Well…this is a new one for me. I was recently banned for violating Instagram’s terms of use for an account that I had:
- Just created (I was banned 2 seconds after pushing the “Create Account” button and
- Had never posted a photo or comment from (since the ban happened immediately)
I mean, Instagram is notorious for banning accounts without any notice. They are pretty clear about the reasons that they might ban an account, but when it happens, there usually aren’t any warnings…it just happened.
I have seen multiple accounts with upwards of 100K followers who are suddenly banned. Those who plan for the possibility that it might happen often create a backup account to use while they try to resolve the issue.
In my situation, however, my account was immediately banned upon being created.
If your Instagram account is banned, there are steps you can take to get it back. Click To TweetMy wife and I are starting a new travel blog at FlatlandersIn.com with the goal of documenting and sharing our travel and providing tips and recommendations for those who might be interested.
As part of the blog-building process, I attempted to create a new Instagram business account at the handle of @FlatlandersIn. Nothing provocative…nothing offensive or incendiary. Just a simple handle where we can share our travel photo.
NOTE: Flatlanders are not flat-Earthers. For those not familiar with the term, flatlanders are people from flat areas of the country like Kansas, where we reside. Flat-earthers, on the other hand, well…don’t get me started.
Yet, upon clicking the “Create Account” button, I immediately received a notice that the account had been locked. Here’s what the notice looks like.
Oh, goodie! Instagram banned my account before I even posted a single image.
Apparently, I violated the Instagram terms of use without ever even posting a photo. Neato!
Knowing that Instagram is going to play a big role in our blog, I decided to go through the steps and document them for anyone else who is experiencing this issues. Instagram support is notoriously bad and automated using AI, so I’m not looking forward to the process.
Here are the steps I took.
NOTE: These steps worked for me because I followed them exactly. I performed every step that Instagram/Facebook asked me to. DON’T skip steps. DON’T leave emails unanswered. DO everything they ask of you.
Step 1 – Appeal The Ban Using The Instagram App
To kick of the process, you need to appeal the ban using the Instagram app. That means attempting to login and then, when you get the ban notification, click the “Appeal” link.
Click the Appeal link in the app and follow the steps to start the Instagram appeals process
In the screens that follow, fill in ALL the information. Don’t skip any fields and be sure to include an email address that is live and you are actively monitoring. You are going to want to reply back to the requests for information quickly.
NOTE: In a lot of cases, Instagram is trying to prevent bots or inflammatory people from creating accounts. They likely flagged your account for a reason, so you need to prove to them that you are legit. In my case, the fact that our blog is named “Flatlanders In” might have triggered some “Flat-Earther” logic in their AI.
During the process, you are going to be asked to provide some sort of proof, in the form of a document, that shows that you are a human being and you are entitled to the Instagram account.
In my case, I uploaded a receipt from GoDaddy showing that I had purchased the domain. This is the what the attachment looked like:
To prove to Instagram that I am a human and own the domain, I uploaded the receipt for the domain purchase.
Once you have attached your proof of being a human, submit your appeal request.
Step 2 – Wait For The First Of Additional Requests For Information
Again, the AI is trying establish that you are a human being and you aren’t some shady, black-hat trying to manipulate Instagram or use it for bad purposes. So, the next request for information I received was sent to the email on file for the account, to prove that it is a legit email address and there is a human paying attention to it.
Here’s what the first email looked like:
This is the first email request for information from Instagram requesting a business document.
Pretty straightforward, right? Now that they know I am a human being monitoring the email address on file, they want me to reply back with a business document that proves I have the right to use the Instagram handle that is associated with the domain.
I replied back with a copy of my utility bill where our office for FlatlandersIn resides.
Step 3 – Prove That You Are REALLY A Human Being.
Now it starts to get kind of silly but Instagram wants to make sure I really, really, really am a human being.
So, they sent the email below asking me to write out a code, write my name, and the Instagram handle and then take a photo of me holding it and reply with the photo.
Now Instagram wants me to take a photo of myself with a code.
At this point, I feel like Instagram’s AI is just making me jump through hoops to see how silly it can make the human look. And I do feel pretty silly asking someone to take a photo of me holding a piece of paper with a code on it.
Just me…holding a silly piece of paper with a code on it so I can get my Instagram account unlocked.
Step 4 – Hurry Up And Wait.
This is the hardest part.
Did all of my emails work? Is the AI paying attention? Did my answers and documents and photos satisfy its need? Will I get my brand new Instagram unblocked?
All of the emails say that they will respond back in 1-2 days. I was banned on a Tuesday, I submitted my documents on the following Wednesday, so the hope was that bots would reply back and give me access by Friday.
Step 5 – Celebrate The Success
Well, it didn’t take but a few hours for the AI bots (or maybe a human at Facebook/Instagram) to review the documents that I sent over and lift the ban on our account.
I received the email below that the ban on the account was lifted and I should be able to login to the account now.
After jumping through all the hoops, Instagram lifted the ban on my new account
Step 6 – Login And Make Sure Everything Works
The last step in making sure that the ban was actually lifted was to login to the account via a browser and make sure that I had full access to the account. The good news is everything is working as expected!
After logging in with my credentials, I was able to access my profile and can start building out the account with a profile photo, bio, etc…
After jumping through all the hoops, Instagram lifted the ban and gave me access back to the new account
In Summary – Follow The Steps Exactly…Even If They Seem Silly
I hope these steps help you if your brand new Instagram account has been banned.
When working to get Instagram to lift the ban on our account, be sure to follow every step and answer every email they send to you. Click To TweetWhile the process seems kind of silly and protracted, it only took a couple of days to get the account unlocked and I guess that’s not too bad.
If you have other experiences or suggestions for those out there who are experiencing an Instagram ban, be sure to share them in a comment so others can benefit.
Cheers!
–Sean
ONE ADDITIONAL NOTE: I (nor any other individual) cannot help you gain access to a banned account. Only you can do that by working directly with Instagram/Facebook. Follow the steps carefully and make sure you respond to every single email.
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My banned account is daryus.8.9
Many times i have fill appeal form and sent them my photo and every information they wanted !
But everytime they are just sending me their foolish out-dated guidelines and just telling me u have violated ! But as far as i remember i have never violate their foolish guidelines ! They are just playing with me ! Maybe around 100 times or more i have fill appeal form and sent them ! But they aren’t even responding !
I hate inatagram so much . They are so disgusting …
I’m a graphic designer who tried to set up an Instagram for the business I’m setting up, it got banned during the account creation and I’ve had to follow the appeal route.
Because I’m only setting up, I don’t actually have a utility bill specifically to the business so just sent them a copy of my design software bill that has my name on it. Fingers crossed they accept it, I did explain this in the email also.
Thanks for posting 🙂
My instagram account has been disabled please reopen my account
The ha jet changed my email. Now hacked my new Instagram and changed the new email. What do I do?!
Pretty much the same thing happened to me. My IG account was opened less than a week and all of a sudden it was banned for “violations of terms of service,” or something like that. I never posted anything! All I did was like about 10 posts and follow the posters. When I emailed to find out their reasons, they wanted me to post a selfie holding a piece of paper with a single word on it. They banned me for something I know I didn’t do, they refuse to tell me what they think I did, and the they want me to submit a photo? How do I even know that IG or somebody else would connect my picture with whatever it is they think I did?
I never responded to them.
Thanks a lot Sean for your help. The exact same thing happened to me and I was almost sure that I would never be able to recover access to my account. Well, I just had to send that silly picture – step 3 only, there was no step 2 – and after 3 days my account could be used again.
All pages about getting help from Instagram say it’s impossible, I am so pleased it wasn’t. The trick is NOT to use Instagram in a PC browser to get help because, AFAIK, the offer to appeal will not appear.
Philippe
Don’t know if anyone actually monitors or still checks this–but I changed my username earlier today because I’m reworking my account and content. I then attempted to post a selfie of my face in sunglasses and a comment about how I fell on the sidewalk shortly after I took the photo (but with slightly more vulgar language, but not derogatory at anyone or myself), and the post loaded, then told me it went against the community guidelines. I attempted the post a second time, cleaned up the copy to not be so vulgar and the same thing happened. I then had a random photo of a pack of cheese from the grocery store that I attempted to post with no caption, the same thing happened. I then attempted the selfie again with no captain, and the same thing happen. The account doesn’t appear to be banned, and I can still like, comment, and post Stories, but I can’t post actual photos or videos to my feed. Any clue why that might be or how I can fix that? I reported the problem to Instagram directly through the app and will wait for a response, but I would really like to be able to post again! Especially since I didn’t do anything wrong!!!
I’ve created my account on my pc and got it disabled right after. BUT i cant appeal! if i try to log in with my phone, the app says that my account username does not exist! so aparently my account was kind of half-createad. Tried to create new account but name was already taken… by myself! so sad i need that nameeee
Yeah… thats indeed something we all a victim of, ones in quora I received a flag for something don’t even in the comment… it was a spam link alert even though there’s no affiliate link inside … I appeal and things resolved… 🙂
My instagram account was disabled how we get it back this way is not useful for me
MWAHAHAA ? yesssss REMINDS ME OF my stupid email from fbook! apparently I srepped into copyright infringement? ? no idea what I did? ? ? says “image” I put up. with my status quote. ? noooo ? can’t even remember! so was given a telesales brand company email to respond to. First off I messaged fbook o site and emails… no response! so begrudgingly I emailed the tele brand direct. they said”wasn’t us. if your account is disabled. use thisssss code?! “? ? but don’t know what I’ve done to avoid in future! fbook and Instagram (sister companies and more) have gone data ? crazzzzzy! hence now I don’t want to go back! how do I send u the email? ? ?