IG shadow-ban checklist — 9 things to check in order
We get this DM twice a week. "I'm shadow-banned, help." Half the time it's not a shadow-ban, just a bad post.
Actually shadow-banned?
The 9 symptoms in severity order: 1. Your posts appear when YOU search hashtags but not when a friend on another account does. 2. Reach dropped 60%+ on last 5-7 posts vs 30-day average. 3. Explore reach near zero. 4. No new follower notifications for 48+ hours. 5. Story views dropped 30%+. 6. Search doesn't autocomplete your @username for non-followers. 7. Comment reach in other accounts' posts suppressed. 8. Reels views cap sharply below baseline. 9. Direct profile link from external sources still works normally.
6+ symptoms = likely restricted. 3-5 = off week. 1-2 = probably nothing.
The 48-hour reset
1. Stop posting for 48 hours. 2. Log out on all devices. 3. Delete app, wait 24h, reinstall. 4. Log back in. Don't post yet. 5. Manually engage 15-20 posts in your niche over 12 hours. 6. Post one story. Wait 6h. 7. Post one carousel (not reel). Wait 12h. 8. Resume normal posting.
Fixes ~80% in our experience.
What doesn't work
- Rotating hashtags every post — myth.
- Deleting old posts — zero effect.
- "Unshadowban" services — scam.