Instagram Story Banned? Potential Reasons & How to Fix It
If you’ve been on Instagram long enough, you’ve probably experienced this. You share something you think your audience will love on Stories, only for the platform to send you a violation and content removal notification.
The truth is, while you have considerable freedom on Instagram, you can’t share everything. If you’re here, you’ve probably gotten a front row seat to the app’s strictness.
The global photo and video-sharing platform has been known to restrict or even remove content from Stories if it’s suspected of violating its guidelines. Unfortunately for creators, this isn’t something that’s expected to change.
So what can you do? The only way to ensure a smooth experience is to understand why Instagram bans content and to follow its guidelines.
In this post, we look at the main reasons behind a Story ban, what this could mean for you, and how to protect your account.
What Is an Instagram Story Ban?
A Story ban isn’t an official Instagram term. It does, however, occur. It refers to any situation in which Instagram removes or restricts content in your Stories.
An Instagram Story ban can take various forms, including:
- Story removal: Instagram takes a specific Story down for not following its rules.
- Feature restriction: The platform prevents you from posting to Stories or using specific features, such as link stickers. This could be due to guideline violations or suspicious activity, such as spamming.
- Visibility restriction (shadowban): Instagram’s algorithm deprioritizes your Story. Technically, your content will still be up, but it’ll rank low on users’ Story recommendations, limiting how many people it reaches.
How Do You Know Instagram Has Banned Your Story?
This depends on the type of ban it imposes on your content.
If the platform removes a specific Story, it’ll let you know via a message or in-app notification. A notification typically explains why Instagram removed your content and offers the option to appeal the decision.
If you’ve been restricted from posting on Stories or using specific features, any attempt to do so will fail until the ban lifts.
Finally, if you’ve been shadowbanned, you’ll notice a drop in your Story views and engagement. With this type of restriction, you can still post additional content, but only a fraction of your regular viewers will see it — because it’ll rank low in their recommendations.
It’s worth noting that Instagram has repeatedly denied allegations of shadowbanning. However, multiple users report that shadowbanning is a real issue on the platform.
Common Reasons for Banned Instagram Stories
Instagram mainly bans Stories because of community guideline violations. Your Story may be removed or restricted if you publish:
- Content that promotes crime or harm against other people, animals, or property. This includes content that outs members of high-risk groups, such as the LGBTQIA+ community, undercover officers, informants, and witnesses. It also includes information that may be seen as encouraging, supporting, or admitting to crimes such as vandalism.
- Content that aims to defraud or scam Instagram users. This includes promises of risk-free investments, posts that may appear to offer or request support for money laundering, and gambling content that may suggest match or game rigging.
- Posts that glorify or try to legitimize dangerous individuals or organizations. This includes content that attempts to defend terrorist groups or sanitize people who’ve been prosecuted for hate events or violent acts. This isn’t to say that Instagram doesn’t allow free conversations. You can post about such individuals or groups to raise awareness, but you should remain neutral or condemn them.
- Threats or violence against other individuals and groups, including private persons, public figures, and members of law enforcement.
- Content that appears to endanger or sexually exploit children as well as adults. This includes any content that seems to sexualize both real and “non-real” children and posts that threaten to share (or actually share) non-consensual intimate imagery.
- Stories that appear to bully or harass others. Instagram does allow legitimate criticism of public figures, unless your post is too severe or if it directly tags your subject. However, any form of bullying or harassment against private individuals, including shaming them, is not allowed.
- Posts that encourage or promote any form of self-injury, including eating disorders and suicide. Instagram also removes any content that appears to mock survivors.
The platform removes Stories and restricts accounts that share such content to maintain a safe space for its users.
Note: Many guidelines have exceptions. For example, you can post about older instances of self-injury, provided you don’t encourage others to try, and that you add a warning before sharing the Story. Review Meta’s Community Standards to understand what type of content Instagram removes and its exceptions.
Other Reasons for Story Bans
While guideline violations are the primary cause of Story bans, they’re not the only culprit. Instagram can also remove or restrict your Story if:
- You post content that infringes on someone’s intellectual property. It’s worth noting that content removal isn’t automatic when you repost other people’s content. This is because some users allow and actually encourage reposting. Instagram will, however, remove your Story if the original creator or rights holder files a complaint.
- You use banned hashtags in your Story. Instagram has not officially released its list of prohibited terms and phrases, but there are reports of restrictions when you use hashtags such as #alone, #babe, #date, and #girlsonly.
- You post too many Stories at once. Instagram might see this as “spammy” behavior, resulting in Story deprioritization.
- A high number of users report your Story.
- Instagram detects unusual activity, such as logging in to multiple accounts from the same device and IP address. While this may not cause a direct Story ban, it can result in a full-account ban, preventing you from engaging with followers on Stories.
What to Do After a Story Ban
The first step is to understand the reason behind the Story removal or restriction. Usually, Instagram sends a notification with the reason, so this shouldn’t be too hard to find out. Go to your Profile, tap the menu icon, and select Account Status, then Removed content. If you haven’t received a notification, review your Story against Meta’s Community Guidelines to determine if you’ve violated any of them.
If you believe the ban or restriction was unfair, request a review from the Instagram team. To do this, tap Request a review (under the Removed content section), select the reason for the review, and follow the platform’s instructions.
Note: Only appeal if you’re sure removing your Story was a mistake. Let it go if you’ve violated the platform’s guidelines.
How to Protect Yourself from Future Story Bans
While a single Story removal is minor (and will likely not affect your account), multiple removals could result in more severe penalties, like complete account bans. To protect yourself:
Follow Meta’s Guidelines
This is the surest way to avoid Story and account bans. Go through Meta’s Community Standards to understand what you can and can’t post on Instagram.
Steer clear of any content that the service provider discourages. Also, play safe by avoiding anything you’re unsure about.
Avoid Reposting Copyrighted Content
Although Story removal stemming from copyright issues is rare, it does happen. Reduce your risk by only sharing content with reposting consent.
Also, use Instagram’s built-in music library instead of manually adding your own music.
Avoid Spammy Behavior
While posting many Stories at once may seem like a good strategy for your engagement, it can be risky. Instagram might see this as spammy or bot behavior, potentially restricting your access to Stories and lowering your ranking on users’ “Stories trays.”
Protect your account by spreading out posts throughout the day.
Monitor Your Account Status
A long history of Story (and Feed post) bans can jeopardize your entire account. So, keep a close eye on your warnings, content removals, and violations. If you have past strikes, avoid posting controversial content for some time.
Use a Cloud Phone Solution
If you have multiple Instagram accounts, create separate cloud phone profiles for each one using GeeLark. This eliminates the need for constant logins and logouts on the same device, reducing your risk of catching Instagram’s attention. Remember, while multiple logins will not result in content removal, they can affect your entire account, restricting your access to Stories.
With GeeLark, you can go even further and assign a unique IP address to each cloud phone. This makes it seem like every login originates from a different device and location.
To create unique profiles for each account:
- Download the GeeLark app and sign up for an account.
- Create a cloud phone profile for each account. To do this, go to New profile and enter all required details, including proxy settings for each account.
- Tap Applications and search for Instagram. You’ll find it in the Basic applications section.
- Download the Instagram app (in each cloud profile) and log in to your accounts.
Reduce Your Risk of Instagram Story Bans
Instagram is serious about maintaining a safe space for its users. So, Story and other content bans are pretty common. If you’ve received a Story removal notification or noticed a drop in your engagement, your account may currently have a ban. Identify the reason for the ban, and if unfair, appeal Instagram’s decision by requesting a review.
If the ban is justified, protect your account from future content removals and restrictions by following Instagram’s guidelines, avoiding spammy activity, and isolating your accounts — if you have multiple IG pages.
With GeeLark, you can create a unique environment for each account, reducing the risk of raising red flags. You can also automate account warm up after a ban. Our AI mimics human behavior by spacing out engagement and naturally browsing content, so you don’t have to worry about bot suspicions.