Is Instagram Shadowbanning You?!
Is Instagram Shadowbanning You?!
Okurrrrrr let’s just call it out: Instagram feels weird lately. No?
Are you noticing that your views are down, or that your Reels aren’t moving. I’m hearing this A LOT with my students. And the question that always comes up is:
Idalia, am I being shadowbanned?!?!?!
Real talk.. the answer may just be YES. Like yeah dude, you might actually be restricted by IG and not even know it. But here’s the good news. I’m going to show you had to literally tell if they’re limiting your account and how to fix it, oh and it takes less than 45 seconds.
For context, when I did the steps I’m going to teach you below, I realize that because of one IG Story frame (yes my friends, I was blocked bc of ONE frame) which was linking to THIS SUBSTACK, IG decided to flat out block my account not only from the Explore page (ie, new potential followers) but also to my actual followers. I found out (again, thanks to my steps below) that they thought I was inflicting messages of self harm.
Uh, no bro. I was defending a woman’s right to have whatever body she feels most proud in.
Okay, so let’s walk through the steps…
Go to your IG profile
Tap the three bars (☰) in the top right
Tap “Settings & Privacy”
Scroll to “Account Status”
Look under “Removed Content” or “Messaging Restrictions”
If anything’s flagged (ie, if not all the options are in GREEN checkmarks), there’s your answer!
If you are being restricted, then do these steps:
Tap the flagged content
Hit Request Review
Explain why your content doesn’t violate IG’s policy. In my humble experience I wrote two sentences that my message wasn’t about self-harm but about women empowerment and for women to not feel subjected to their weight.
DONE!
Within 24 hours of requesting a review, the block was lifted.
The Reel I posted right after?
20,000+ views.
Just like that, I was back!
My advice?
Check your Account Status weekly. Think of it like brushing your teeth but for your business.
And I do wanna point out that the algorithm isn’t out to get you as all of this is truly automated. You just need to be aware and advocate for your content bc if you don’t do it, no one else will.
I’ll keep sharing tips like these to help you protect and grow your creator brand with actual strategy, not speculation. So do me a fav and Subscribe, will ya?
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XX Idalia