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Getting a shadowban on TikTok isn’t fun. Losing your followers, reputation, and resources is tough on anyone.
Luckily, there’s plenty you can do.
This guide discusses the feared TikTok shadowban in all its complexity. Follow along as we discuss this controversial practice, how you can tell if you’ve been banned, and how to get back to the For You Page.
Keep reading below!
TL;DR - Tiktok Shadowban
- Shadowbanning on TikTok can be detrimental to your social media presence.
- It's challenging to prove if you've been shadowbanned as it doesn't notify you.
- Being shadowbanned means your content won't appear on the For You Page, potentially impacting your livelihood.
- Common reasons for shadowbans are violations of community guidelines, especially related to adult content and offensive videos.
Detecting a Shadowban
- A significant drop in viewership can be a sign of a shadowban, but not all drops in engagement result from shadowbans.
- Factors like content quality, audience engagement, and posting time can also affect views.
- TikTok Pro Account users can check for a shadowban by reviewing video analytics.
Duration and Impact of Shadowban
- TikTok shadowbans typically last about two weeks.
- During this time, you'll experience a decrease in views, followers, and limited use of certain features.
- TikTok doesn't notify users about shadowbans, making it frustrating for affected creators.
Preventing TikTok Shadowbanning
- Avoid content that violates community guidelines, such as explicit material or inciting violence.
- Maintain content quality and ensure it's interesting, relevant, authentic, and fun.
- Steer clear of spammy behaviors like excessive liking and irrelevant hashtag use.
- Delete any inappropriate content to adhere to TikTok's community standards.
- Post original content or give credit when using others' ideas to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
How to Lift a TikTok Shadowban
- Address the root causes of a shadowban: delete rule-violating content, improve content quality, and stop spammy behaviors.
- Sometimes, a shadowban occurs without violating any standards due to bot moderators' errors.
- Possible solutions include contacting TikTok support, clearing the app cache, reinstalling the app, or upgrading to a Pro account.
TikTok Shadowban: What It Is
Shadow banning is an action taken by some social media channels, including TikTok, to block some users. Ghost banning doesn’t alert users, so if this happens to you, you’ll probably never know it.
That’s why it’s so difficult to prove it happened to you.
If stealth banning happens to you on this social media platform, people won’t see your videos anymore on the For You Page. Your followers won’t see videos from hashtags even if they specifically search for them.
Imagine what that means if you make a living from social media marketing.
Losing your current followers means starting all over again. That’s why the concept of shadow banning is so controversial:
- Claims of shadow banning on TikTok are apparently frequent in the Cosplay community.
- Other TikTok influencers discuss the negative impact of losing their current followers and starting all over again.
Why Am I Getting TikTok Shadowbanned?
TikTok hasn’t explained how its social media algorithms work for shadow banning people. However, your drop in views is likely caused by breaking community guidelines.
These community violations include any objectionable content which fits into these two categories:
- Adult content
- Offensive videos
The first category is pretty self-explanatory and includes anything that could be rated PG-18. On the other hand, the second category is broad. Offensive content can vary from threats and outright harassment to something as mild as spamming.
So, if you’re not a violent extremist, it can be challenging even to realize if you did something wrong.
How Can I Tell if My TikTok Account Is Shadowbanned?
You’ll know that TikTok considers something you posted as objectionable content if you notice that drop in viewership.
Pro tip: Not every steep drop in views or comments results from a shadowban.
Other factors include:
- Posting lesser quality dance videos
- Not talking your audience’s language anymore
- Posting at the wrong time
For example, if you still get one of your video views from the Front Page, you didn’t get a ghost ban on TikTok.
Remember: If your account doesn’t perform well anymore, revisit TikTok’s algorithm for reaching the For You Page. In this case, that sharp decrease in views isn’t a consequence of a ghost ban.
If you haven’t been ghost-banned, the solution is simple: post more quality content and remember to include relevant hashtags (especially niche hashtags and trending hashtags).
We have many other tips on how to stay relevant in our ultimate guide to TikTok influencer marketing.
But back to the subject. Here’s how to check for a possible shadow ban if you have a TikTok Pro Account:
- Open a video you made on TikTok after the supposed shadow ban.
- Warning: this video has to be live for over 72 hours.
- Click the ellipsis (“…”) at the bottom right of the screen.
- Tap the Analytics section where you see the traffic sources.
- Any view from the For You Page shows that it’s not a shadow ban that reduced your popularity.
How Long Is TikTok Shadowban?
A TikTok Shadowban for breaking community rules is now about two weeks long. That’s a considerable length compared to when TikTok first became popular a few years ago.
Here’s what happens during this period:
- The first week brings you a sudden drop in video views and video shares.
- During the next few days, you’ll notice you have fewer followers.
- You may also see that TikTok’s social media algorithms prevent you from entering tags or posting private videos.
Conversations around shadow banning note an acute injustice of this practice:
TikTok never actually notifies you about what they’re doing. And when you realize it yourself from this drop in audience engagement, it can be too late.
Warning: Other social media sites practice shadow banning, too, such as Instagram and Twitter.
During this ghost banning period, you’re not visible in search results or feeds, and you probably won't:
- Get new followers
- Receive new likes
- Receive comments
Psst: to up your follower count, check out how to get more followers on TikTok.
How to Avoid TikTok Shadowbanning
Now that you understand the basics of shadow banning, let’s see how you avoid it.
Don’t Post Content That Goes Against Community Guidelines
Social media apps, including TikTok, have specific rules. Usually, community guideline violations are punished. TikTok decides this “punishment” to be a shadowban.
So, avoid:
- Sexualizing your dance videos
- Adding pornographic material
- Posting nudity
- Inciting to violence
- Threatening people/groups
- Spamming
Stop Posting Low-Quality Content
Firstly, you have to understand your audience better. If people don’t like what you’re posting, your follower count will drop.
Also, some may report you for little things they would otherwise forgive.
To resolve this issue, reconsider your visual work and your actual content.
You can use a software that helps you create beautiful content. Video-making and editing tools are essential if your TikTok account has followers you don’t want to lose.
For the content itself, ask yourself if what you’re posting is:
- Interesting
- Relevant
- Authentic
- Fun
Avoid TikTok Spam Behavior
Spammy behaviour includes:
- Liking hundreds of posts each day
- Following tens of new accounts daily
- Paying fake followers
- Sending tons of messages/comments about your account
- Using a chunk of hashtags instead of just the relevant ones
- Obsessively hashtagging your videos with “For You Page” variations just to reach the front page
Delete Inappropriate Content
You should delete anything that goes against TikTok’s broader community rules, such as:
- Violent extremism
- Hateful behavior
- Illegal activities and regulated goods
- Violent and graphic content
- Suicide, self-harm, and dangerous acts
- Harassment and bullying
- Adult nudity and sexual activities
- Hate speech
- Fake news
- Drugs
- Copyrighted content
Remember that TikTok wants to remain an inclusive platform so check your recent content to ensure you haven’t broken these rules.
If you find anything that breaks the community standards:
- Delete that content.
- Wait for a minimum of 14 days to get the stealth ban lifted.
- Refresh your page to check this status.
Post Original Content
Ensure you’re posting original content and creative videos. Alternatively, give credit where credit is due if you’re using other people for inspiration.
Remember: Never again post the same content that got you the original ban.
If you’re working with a content creator to promote your business, vet them thoroughly. Some influencers have bot followers and massively post copied content to attract unsuspecting content marketers.
If you want to be on the safe side or don’t want to lose countless hours vetting your influencers, use a free TikTok & Instagram Influencer Database. You may also check if your potential influencers have an engaged audience with a TikTok engagement rate calculator.
How to Lift a TikTok Shadowban?
There’s a degree of shadow banning; minor rule-breaking isn’t that serious and can get you less time in shadowland. However, if your “punishment” lasts for weeks at a time, you might want to do something about it.
First, ensure you’ve done all the following steps:
- Check and delete anything that intentionally or unintentionally violated TikTok rules.
- Post high-quality content that your audience will like.
- Avoid spammy behavior such as excessive liking.
The thing is, sometimes your content doesn’t break any standards.
Remember that content bots moderate activity on TikTok and other social media channels. And these bots don’t always work correctly. Some bot moderators can simply deem an uncommon hashtag as problematic.
If that happens, try these solutions:
- Contact TikTok customer support by clicking “Report a problem” in the settings section.
- Clear your TikTok cache.
- Uninstall the app on your phone and then reinstall the updated version if there is a technical glitch.
- Update to a Pro account so that you can see video analytics and understand how TikTok users get to your videos. That’s how you can monitor the causes of your sudden drop in viewership or engagement.
You can also get in touch with inBeat to discuss strategy and devise the best plan for your needs with influencer marketing experts.