How To Know If You’re Shadow-Banned On TikTok

Irrespective of the size of your following on TikTok, you do not want to become shadow-banned.

This term has emerged often in relation to social media apps.

The majority of users state that it refers to whenever a creator’s content begins to stop reaching as many people.

The notion of being shadow-banned is a tricky thing to prove as there is not enough evidence to suggest that it actually occurs.

In fact, Instagrams CEO has stated that it does not exist in regard to social media.

However, the amount of people who claim to have experienced shadow-banning is increasing in size.

Whether this practice is deemed to be official or not, seeing a dip in engagement and reach on TikTok is highly frustrating.

Also, a shadow-ban is incredibly difficult to undo, especially when you are unsure as to why you have been shadow-banned in the first place.

However, we have listed a number of reasons why this may occur and how to determine if it has occurred.

What Is Shadow-Banning?

As mentioned, this term describes a secretive restriction that social media apps can impose on a user’s account in order to limit their reach.

In regards to TikTok, users’ content will cease to reach other users ‘For You Pages.

This inherently prevents the user from receiving asm any comments, likes, or views on their content.

Numerous users across social media apps like Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok have stated that suspicious activity has been carried out on their accounts.

You may suspect that you have experienced a shadow-ban whenever you encounter a sudden and prolonged drop in your reach and engagement.

Why Might An Account Be Shadow-Banned?

As shadow-banning is not considered to be an official practice, it is not referenced directly by Youtube or TikTok. Thus,

it is hard to state exactly why this process occurs. One possible reason is that TikTok is attempting to limit the amount of spam activity on the platform.

Thus, if you are acting in a similar manner to spammers by posting and liking numerous posts within any one day, or following numerous accounts in quick succession, you may find that TikTok begins to stop showing your videos to other users via the For You Page.

An alternative reason for this process is occurring is that you have consistently violated TikTok’s community guidelines in regards to your content.

These guidelines specify that you should not post any content that contains hate speech, drugs, fake news, violence, or drug use.

How Can I Tell If I Have Been Shadow-Banned?

If you discover that your engagement has dropped drastically on your content, it is entirely possible that you have experienced a shadow-ban.

If this occurs, you may discover that your videos have stopped appearing on aggregated feeds.

You may not be able to find them whenever you specifically search for them via a hashtag also.

However, there can be many other reasons why you have experienced a drop in your overall engagement.

For example, if you have experienced a significant drop in followers or you have been posting content that your followers are not used to, this may reduce your levels of engagement.

The best means of determining whether you are experiencing a shadow-ban is to switch to a TikTok Pro account and monitor your insights and engagement via the analytics that are provided.

The data section within TikTok pro will tell you where your engagement has come from and whether it has decreased or increased at any specific time.

This will also ensure that you can understand the best time of day to post and which videos perform the best.

How Do I Remove A Shadow-Ban On TikTok?

According to other users, people can be shadow-banned for a period of time that ranges from two weeks to two months.

Some users have attempted to update and reinstall the app in order to remove the shadow-ban.

Other users choose to delete any inappropriate content that has violated the app’s guidelines.

However, the overall consensus is that it is best to wait for a specific period of time before posting again and allow the ban to lift of its own accord.

Leaving your account for a few days prior to starting fresh is the best method to take to remove a shadow-ban.

Why Is My TikTok Shadow-Banned?

TikTok does not accept that shadow-banning is an official process.

Therefore, it has not issued any formal explanation on the techniques used during the process.

However, social media apps that have shadow-banned people usually do so because they have previously posted videos that violate its community guidelines.

Violations include producing content that contains drugs, hate speech, nudity, or copyrighted music.

The community guidelines stipulate that the company may reduce visibility and reach for specific kinds of content.

However, some forms of content are also ineligible for the For You Page.

These include dangerous activities, sexualized content, alcohol and tobacco use, and violent content.

QR code content is also banned from the For You Page.

Shadow-bans can also be reserved for content that does not warrant a ban, but may still be deemed as offensive.

Thus, instead, the post’s reach is inherently limited to avoid causing harm and offence.

TikTok implements numerous levels of enforcement for its community guidelines.

These include temporary bans as well as restricting accounts from direct engagement for a specific period of time.

Content creators can also be totally banned from the platform if they violate community guidelines considerably.

Conclusion

To conclude, you can ascertain whether you have been shadow-banned from TikTok by assessing your analytics from a TikTok pro account.

If you have not received any engagement from the For You Page, then you may be experiencing a shadow-ban.

I hope that you have discovered everything that you need to know about being shadow-banned on TikTok.

If you liked this article, you might enjoy our post on ‘How To Remove Someone From A Snapchat Group’.