Instagram may temporarily lock your account for several reasons. The Company will lock the account to protect user accounts, protect the platform and promote the best user experience. If you tried to log in to your account and received the message “Your account has been temporarily locked”. In this article, we’ll look at what might have caused the message and how to unlock your account as quickly as possible.
We’ve also detailed some specific account activities that Instagram will consider suspicious and then automatically lock your account.
Why was my Instagram account locked?
Instagram will temporarily lock your account if it believes you have violated any of its user policies. A lockout can happen even if you had nothing to do with the breach.
Here are common activities that will cause Instagram to issue an account lock:
1. Bot-like activity
Instagram looks for actions taken too quickly per hour and per 24 hours. The following actions performed at an unnaturally fast pace will be considered “robot activity” and will trigger a temporary account lockout:
Bulk tracking and untracking users
Typical behavior on Instagram involves “following” someone and they “following” you right back. To take advantage of this practice, a person could “follow” hundreds of people at once, and once they have “followed” them, the person “unfollows” them.
Instagram will consider this bot behavior to mean that people using Instagram have agreed not to abuse the platform with such behavior.
Liking and removing pictures too fast
Again, this would be considered robot behavior.
Scrolling through your feed and “liking” a few photos at an average pace is typical human behavior. However, “liking” or “unlinking” for example hundreds of images in a few minutes can only be achieved with a program.
Commenting on posts too fast
The more comments you leave on people’s posts, the more engagement you’ll get and ultimately more followers. Commenting on tons of posts super fast will seem artificial to Instagram’s algorithm.
Posting the same comment multiple times
Not only is it likely not to add value to the conversation, but it’s also not something a user who actually engages with the posts would do.
2. Use of Third Party Applications
The use of certain third-party applications on the Instagram platform is a violation of their Terms of Use. Not all apps are disabled; there is an access approval process for some applications.
However, types that help automate actions are prohibited by Instagram and easily detectable. Bots work against a great user experience, and since Instagram supports it, any account suspected of using them will be locked.
3. Phishing account credentials
Hackers can get your credentials using a fraudulent website. If you accidentally submitted your Instagram credentials by logging into a login screen that looked like the Instagram login screen but wasn’t, you may have given away your credentials.
Since your account is compromised and the hackers can do whatever they want, whatever they did raised an Instagram warning flag and the platform responded by locking the account.
How to unlock a locked Instagram account
To unlock your account when you see the message “Your account has been temporarily locked” when you sign in, you must submit My Instagram account has been deactivated by a form:
- Go to My Instagram account has been deactivated or type “My Instagram account has been deactivated” on Google and select the Facebook result.
- Fill out the form and then enter the email address associated with the Instagram account you’re trying to unlock.
- Explain that your account was blocked in error and that you believe you did not violate the user guidelines.
- After filling out the form, click “Submit”.
- Finally, you get a reply asking for a photo of you holding a piece of paper with the code they sent you handwritten. Your image must be natural, your face must be clearly visible on the paper – no Photoshop manipulations. Instagram is pretty strict and can reject a photo if they believe it’s not you.
- There is a waiting period after sending the photo.
- You will receive confirmation from Instagram that your account has been unlocked. The approval time can take several days to several weeks.
Other frequently asked questions
How long does an Instagram ban last?
The length of the temporary ban depends on the number of your past bans and the reasons for those bans. Typical durations can range from a few hours on the lighter side to 24-48 hours for repeat violations.
If you receive subsequent bans, the length may be extended further. Therefore, try to avoid bot-like behavior to avoid having your account flagged.
If you get the message “Your account has been temporarily locked” when you try to log in, please fill out and submit the “My Instagram account has been deactivated” form to restore your account as soon as possible.
Does Instagram ban IP addresses?
Some platforms take bans very seriously. Not only do they block the account; they also want to permanently ban the user. The only way to permanently block a user is to restrict their device’s IP address. Instagram has not issued any official statement on the matter, but many users have reported IP bans.
Basically, if Instagram determines that you have violated its terms of service or community guidelines, the company will ban your device along with your account.
What should I do if my appeal is rejected?
If you’ve followed the steps above and Instagram hasn’t reinstated your account, you can process the appeal again. Although not confirmed, there are some theories that a second or third appeal may work because another reviewer looked into your case.
If I get banned, can I create a new account?
In most cases, yes. But beware, creating a new account with the same (or similar) username may result in the new account being banned immediately.
Human Instagram account owners only
An Instagram account is automatically locked whenever Instagram believes that a user has violated the Community Guidelines. In order to achieve the best possible user experience, Instagram prohibits the use of most third-party applications. It will block any account showing bot-like behavior or account that shows irregular activity.
Fortunately, unlocking your account is one form away. By filling out the form and proving that you are the human account owner, Instagram will restore your account as quickly as possible.
Has your account been blocked by Instagram by mistake? Tell us about it in the comments section below.