What to Do if You Have Been Shadow Banned: DoNotPay Can Help

Have you noticed a sudden decline in your followers on a social media platform? Does it look like no one is seeing and engaging with your posts and content anymore? And why can't anyone see your comments? You’re probably “shadow banned.”

Why is this happening to me, you wonder. Why did I not get a prior warning or an official ban? All these questions play out in your mind. But can you fix this? Can you get back your account?

DoNotPay is here to provide answers to your questions and guide you on how to avoid getting shadow-banned in the future.

What is a Shadow Ban?

Today, social media is a big part of our lives. We treasure our social media accounts and put a lot of effort into growing them. Therefore, a shadow ban is a user's biggest nightmare on any social media platform. But what is a shadow ban? What happens when your account is shadow-banned? When you're shadow-banned, your content is fully or partially blocked from some areas of a social media platform—usually without your knowledge.

Your activities on the platform and your posts or comments may be hidden from other users on the same platform. It's like your digital presence has been wiped clean. A shadowban is not good, and it will negatively impact your account. For instance:

• Your follower engagement may drastically decrease
• Your growth on the platform will stagnate or dramatically decline
• Your username or hashtags will not show up when searched
• You may be restricted from using certain features in the platform, e.g., the like button, replies, or the share option
• Your posts or content will not appear on other people's feeds

Why Do People Get Shadow Banned?

You can get shadow-banned on a platform for various reasons. Here are some of the most common ones:

1. Violating the platforms' terms and conditions: This is the main reason why accounts get shadow banned.
2. Fake engagements on the platform: This may include paying for likes, comments, or followers, thus giving you an unfair advantage over other users of the platform.
3. Using bots: Using bots, whether to increase activity in your account, boost follower interaction, or redirect more traffic to your account, is not only unfair but also a violation of most platforms' terms and conditions.
4. You can also be banned from a site if your account has been frequently reported by other users, probably for posting inappropriate content or violating the community guidelines.

What to Do If You Get Shadow Banned

Before taking any drastic action, you must first confirm that you have been shadow-banned on the platform. Let's look at some ways you can do that.

1. Use available online tools to test for shadow ban. Some of these tools include Triberr, The Heist, Shadowban.io, etc. They can help you see if your account has indeed been shadow-banned.
2. A sudden drop in followers can also be a strong indicator of a shadowban.
3. Use a friend's account to search for your account on the platform and see if it appears in the search suggestions. If your account is not visible, chances are you have been shadow-banned.

Once you confirm that your account has been shadow-banned, the next course of action will depend on the platform itself.

Here are steps you can take to remove your shadow ban from most platforms:

1. Take a break from that platform. This will allow you to go through your recent activities on the platform to see if one may have caused your shadow ban. Also, the shadow ban may be lifted after a few days or weeks without you having to do anything.
2. Report your shadow ban by contacting the platform's customer care and explaining in detail your current situation. Do not forget to provide important account details in your report to hasten the processing of your complaint.
3. Remove any third-party apps or software that are not compliant with the platform's terms of service.

Get Your Shadow Banned Account Back With DoNotPay

In most cases, the likelihood of hearing back from the customer support team of most platforms is significantly minimal. Luckily, DoNotPay steps in to help you be heard. We can help you write a demand letter to appeal your shadow ban. We put pressure on the company to respond to your appeal as soon as possible. All you have to do is:

1. Log in to your DoNotPay account and locate the Unban My Account product.
2. Answer a few questions related to your banned account.
3. Click on the Sign and Submit button.

DoNotPay will generate a customized appeal letter in less than five minutes and send it directly to the company. It will contain a two-week deadline for the company to respond.

How to Not Get Shadow Banned

Now that you are familiar with what shadow banning is and how it can affect your accounts, you need to be careful how you use your account. Here are some tips to help you avoid getting shadow-banned:

1. Do not engage in activities that are against the platform's terms of service. It would be wise to read through the guidelines and terms and conditions to fully understand the scope of what is accepted on that platform and what is not.
2. Don't harass or offend fellow users on the platform. Ensure you are posting content that is in line with the community guidelines. Please do not spam or harass your fellow users. Also, try to avoid unnecessary confrontations in your comments and posts.
3. At all costs, steer clear of posting inappropriate or illegal content.
4. Do not use software that violates the terms of service of that particular website. Ensure the software you intend to use is approved by that platform.

DoNotPay Can Help You Appeal Banned or Suspended Accounts on Any Platform

We understand how frustrating it can be to be shadow-banned, banned, or suspended on a site or social media platform. Therefore, we're here with a solution. DoNotPay can help you appeal your account's ban or suspension from any platform. These include:

What Else Can DoNotPay Do?

DoNotPay is just as helpful in helping you deal with other situations like:

• Recovering account passwords
• Deleting your accounts
• Analyzing TOS
• Copyright protection
• Identity theft

Sign up for DoNotPay today and enjoy our many other great services.