What to do if your Instagram account gets suspended

Instagram suspensions are a common issue experienced by content creators. What’s worse, it often happens for no reason, and recovering the account can be a confusing, frustrating and slow process. 

With that said, we’ve compiled the various Instagram support forms available for appealing your account suspension or deactivation. Let’s dive in.

How to know if your Instagram account is suspended, banned or disabled

You’ll know if your account has been suspended if you get a pop up notification stating so when logging into your account. You might receive a warning, or an immediate suspension. 

If you’ve received a warning, you can learn more about your account status:

1. Go to your Instagram profile
2. Click on Settings
3. Click on Help 
4. Open up Account Status

In the Account Status section, you can find out if you’ve posted something you shouldn’t have and what you can do about it.
Troubleshooting Instagram login errors and disabled notifications can be challenging, but one way to identify the issue is to have a friend search for your account from their app. This can help you determine if the problem is an error, temporarily blocked or permanently disabled.

Security tip: Remember, hackers often pretend to be Instagram support and use the hook of an imminent ban to lure users into their trap. Verify the legitimacy of such messages by:

1. Going to your Instagram profile
2. Opening your account settings
3. Clicking on Security
4. Clicking on Emails from Instagram

All official correspondence from Instagram from the last 14 days will appear here. Learn more about hacker tactics to keep your account safe. 

Why Instagram accounts get suspended, banned or disabled

There are several reasons why your account may have been suspended:

1. You’ve violated Instagram’s Terms of Use or Community Guidelines, for instance by posting copyrighted, inappropriate or misleading content.
2. Instagram thought you violated their guidelines but it was a mistake
3. You’ve been targeted by a shady Instagram banning scheme
4. You’ve used bots or paid for followers
5. Instagram's algorithm is glitching

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How to recover a suspended, banned or disabled Instagram account

Suspended because you didn’t follow Instagram community guidelines

If your Instagram account got disabled because it didn’t follow Instagram community guidelines. In that case, you might have the option to appeal the decision by submitting a selfie of yourself with your name, a code sent to your phone number and your Instagram username. Or, in some cases, to verify your identity.

Pro Tip: Ensure that the picture you send is clear, unedited, and not flipped horizontally (mirrored).

The review process can take up to two business days, and you will not have access to your account during this time. If your appeal is approved, you will receive an email from Instagram at the associated email address you provided with a link to reset your password.

If your appeal is denied, there are 2 options - 

1. Your verification failed - you may be able to resubmit your video selfie in the Instagram app.
2. Instagram denied your request and your account disabled -
   you will get an email that “Instagram has reviewed your request, however, the account has been found to go against Instagram Terms of Use and community standards”
   and while trying to log in, you’ll get the following message -
   “Your account has been permanently disabled because it didn't follow our Community Guidelines. This decision can't be reversed either because we've already reviewed it or because 30 days have passed since your account was disabled.”
   In this case, follow the next steps to recover a permanently disabled account.

What to do if your account is deactivated for violating Instagram’s Terms of Use

“Your account has been disabled for violating our terms”.

If Instagram has informed you that they've disabled, suspended or deactivated your account because you've repeatedly violated intellectual property or posted fraudulent or misleading content, there’s a form to get help.

You’ll need to explain why the content should not have been removed, and you’ll also be able to upload any relevant files to help your case.

Note that if you have genuinely violated Instagram’s Terms of Use, there’s little chance of successfully getting your account back. 

Click here to access the support form for your disabled Instagram account

Updated [December 2022]: At the end of 2022, Instagram built an all-in-one support page for its users, summing up the different forms and flows needed to recover your account for whatever reason. Check instagram.com/hacked and select 'My account was disabled' and then follow the instructions.

What to do if your account is deactivated by mistake

If your account was disabled for no reason at all, there's a specific support form you can fill out. This happens when Instagram’s algorithm mistakenly flags your account for violating the Community Guidelines.

This happens more than you’d think - we even came across someone who ran an account for her pup. She entered the dog’s birthday, and because the dog was younger than 13 (the minimum age required to use Instagram), Instagram automatically deactivated the account. Imagine you were earning your income through this account and you lose it because of this - totally ridiculous. 

To get support for an account that was deactivated by mistake, you’ll need to provide a copy of your government-issued photo ID. This ID must: 

• Be government-issued (ex: passport, driver's license) 
• Clearly show your name, picture and birthday 
• Be in color

Click here to access the support form for your mistakenly deactivated Instagram account

If this doesn’t work, there is another Instagram form you can try. It is unclear what the difference is, other than that in this alternative form you aren’t asked to share an ID. 
When appealing, provide a clear explanation for why you believe your account was blocked incorrectly, and include any relevant evidence or documentation.

What to do if your account that represents a business, product or service gets deactivated by mistake

Instagram has a specific support form for those who use Instagram to promote a business, product or service and get deactivated. 

In order to receive help, you’ll need to provide verification of this business by uploading one of the following:  

• Local business license 
• Tax filing Invoice 
• Certificate of Formation 
• Articles of Incorporation 
• Utility bill 
• Proof of domain name registration 
• Order fulfillment documentation

Click here to access Instagram’s support form for mistakenly deactivated accounts that are used to promote a business

What to do if my Instagram account has been temporarily blocked

Recently, Instagram added a new type of temporarily disabled, and you will get the following message while you’re logged in and trying to post, like, or follow/unfollow “your account has been temporarily blocked from taking this action”.

These messages are more detailed than other notifications and include the reason and a timeline for when this limits are going to expired.
The recommendation is to remove the 3rd part app or stop using the service that triggered/violated the community guidelines and to wait until the mentioned date.

What to do if you can’t log in to Instagram but haven’t been banned

If you’re having trouble signing into your account but haven’t received any messages from Instagram about Community Guideline violations, then it’s likely you’ve either forgotten your password or been hacked.

Getting hacked is extremely common - in fact every 10 minutes an Instagram account gets hacked in the U.S - and once hackers steal your account they immediately change its login details. 

Recovering a hacked account is often an extremely difficult and slow process, and many times creators are forced to start a new account. 

If you think you’ve been hacked, we have a whole article dedicated to helping you recover your account.

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Shadowbanning 

The term shadow-banning is frequently used to describe a wide range of experiences on Instagram, but it's important to note that it is not a practice that Meta actually uses. If you suspect that your account's visibility has been limited, it's best to check your account status within the app. This will give you an accurate picture of your account's performance and whether it has been affected by any issues.

There are a few things you can do to try to avoid it (besides reviewing and following Instagram's community guidelines), like stop using automation tools or other third-party apps (Instagram's terms of service prohibit the use of automation tools that can be used to artificially increase engagement or followers) and avoid using hashtags that are commonly associated with spammy behavior, as these can flag your account.

For more information, you can read Instagram's official response to Shadow banning and how Instagram’s ranking system works here.

To check your account status:
Go to your Instagram profile >> Click on Settings >> Click on Help >> Open up Account Status.
There you can find out if you posted something that should be on Instagram, learn what you can do if something you post is taken down, or submit an appeal (“disagree with decision”) to Instagram’s decisions.

Instagram asked you to confirm your identity 

There are several reasons why Instagram may ask you to confirm your identity, such as:

1. Verifying that the account belongs to you
2. Confirming or editing your age
3. Processing payments
4. Preventing abuse such as scams or phishing

Upload your ID, phone number, or your email address on Instagram, and follow the prompts provided. In most cases, you will have at least two attempts to submit an ID or any other information.

During the review process, you may temporarily lose access to your account. And if you choose not to confirm your identity, your content may be limited in distribution, or you may not be able to log back into your account. In some cases, if the review is not passed, Instagram may disable your account and delete your account data.

Avoid getting hacked by following Instagram’s Community Guidelines

Yes, accounts can be erroneously disabled or suspended. There’s not much you can do about that.

However, what you can do is limit the likelihood of getting suspended by taking the time to read through Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines. 

For creators earning income through their accounts especially, getting suspended is an extremely stressful experience. So be careful with your content and when in doubt, double check!

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