”.
Fortunately, I could still send direct messages and talk to my friends.
I wondered if I had been shadow banned – so I searched online for the answer.
Here are some of the recommendations I found:
- Logout of your account, uninstall the app and reinstall it
- If you have used any unapproved tools, change your Instagram password right now to avoid any more damage.
- Click on settings (cog icon), then Apps and Websites – delete any apps that you no longer need. You can also check here, when you are logged in: https://www.instagram.com/accounts/manage_access/ (I discovered I’d authorised access to WordPress.com, Linktree, Gleam Competitions, Intellifuence, Zipkick, Test2 (random!), Zomato, Buffer, Hootsuite, theright.fit, Influence.co, Iconsquare Pro (unused widget), Commission Factory Dashboard, Spout Social, Fohr, Plann, Social Soup Connector. Ekk – some these had to go!!)
- Alex Tooby says “Yes, there are limits to how many actions you can take per day on Instagram. This includes the amount of photos you like, the amount of comments you leave and how many people you follow or unfollow. Depending on the age of your account, your limits may be different but in most cases you shouldn’t exceed 150 likes, 60 comments and 60 follows/unfollows per hour.”
I assumed the ban would only last a couple of weeks – and a break from posting was kind of nice. After a month I started to get more worried, so I did some more research. I started to think I had accidentally used a blocked hashtag or hit a limit.
I clicked on the settings (cog icon), then “Report a Problem” and I wrote them a short but succinct email about my issue.
This restricted access lasted around 6 weeks. Fortunately, one day (about a week later after ‘Reporting a Problem’), without any notification, I was back in business and could use the full functionality of Instagram.
Please leave a comment if you believe you have been shadow banned or restricted on Instagram, and how you resolved it?
Instagram Help:
https://help.instagram.com/
Instagram Platform Policy:
https://www.instagram.com/about/legal/terms/api/
Yes this too happened to me but it lasted 6 months. I deleted the account and made a new one! It was very frustrating
I just created my new Instagram and this happened. I try to add a caption and I get the Error message that is action has been blocked. This is very frustrating. Now I’m afraid I am going to delete and try all over again
How can Instagram expect new business to use the platform if they block the only functions available to build a viable following.
I have been seeing this happening recently with a handful of accounts I’m following. Whatever triggers this algorithm is happening a lot more often in the network we’ve built with BLM. It is hurting Independent bookstores and photographers the most, but also personal accounts. I’d like more transparency from IG.