Are you suddenly noticing a drop in engagement on your Twitter account? Are your posts not receiving the usual number of likes, retweets, or comments?
Well, that may be because Twitter shadowbanned you! It must be disheartening, but don’t worry because you are not alone in this. But how can you know if you have been shadowbanned on Twitter?
To see if you are shadowbanned, you can log out of your Twitter or use private browsing and search for your username. Unfortunately, if your account’s activity does not show up, Twitter has shadowbanned you.
Shadowbanning is when a social media site secretly blocks out a user without actually blocking their account.
In this article, we will guide you through the shadowban process. Further, if your account is shadowbanned, this article also contains details on how to retrieve your account and reach out!
What Is Shadowbanning on Twitter?
Shadowbanning, sometimes referred to as ghost banning, is when Twitter hides your account from the rest of its users. Shadowbanning is the company’s way of blocking out users without outright banning them from the app.
Shadowbanned accounts do not show up on other people’s feeds. If you are shadowbanned, only users that follow your account will be able to see your tweets, etc., after specifically searching up your account.
However, your tweets, retweets, or comments would not show on their home page, even for shadowbanned users. The account will not show up for those who don’t follow you!
This ban leads to a dramatic drop in your account’s engagement. However, Twitter never informs its users before shadowbanning their accounts.
Learn what to do and steps to take when your Twitter engagement is low.
Why Does Twitter Shadowban an Account?
Twitter shadowbans accounts primarily to maintain a high level of user experience.
These shadowbans aim to decrease the number of trolls and control the spread of harmful. They also ensure that Twitter’s policies are being followed by its users.
Shadowbanning also limits bots and scammers on the platform before people begin mass reporting the issue.
Here are some of the reasons Twitter could shadowban your account:
- Not confirming the email address linked to your account.
- Constantly getting into disputes or harassing other users.
- Sharing the same information over and over again.
- Using bots to gain followers and leave multiple comments.
- Having an atypical follower-to-following ratio.
How To Figure Out if You’re Shadowbanned
Since Twitter does not notify users before shadowbanning them, how do you find out if you are one of the unlucky few?
To find out if your account is shadowbanned, follow the below steps:
- Open a private browsing window, for example, Incognito mode on Google Chrome.
- Navigate to the Twitter Explore Page.
- Enter your Twitter username in the search bar.
At this point, if your username shows up in the search bar, then your account is not shadowbanned! Congratulations, take a sigh of relief now.
However, if it does not appear in the search, we are sorry to break it to you; Twitter has shadowbanned you.
This method will only work if your Twitter account is public. Private accounts cannot check if they’re shadowbanned via this method.
Alternatively, you can also use the Twitter Shadowban Test to determine your account’s status. You have to search your username here, and it will tell you if you are shadowbanned or not.
How To Get Rid of a Shadowban?
If you reached this section, chances are that you found out that your account is shadowbanned. Do not worry! As we said, you are not alone. Follow the next steps to end or at least shorten the length of the shadowban.
In most cases, the shadowban is temporary, so it is best to wait it out. We recommend you avoid tweeting during this time to show Twitter that you are not spamming.
If your account was shadowbanned for spamming, then this will indeed work.
Another thing you could do is clear any content from your account that may violate Twitter’s community guidelines. To get a clearer idea, you should read Twitter’s policy and remove any content against it.
However, if you feel your shadowban is entirely unjustified, you can contact the Twitter Support Team and appeal the decision.
The team will likely reverse your ban if your case is justified. If not, they will give you further details about the reason for your shadowban.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has helped you figure out if you have been shadowbanned and how to avoid getting shadowbanned in the future.
Do let us know if you found this article helpful. Further, if you managed to reverse your shadowban, comment down your success story.
It will genuinely help other users looking for guidance as well. Till then, happy tweeting!
FAQs
Typically, a shadowban should not last longer than 48 to 72 hours. If it lasts longer, then you should contact the Twitter Support team.
It is probably because Twitter has shadowbanned your account. You can fix this using the methods listed above.
To avoid your Twitter account getting shadowbanned, adhere to Twitter’s policies and guidelines, and avoid spamming and tweeting like a bot.
Ghostbanning is just another term for shadowbanning. It blocks the user’s content from being viewed by others on the platform. The user will not be notified that Twitter has done this to their account.
Sometimes Twitter can ban your more recent tweets instead of your entire account. This probably means that your recent tweets were either spam or violated community guidelines. In this case, it would be ideal to delete your recent tweets (or those that may be against Twitter’s policies).
