{"id":2958,"date":"2021-10-09T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-09T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twprod.wpengine.com\/instagram-shadowban\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T19:10:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T01:10:18","slug":"instagram-shadowban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tailwindapp.com\/blog\/instagram-shadowban","title":{"rendered":"The Instagram Shadowban: What It Is & How to Remove It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You\u2019ve probably heard of the Instagram Shadowban by now. Or maybe you’ve seen dozens of posts about Instagram accounts\u2019 reach and visibility plummeting. As well as content not appearing on the Explore Page!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More reports, theories, and complaints pouring onto social media every day, even as Instagram denies its existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is it a cover-up, or is there a much simpler explanation? Looking at statements and articles over the past three years, we think there is a pretty straightforward reason. And, some tips on what to do if you are shadowbanned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to investigate? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Instagram Shadowban?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instagram shadowban – what is it? There seems to be more theories and rumors about the shadowban floating around out there than solid fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, an Instagram shadowban refers to the platform limiting your content reach by restricting visibility. <\/strong>The primary \u201cindicator\u201d of a shadowban is your hashtagged content not appearing on Explore pages to anyone but your followers. Your reach and visibility for posts being severely limited is another result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is frustrating for personal accounts, creator accounts<\/a> and business accounts<\/a> working on their Instagram growth<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first important clue? Shadowbanning is a term lifted from a similar action on Twitter. It\u2019s not an official term<\/strong>, but rather a popular one among social media users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do Facebook + Instagram Say About the Shadowban?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instagram and Facebook have both denied the existence of a shadowban. Here\u2019s a timeline of statements from the company on shadowban. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2017: Instagram for Business published a message <\/strong>about hashtag search, hinting that this was a result of issues with the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 2018: Instagram hosted a group of reporters <\/strong>at its headquarters to explain the Instagram algorithm. They were told the shadowban does not exist.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2019: Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri answered at least two questions<\/strong> related to shadowbans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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