What Does Shadow Banned Mean on TikTok

TikTok currently provides the world with one of the most famous, well-organized, and highly entertaining short video hosting services. The platform is just exponentially increasing in popularity across geographies and demographics!

It has one of the best social media algorithms that tracks down your every move and possesses the power of changing your life forever, by curating the best form of content that you would like.

That’s the reason people always quote, “You’re only a video away.”

But just like TikTok making your videos go viral, it can also make your videos disappear from the face of the platform! Or you might suddenly notice a significant decline in your engagement on the videos you post.

It implies only one thing –

You have been shadow-banned on TikTok!

So what does shadow-banned mean on TikTok, and how to get rid of it? Let’s find out.

Getting Shadow-Banned on TikTok – What is it?

If we put it simply, a shadow ban is when TikTok temporarily restricts the visibility of your account without any prior warning or notification. 

When your account gets shadow-banned, it stops showing up in people’s FYP (For Your Page) or hashtags. 

As a result, you will notice a sharp decline in those engagement metrics on your video.

So, will a shadow ban last forever?

No, the good news is that a shadow ban isn’t a permanent restriction.

You can also comprehend from the name that it is not a permanent account or content ban.

Rather, this shadow ban is a soft restriction imposed on accounts to warn them or encourage users to stick to their strict platform guidelines. 

The surprising thing is, that the words “shadow-ban” or “shadow-banned” have never been officially mentioned by TikTok. 

But it has been both examined and confirmed by experts that the shadow ban exists and it temporarily limits your account engagement. 

Instagram is notorious for doing the same thing without informing the user. 

What Might Cause You Getting “Shadow-Banned” on TikTok? 

No one knows exactly what caused the shadow ban on TikTok. As mentioned above, there is no mention of this term in the official TikTok community guidelines.

However, it is likely that, if an account violates any of the community guidelines, it could be prone to getting shadow banned. 

Here are some of the acts that should be a big “NO” on TikTok or any other social media platforms. Doing these or repeating them from time to time could be a big reason for your account getting shadow-banned on TikTok.

• Using Hate Speech or Bullying
• Spreading Fake News or Threats
• Promoting drugs, nudity, or similar controversial products
• Using copyrighted music without credit or doing a copyright violation
• Involving in Spammy behaviors. 
• Trying to scam other users. For example, promoting sketchy ads or bot services to buy TikTok likes, and Instagram reels views, or publishing a guide to become an influencer and earn millions overnight. These are too-good-to-be-true schemes and mostly fake and used intentionally to scam people.

However, beyond this, you might also get shadow-banned by accident for unintentionally doing something that violates TikTok policies and community guidelines.

For instance, people also use clickbait to get more views. If you are using a thumbnail that says “How To See an Unsent Message on Facebook,” those interested in social media hacks might click on it.

However, upon clicking they might find this is content to promote a baking product or an ad on the Tesla Cybertruck. If TikTok tracks it down, for such activities, your account might get a shadow ban. 

How to Know If You Have Been Shadow-Banned on TikTok?

This is the trickiest part.

Why? Because there’s no direct way to possibly verify or know if your account has been shadow-banned. 

However, there are still some metrics and signs that will tell you if you have fallen into the shadow-ban dungeon. These are:

• Significant Drop in Engagement: If your videos typically receive more likes, views, and comments than you’ve been getting recently, you might have got a shadow ban on your account.
• Lack of Visibility: If your videos used to show up in random people’s feeds (FYP) but suddenly stopped appearing there, that is a strong indicator of getting shadowbanned.
• Not Appearing when Searched with Hashtags: Such bans can prevent you from showing up in hashtags too. 

For How Long Does Shadow Ban Stay? 

It’s not clear for how long a shadow ban stays as TikTok never even mentioned its existence. It depends on how serious your violation of the act was. 

But, based on our research, we have found several general users complaining about shadow bans and most of them confirmed that the effects started fading after two weeks. 

How to Remove a Shadow Ban from your TikTok Account?

We have already identified the possible things for which you might receive a shadow ban on your TikTok account. Simply avoiding those will keep your account safe.

But if your account has already been shadow-banned, then the following ways could help you in removing it:

• Delete the content for which you got in trouble ASAP. If TokTok still finds that controversial or harmful video on your account, the ban may get prolonged.
• Go through TikTok’s guidelines and rules and try to follow them carefully for your next content.
• It’s not just TikTok, every social media platform has increased its vigilance regarding AI and automation activity on accounts. So avoid any bot-like behavior.
• Log out from your account. Then try deleting, reinstalling, and logging back into your account. 
• Contact TikTok Support and tell them your problem with relevant reasons.
• Take a little break from posting. You can start your activity after a couple of weeks. Remember, the only way to stay in the TikTok goodwill is to create helpful, quality content.

While you are waiting for the green flag, you can plan your future content and schedule it accordingly.

Once your account gets back to normal, you must remember the following stuff:

1. Never post adult content on your account
2. Do not ever try promoting content that includes drugs or abuse
3. Do not try spreading misinformation
4. Never think of bullying or threatening people online
5. Do not spread hate speech
6. Do not use artistic works or products without giving proper credit.

If you keep those simple things in mind while posting and planning content, you don’t have to worry much about getting shadowbanned.

Final Words

Shadow banning is almost like those secret Government spies. You’re aware of their existence, but they are never publicly confirmed!

However, following the above things could prevent you from being shadow-banned and keep your content and profile visible. If you’re using TikTok for your business or personal brand, then you must always adhere to the community guidelines actively.