Having your activities disrupted by a platform such as Twitter (X) can be incredibly irritating, especially when you are looking to achieve a certain level of visibility and engagement on your account.
It can also be confusing to understand why you are suddenly limited by the number of members of your community, why content has been removed or made invisible to other users, and why shadowban maneuvers have been imposed on you.
You are probably also wondering how to lift the shadowban of your messages or your account. In this complete guide, we will explain how to stop being shadowbanned on Twitter.
What is the shadowban on Twitter?
The shadowban is an action performed by social media platforms such as Twitter (X) and others to partially or totally block the visibility of an account’s publications and its audience. The user is generally not informed of the deletion of his publications and his audience.
A shadowban is often placed as a result of unwanted user activity. This is a colloquial term that is not used by the hosts of the platform themselves, but rather by users.
This question is the subject of debate and controversy. Twitter (X) insists that it does not block any activity from its users. However, account holders face blockages. Twitter (X) also released a statement updating its rules in 2020, which includes a clause that the platform may “remove or refuse to distribute any content”, “limit the distribution or visibility of any content” and “suspend or terminate users.
There are generally about three main categories of shadowban with Twitter. These are:
Thread or ghost type shadowbans
These are basically search bans and hiding of the affected user’s replies to others’ tweets. The page will look normal to the account holder, but others may notice that they can’t see the affected user’s tweets.
Shadowban search suggestions
You may also notice that your account no longer appears in search suggestions. This is noticeable when the user is not logged in. You will also find that most of your recent messages are gone.
De-boosting replies to reduce spam
If Twitter’s systems indicate that replies to a tweet may lead to aggressive behavior, those replies may be hidden behind a barrier. They can still be loaded when users click the “Show more answers” prompt.
Why was your Twitter (X) account banned by Shadowban?
All social media platforms have a set of rules that users must follow. Twitter (X) is no different in defining what is expected of participants. If you strictly adhere to these rules, you will not be easily banned.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with these expectations to avoid a shadowban. Otherwise, certain user actions may lead to restrictions on Twitter.
There are four main reasons why Twitter (X) may impose a shadowban or scope limitations on your activities. They are:
Reason #1: Inappropriate posts
If your posts are offensive, Twitter (X) may remove the content and place a shadowban on your account. Content that may be shadowbanned includes:
- promoting racism, hate speech and discrimination
- refers to sexually explicit or subversive language
- Incites aggression or violence
Reason 2: You have harassed other Twitter (X) users.
Constructive and intelligent debate is encouraged on Twitter, but harassment or bullying of other users for their opinions is not acceptable and therefore not tolerated. If you have been excessively aggressive or rude to other users, it may result in a shadowban.
Don’t do this, even if someone is hostile towards you – report it to Twitter (X) support.
Reason #3: Your posts are spam
Using social media platforms to promote your business is extremely helpful. However, if your posts are too frequent and become spam, Twitter (X) may restrict your posts.
To avoid this, make sure your ads have a more authentic and personal character and intersperse them with non-commercial posts.
Likewise, never allow your apps to automatically share the same content on other platforms. Twitter (X) is very sensitive to the question of robots.
Reason 4: You use the “Follow, Unfollow” technique.
You also risk being banned if you follow other users to create a strong audience, then if you delete them so that the number of your “followers” remains higher than that of your “followers”. This tactic is called “churning” and it is frowned upon. It can even lead to the permanent suspension of your account.
How to check if Twitter (X) has banned your account?
It may happen that you suspect that your account has been banned without being sure. To learn how to lift a shadowbanned on Twitter, you need to find out if you’ve been banned.
There are a few key ways to find out if your account is restricted.
Notice the signs
If you suddenly have a big drop in engagement reach and your post interactions have dropped, then a shadowban may be the reason. This is a key indicator of a restriction.
You can then test the system to see if you have been banned.
Check your recent feeds
A useful method to check for the existence of a shadowban is to log out and then search Twitter (X) with your username. If you can’t find your most recent tweets, chances are you’ve been banned.
Use third-party software
You can also use external software that has been designed to verify the shadowban.
How to Unban Shadowban
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to learn how to unban on Twitter. Even if you take no action, the platform usually makes your account available again within 48-72 hours. The easiest way is to leave your account alone until the shadowban is lifted.
However, if you feel that you have been shadowbanned unfairly or prefer to expedite the issue, there are ways to resist and unban yourself.
Check your activity and delete contentious posts
One of the quickest ways to actively lift a ban is to clear your feed. It can be difficult to identify the message that caused the ban, but delete anything that seems spammy or offensive. Check out the Twitter (X) Rules to find out how you may have broken them.
Reduce your activity for a while
As we mentioned, reducing your activity until the ban is lifted is a simple option. You can continue to check your engagement stats to see if the ban is still in effect.
Contact Twitter (X) for assistance
If you have done all of the above and still notice that you are banned, you can also contact Twitter’s support center. Be careful not to mention the word “shadowban”, but explain to them what you perceive to be the problem. It could be your tweets not appearing under certain hashtags, reduced engagements, or tweets disappearing.
Final thoughts
As you can see, while a shadowban looks complex, it’s usually pretty straightforward to set up. If you’re wondering how to raise a shadowban on Twitter, the best thing to do is to avoid posting to your account for a few days and monitor the situation.
If you continue to post the same type of content, you may be subject to a new ban once the first one expires.
