Is Instagram shadowban a myth or a fact? Before I go ahead explaining the existence of the shadowban, here’s what Instagram shadowban actually means:
Instagram shadowban is Instagram limiting the reach of your posts by banning it from appearing on certain hashtags or the Explore page. This has a direct result on the account that is shadowbanned as their posts reach less people and they get low engagement (likes, followers, comments) on their Instagram profile.
Instagram Shadowban: Myth or Fact?
Instagram has said it explicitly that there’s nothing like an Instagram shadowban. Here’s what TechCrunch had to say about Instagram shadowban after their meeting with the Instagram team:
“Shadowbanning is not a real thing, and Instagram says it doesn’t hide people’s content for posting too many hashtags or taking other actions.”
However, despite Instagram’s denial of Instagram shadowban existence, there are several Instagram users who have witnessed the ban on their posts over and over. There are many complaints by Instagram users on several forums, Twitter, and other social media pages on how shadowban is inhibiting their Instagram growth.
Image via Twitter
Also, recently, Facebook released an “integrity” guideline to be followed by Instagram and Facebook to maintain the content on these sites. Here’s what has to be implemented on Instagram to safeguard the platform from some forms of content:
Going through the statement provided by Facebook, it’s quite evident that the Instagram algorithm has been reducing the reach of the posts on the platform. Their statement is vaguely familiar to the concept of “shadowban” where the posts are not banned altogether but banned from certain hashtags or the Explore page.
Instagram has also previously accepted that their algorithm does have some hashtag issues that can prevent a post from being showed on it.
Taking the experience of all the Instagram users and the measures taken by Instagram to limit post growth, it’s quite evident that Instagram shadowban exist and can’t be outright denied.
How to Test if your Instagram Posts are Shadowbanned?
There are a few simple and easy ways to test if your posts are shadowbanned by Instagram. Here are a few:
1. Use Instagram shadowban tester
Triberr has this simple yet effective tool that can help you learn if your posts are being shadowbanned. Just type in your Instagram handle at Triberr Instagram shadow ban test, and you will see results like below that can tell you which hashtags are not showing your posts.
2. Check if you are shadowbanned in your Instagram analytics
For every post on Instagram, you can view Insights to see how many people have discovered your posts using hashtags. Analyzing over a few posts from your account can give you a good idea if Instagram is limiting your hashtag reach or not.
3. Click on the hashtags and check
This is probably the most direct way to check for a certain post if your posts are being shadowbanned on Instagram.
Ask 3-4 people who do not follow you to click on all the hashtags that you have added on a post and check if your post can be seen. If there are certain hashtags where no one can see your post, then it’s a clear indication that you have been shadowbanned by Instagram for those hashtags.
Finally, How to avoid being shadowbanned
While there are no definitive rules as to how the Instagram algorithm decides to shadowban, but, you can follow some of the basics like:
Following all the Instagram community guidelines.
Avoiding any bots or third-party engagement pods and tools.
Refraining from spamming similar hashtags on all your posts.
These should help you in safeguarding your accounts from the Instagram shadowban.
I hope all the points we have discussed above have helped you in understanding the Instagram shadowban in detail. Learn more about correctly using hashtags on Instagram here.
If you have any further questions or doubts regarding the article, you can share it with me in the comments below.
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