Shadowban
An unofficial term for reach-limiting actions Meta takes without notifying the account. Real, but rarely as targeted as users believe.
A shadowban is when Instagram or Facebook quietly reduces the visibility of an account’s content — usually by limiting how often posts surface in hashtag searches, explore feeds, or non-follower recommendations.
Officially undocumented
Meta has never confirmed a system called “shadowban” by that name. What users experience is usually one of several real but unannounced reach-limiting mechanisms:
- Hashtag-based reach suppression for accounts using flagged hashtag sets.
- Account-level discovery reduction after repeated content violations.
- Reach throttling after suspicious automation activity (bot-like patterns).
Signs
- Sharp reach drop (50%+) overnight without content changes.
- Hashtag search not surfacing your posts even to non-followers.
- Insights showing near-zero reach from non-followers.
Recovery
There is no official “shadowban appeal”. Recovery comes from removing the trigger — rotating hashtags, taking a posting break, revoking third-party automation tools. Most lift in 14–30 days when the cause is removed. See the shadowban guide for the full breakdown.