If you’re a growth marketer, like me, and always testing the limits of what you can and cannot do on Instagram, you’re in the right place. Or if you just received a notice that says, “Instagram account disabled for violating terms…”, you’re also in the right place. This article is going to fully explain how to avoid having your Instagram account suspended, as well as how to recover a banned Instagram account.
In its infancy (if you can call 300 million monthly active users 2 years from launch a company’s infancy), Instagram was wide open for growth hackers to use Instagram bots that could ‘like’ and comment on an infinite number of posts, as well as follow an unlimited amount of targeted accounts.
Using unapproved tools to artificially grow your presence on the platform will quickly get your Instagram account suspended or banned in 2023.
So, here’s the good news: Not only are you about to learn the do’s and don’ts of Instagram, but you’re also going to learn about brand new, 100% Instagram-approved tools that can scale your marketing and sales efforts without violating Facebook’s policies.
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7 Ways to Protect your Instagram Account from Being Banned
The best way to avoid being banned, blocked, or suspended from Instagram is to know all of the things not to do on Instagram. Our agenda for the day is to cover the best ways to protect your Instagram account from being banned or disabled.
7 Best Ways to Protect your Instagram Account from Being Banned:
- Only use official Instagram tools or trusted third-party software.
- Make sure you have a connection to Instagram.
- Don’t mass copy and paste the same comment on posts.
- Do not use mass follow and like bots – it’s not worth it!
- Don’t share content that violates Instagram policy.
- Do not grow your Instagram account artificially.
- Everything you need to know about bots and automated tools for Instagram.
Then, for those of you already in trouble and you need to get your Instagram account back, I’ve got 5 actions you can take, immediately.
Okay, let’s get straight to it! Here are the best ways to make sure you never have your Instagram account suspended, and what to do if your Instagram account is blocked, disabled, or banned.
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#1. Only Use Official Instagram Tools
The marketing software you choose to use on Instagram can get you into trouble, fast.
When looking into marketing software solutions for Instagram, look for language, badges, quotes, or anything clearly stating that the tools are authorized for use by Instagram (or Facebook). To clarify, this isn’t always 100% necessary, of course.
For example, Customers.ai is a premier Instagram partner designing official tools for messaging automation on Instagram. And as a long-time Facebook solutions partner and fastest-growing Instagram messaging solutions provider, Customers.ai has built the first live Instagram chatbot that’s 100% Instagram-approved.
It’s no secret, using bots is guaranteed to get your Instsagram account disabled sooner rather than later. And after the first time your Instagram account is disabled, a second terms of use violation could easily result in Instagram banning your account permanently.
Knowing how important this is to serious influencers, creators, and marketers, we even pushed the following quote from Facebook’s VP of Platform Partnerships up to the top of our Instagram tools landing page, immediately below the fold.
“We are thrilled that Customers.ai is launching messaging tools for Instagram. Businesses and people are messaging with each other more than ever, and Instagram is an important channel to connect with customers and build relationships. Messenger API support for Instagram means businesses and developers can now manage their customer communications on Instagram at scale.”
Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, VP of Platform Partnerships at Facebook Messenger
If you’re not sure if a particular software solution is safe to use on Instagram, you can always browse different options or verify the authenticity in Facebook’s partner directory.
#2. Know Somebody (or somebody that knows somebody)
Facebook has over 58,000 employees, as of 2021. So, you’d think it would be easy to get help from Facebook customer service, right?
Unfortunately, when you get blocked, banned, suspended, disabled, or even if your Facebook Ads or Instagram Ads are declined, getting a clear explanation from Facebook is almost impossible. That is, unless you know somebody, or have a close connection.
If you don’t already know someone at Facebook that you can rely on to bypass the stressful process to recover a disabled or banned Instagram account, I highly recommend scouring your LinkedIn and asking around for a connection at Facebook/Instagram.
As for knowing someone that has connections at Facebook and is willing to reach out on your behalf, congrats! You just met someone, right now. 📱🐵
As an official Instagram messaging solutions provider and partner of Facebook, Customers.ai is happy to reach out to our connections on our clients’ behalf. That is, as long as you’re not asking us to support deliberately immoral behavior.
Remember, even if you do know someone at Facebook, that doesn’t give you free rein to scrape profiles and bot followers. I’ve done both, I’ll admit it. However, I only would recommend testing the limits if you know what those limits are.
So, if you’re going to push the limits on Instagram, do yourself a huge favor and take these steps:
- Make connections that can get your account back up and running quickly when you push too far. And, even better…
- When building your MarTech stack, be sure to work with at least one trusted partner of Instagram (such as Customers.ai) that have reliable software, as well as business relationships with Facebook, which can really come in handy if you need someone to reach out to Facebook on your behalf.
This is good. Now you know someone!
“And knowing is half the battle.”
GI Joe, a real American hero
#3. Don’t Copy & Paste the Same Comment On Posts
Mix it up! If you’re going to try pulling all the levers of the Instagram algorithm, don’t get lazy. Instagram will absolutely notice repeated comments. Again, Instagram is not a fan of bots, and mass comment bots are no exception.
So, if you think you can get away with commenting the same thing over and over on posts of the top Instagram accounts in your target market, simply because it’s you and not a bot doing it, think again. Instagram will consider you a bot if you cross a certain threshold within a short period of time.
Additionally, do not spam-comment. Spammy comments are way at the top of Instagram’s No-No List. You’ve all seen it, and yes, it’s as ridiculous as it looks and sounds.
No, I didn’t actually post that comment. But as hard as it is to believe, some people do. 😂
While spam-liking (hitting the like button on a lot of posts in a short period of time) is used as a way to draw attention, it isn’t harmful to any party involved. On the other hand, Instagram is pretty strict with how many comments you leave on posts in a short time frame.
Now, did you know that there are Instagram comment bots that actually work? Not only do they work, but they’re also a tool that’s 100% Instagram-approved. Furthermore, this tool doesn’t involve commenting on the posts of other profiles. This involves getting comments on your posts, which is even better, right?
Behold the Instagram comment auto-responder from Customers.ai!
Instagram comment auto-responders allow you to automatically reply to the comments on your Instagram posts with an engaging chat dialogue. The above GIF is an example of a comment auto-responder that’s triggered by commenting “INSTATOOLS”. Totally safe, won’t get your Instagram account suspended, and it works!
Check out this article to learn more about Instagram comment auto-responders and how our Founder, Larry Kim, was able to get more than 350 comments on a single post!
#4. Don’t Mass Follow and Like with Bots on Instagram
In the early days of Instagram, growth marketers and wannabe influencers used Instagram follow, like, and comment bots without consequence.
What is an Instagram follower bot? Well, it’s almost exactly what it sounds like. An Instagram follower bot will find targeted Instagram accounts that use particular keywords in their profiles and automatically follow them, as well as like and comment on their posts from a designated Instagram account.
In return, the hope was that you could grow your own Instagram follower base by receiving a follow-back from a small percentage of the accounts your Instagram follower bot follows.
However, that trend has changed dramatically for a few reasons. First and foremost, this strategy doesn’t work well anymore. People have caught-on to the tactic and it’s much harder, in general, to earn followers in 2023 than it was just a few years ago.
Ultimately, finding a cheap or free Instagram bot is the same as making the mistake of buying Instagram followers. The result is an inflated follower count with little to no engagement and a long list of noticeably fake followers.
The main reason why the Instagram follow and like bot trend has come to a standstill, however, is because those that bot followers often get their Instagram account suspended and destroy their online reputation.
For years now, Instagram has pushed back on accounts that try to game the system with fake followers and artificial growth. Furthermore, this type of behavior violates Instagram’s terms of use, and accounts that cheat their way to growth, commonly get suspended, blocked, or banned completely.
On the other hand, accounts with organic Instagram growth have been rewarded by the platform’s algorithm with increased content visibility and engagement.
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#5. Don’t Share Content that Violates Instagram’s Terms of Service
This particular way to protect your Instagram account from being banned should go without saying. However, are you fully aware of the content that you can and cannot share on Instagram?
Here’s the short, and rather obvious, list of images or videos you should refrain from posting on Instagram:
- Naked bodies.
- Sexual content.
- Violence.
- Someone else’s private or confidential information without permission.
- Share only photos and videos that you’ve taken or have the right to share.
- Credible threats or hate speech.
- Targets private individuals to degrade or shame them.
- Blackmail or harassment.
- Content that encourages violence.
The only non-obvious content that you need to either be careful posting or refrain from posting entirely, are “get rich quick” schemes, as well as solicitation of crypto-currency opportunities. Instagram isn’t game for shady pyramid schemes or bogus offers to make lots of money overnight.
Additionally, you can have your Instagram account suspended if you repeatedly contact other users for commercial purposes without their consent. So, if you’re trying to sell your hustle online, Instagram will require you to get creative.
Basically, use your best judgment when it comes to the content you share on Instagram. Check your WWJD bracelet, and you should be fine.
#6. Do Not Grow Your Presence on Instagram Artificially
Instagram is all about organic growth and engagement. So, cheating the system with sketchy tools to get ahead is by far the most common way to get your Instagram account suspended, blocked, disabled, or banned.
Instagram’s Terms of Use are pretty clear as to what you can and cannot do on the platform.
For digital marketing purposes, the most relevant Terms Of Use to pay attention to, directly from Instagram, are as follows:
“Help us stay spam-free by not artificially collecting likes, followers, or shares, posting repetitive comments or content, or repeatedly contacting people for commercial purposes without their consent. Don’t offer money or giveaways of money in exchange for likes, followers, comments or other engagement. Don’t post content that engages in, promotes, encourages, facilitates, or admits to the offering, solicitation or trade of fake and misleading user reviews or ratings.”
Paints a pretty clear picture, doesn’t it? Simply put, Instagram doesn’t want anyone cheating the system, while others fight their way to Instagram super-fame through genuine, organic engagement.
It’s safe to say that the majority of tools that facilitate automated actions on Instagram are best to refrain from using. In recent years, many once-thriving software companies have been served Cease & Desist orders by Facebook. In fact, I was on the executive team of a Silicon Valley startup, not too long ago, that received one of those orders.
Not the greatest day I’ve ever had, but oh well. Sometimes when you play with fire, you get burned.
All that being said, people still try to cheat to get ahead on Instagram every day. However, it simply doesn’t work anymore, and if you’re careless, you’re almost certain to be banned from Instagram, permanently.
However, there is one Instagram bot that’s perfectly safe to use.
#7. Chatbot Automation Tools for Instagram: What You Need to Know
The majority of chatbots and marketing automation tools built for Instagram are extremely low quality, don’t perform actions that increase engagement with your content, and are flat-out dangerous to use. That is if you care about growing a legitimate Instagram presence.
However, in 2021, Instagram hand selected trusted partners, such as Customers.ai, to be the official chatbot solutions for Instagram.
So, next we’re going to cover the good and the bad when it comes to marketing automation on Instagram.
The Bad: Do Not Use These Bots on Instagram
I’m about to list out a number of Instagram bots and chatbots built for Instagram. Many of them have become popular, however, I wouldn’t recommend using them.
The reason for their popularity is solely due to the lack of marketing automation tools still standing after Instagram’s crackdown on fake follower and like bots.
Yet, some of these tools still work. Sadly, however, by the time many of you read this, most of the tools on this list will no longer be available, due to permanent ban from Instagram.
Here’s what to look out for when choosing chatbots and automation tools for Instagram:
- Not approved by Instagram, listed as a trusted service provider, or partner.
- Bots disguised as content schedulers on their website.
- Features commonly disappear because they’re no longer allowed.
- Campaigns can only run for limited periods of time.
- Don’t have a website.
- Constantly change their brand name.
- Hacked together solutions that regularly break.
- Open source projects.
- Campaigns result in mostly fake followers.
These tools aren’t worth your time, are poorly managed, and constantly lose functionality because Instagram eventually catches up with their tricks and puts an end to it.
- Direct Heroes
- AiGrow
- MaherGram
- IIGAssistant
- Instamber
- Pandro
- Social Sensei
- Combin
- BigBangram
- DM Magic
- Instavast
- IG:dm
- KENJI
- Ingramer
- Instazood
- iDirect
Even when these tools do work, they don’t benefit your account long term.
The results from using bots likes the ones above are as follows:
- Majority of your followers are embarrassingly fake.
- Inflated follower count with little engagement, which makes it impossible to get visibility on your posts.
- Only useful for a short period of time because your Instagram account will get suspended.
- Instagram users are smart, and will quickly realize you’re a phony.
- People are sick of follower bots and will humiliate accounts with many fake followers or report them to Instagram.
This isn’t the way you want to grow your presence on Instagram if you’re a serious business or trying to build actual influence.
If you don’t want to have your Instagram account suspended and you’re serious about growing a legitimate follower base on Instagram, avoid these tools, period.
The Good: Bots that are safe to use on Instagram
So, are there any Instagram bots that are safe to use? Yes!
In fact, none of the above should discourage you from your quest to find the best bot for Instagram.
And if you’re asking yourself, “Are there any Instagram bots that work?” You’re in luck, because there’s a happy medium between artificial and organic methods to get more followers on Instagram.
Customers.ai is a chatbot platform that’s 100% approved by Instagram. At a high level, the platform’s main benefits include:
- Ability to start a chat dialogue from numerous engagement touchpoints.
- Instant replies to comments on posts.
- Automated messages sent to people who mention you in their Instagram Story.
- Multi-user inbox management solutions and auto-reply tools for messages sent to your DM (direct message) inbox.
- Hyper-acceleration of organic engagement on Instagram.
Customers.ai is what you’re looking for because it’s going to get you the kind of followers that you actually want, without getting your Instagram account suspended..
The #1 goal on Instagram is to get followers that are going to engage with and share your content.
Customers.ai gives you the ability to scale organic engagement, which means you still need to earn that engagement.
However, instead of cheating the system and getting shadowbanned on Instagram in the process, Customers.ai is the first tool for Instagram that hyper-accelerates genuine engagement, which is exactly how Instagram intended accounts to grow on the platform.
Essentially, you get all the benefits of automation tools for Instagram and none of the drawbacks of growing your presence on Instagram artificially.
Instagram Banned my Account! How to Get Unbanned from Instagram
Okay, we know what to avoid if you don’t want to have your Instagram account suspended. But what if your account already is suspended by Instagram?
Here’s what to do if you’ve recently had an, “Uh oh, Instagram blocked my account!” moment…
How to know if Instagram banned you
Many people who actually do get banned from Instagram don’t know whether or not they actually were banned.
So, before completely freaking out, here’s how to know if Instagram banned you:
The easiest way to tell if you’ve been banned is if you get a notification that says, “You’re Temporarily Blocked… It looks like you were misusing this feature by going too fast. You’ve been temporarily blocked from using it. We restrict certain content and actions to protect our community. Tell us if you think we made a mistake.”
But let’s say you missed, discarded, or did not receive a message like the one above.
In that case, another way to know you’ve been blocked on Instagram, is if you’re unable to perform certain actions such as adding new images, liking a post, following an account, or commenting on a post.
How to Recover a Banned Instagram Account: 5 Actions You Can Take
Need to know how to get your banned Instagram account back, how long does Instagram ban your account, or even if it’s possible to get banned from Instagram permanently? This next bit is for you.
Most offenders of Instagram’s Terms of Service receive a temporary ban. The degree of your violation will determine how long your temporary ban will last. However, once you’ve received a temporary ban, be careful!
If you continue to mass follow, unfollow, spam, copy and paste comments, etc. after you recover your temporarily banned account, you risk permanent removal from Instagram. I strongly advise never taking the same actions that got you banned in the first place. However, if you’re going to attempt a “smarter” version of what you were doing wrong, put at least a few months in between the moment of your first ban and the moment you attempt your growth hacking strategy again.
Ultimately, if you’re using the best Instagram marketing tools and focus on organic Instagram growth, you’ll never need to worry about having your Instagram account suspended.
If you do however find yourself in a sticky situation, you’re in luck!
What to do when you get banned from Instagram
The first step to get your banned Instagram account back, is to answer the question: “Why did Instagram ban me?”
Then, I suggest taking each of the following five actions, one-by-one, when attempting to recover a disabled Instagram account. So if option #1 doesn’t work, move onto option #2 and so on.
Option #1: Report your disabled account to Instagram
When you try to log in, you’ll see a message telling you that your account has been disabled. If this message still appears, click the “Tell Us” or the “Learn More” button.
Run through the prompts in the app, but keep in mind that to recover your Instagram account you have to pass the appeal process. The only way that will happen, is if it was disabled by mistake. So, saying you’re sorry for breaking the rules and promising to never do it again isn’t going to cut it.
Another place you can submit appeals is this official contact page. Simply fill in the required fields and click “Send” to have your case reviewed. However, avoid apologizing because this implies you were at fault. You may be asked to send in a selfie as verification at some point in the process.
You can repeat the appeal process as often as you like until you get a more lenient moderator. Yes, you might just have to catch someone on a good day. Assuming you haven’t intentionally broken any major rules, it shouldn’t take more than a few days to get a response. Be persistent and eventually you will recover your Instagram account.
Option #2: Suspend all Instagram activities for a few days
If you’re ability to post has been disabled, but you can still browse through Instagram, the best option is to just do nothing.
So, if you can manage to not have your account active for a few days, do it. You should end all actions for at least two days. That means no likes, comments, follos or unfollows. Of course, you can continue browsing on Instagram.
If this is for personal use, and not business use, I promise, you can do this. Go read a book, take a walk, and pet your dog because he’s a good boy!
Then, on the 3rd day, attempt going about your normal activities and remember to avoid anything that would make you look like a bot. You should like and comment on only a few photos each day for the next 3 or more weeks.
Even if you just got your business account back from a scary temporary ban, I would emplore you to take it easy for at least a few weeks.
Option #3: Link Instagram with other social networks
It would help you to link your Instagram account with your other social media accounts. By doing so, your account will immediately gain credibility. Plus it’s good for SEO and need to have cross-channel marketing tools, such as social media, working together to sell more online anyways.
To link your Instagram with other social networks, do the following:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Privacy and Security.
- Then select Linked accounts.
- Link all of your social media accounts.
Simple, right?
Option #4: Edit your Bio
I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a strong Instagram bio. This might help your account and it will definitely save you from any further trouble.
However, if your account is currently disabled, make sure to edit your bio just once and then wait for things to settle. Making multiple edits in a short time frame will actually work against you.
Learn how to write a business bio for Instagram. I guarantee it will pay dividends and help to get your Instagram account back.
Option #5: Clean up your Instagram account and then reinstall it
As a last resort, if you’re unable to recover your Instagram account, you’ll need to clean all your previous Instagram data and uninstall the app. If you get to this point, wait a few days after you uninstall, then re-install the app and wait a couple of days to see if your account is unbanned from Instagram.
When you do succesfully recover your account, now you have everything you need to ensure having your Instagram account suspended never happens again.
Instagram Account Suspended: Important Next Steps
Instagram accounts that use MoibileMonkey’s Instagram marketing tools, will generate automated activity and interactions which are perceived as entirely organic. And because you’re able to generate organic engagement at scale, this translates into a huge increase in genuine followers.
Best of all, with Customers.ai, you’ll be working with 100% Instagram-approved engagement tools.
The proof is in the numbers. 75% of consumers also prefer to engage with brands using private messaging channels vs traditional channels.
✅ Get early access to Instagram messaging tools.
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FAQs about Instagram Account Suspended
When an Instagram account is suspended, it means that Instagram has temporarily disabled or restricted the account’s functionality due to a violation of their community guidelines or terms of service. During the suspension, you may lose access to your account, and certain features or actions may be restricted.
There are various reasons why Instagram may suspend an account. Common reasons include engaging in spammy or abusive behavior, violating community guidelines (such as posting inappropriate or offensive content), using automated bots or third-party apps that violate Instagram’s terms, or repeatedly violating copyright or intellectual property rights.
The duration of an Instagram account suspension can vary depending on the severity of the violation. Typically, suspensions are temporary and can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. In some cases, if the violation is severe or if it’s a repeated offense, Instagram may permanently disable the account.
If your Instagram account is suspended, the first step is to review Instagram’s community guidelines and terms of service to understand what policy you may have violated. Once you’ve identified the issue, you can appeal the suspension by following the instructions provided by Instagram. Usually, this involves submitting an appeal form or following a specific process outlined in the account suspension notification.
To avoid future suspensions, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with Instagram’s community guidelines and terms of service. Ensure that your content adheres to these guidelines and avoid any behavior that could be considered spammy, abusive, or in violation of copyright. Be cautious when using third-party apps and only use authorized services that comply with Instagram’s terms. Additionally, engage with the platform in a genuine and authentic manner.
If your Instagram account has been permanently disabled, it’s challenging to recover it. However, you can try reaching out to Instagram’s support team by submitting an appeal or contacting their help center. Explain your situation and provide any relevant information they may require. While there’s no guarantee of success, it’s worth a try to regain access to your account.
If your previous Instagram account was suspended, you can create a new account using a different email address and username. However, it’s essential to learn from your past mistakes and ensure that you comply with Instagram’s guidelines and terms to avoid facing suspension again.
In most cases, Instagram will send a notification to your account email or within the app to inform you about a suspension or restriction. The notification will generally specify the reason for the suspension and provide instructions on how to appeal the decision or address the issue.
Yes, Instagram has a support team that you can contact for assistance with your suspended account. Visit Instagram’s Help Center and look for the appropriate support channels or contact options. Keep in mind that they receive a high volume of requests, so it may take some time to receive a response.
Submitting an appeal is the recommended course of action if your account has been suspended. By appealing, you have the opportunity to explain your situation, provide additional context, or rectify any misunderstandings. While there is no guarantee of success, it’s an essential step to try and regain access
