A Twitter shadowban is one of the last things you want to experience as an influencer on this platform. Getting a ban prevents you from using some of the most important features of the platform. Among other things, it can prevent you from interacting with other users, and your posts can become literally invisible in the news feeds of other Twitter users.
If you’ve been banned, you need to figure out what’s going on as soon as possible. Tweeting for days with no results is a waste of time and extremely frustrating. Keep in mind that there are some limitations, so you need to determine what exactly happened and how it affects your account.
In this article, I want to cover the topic of shadowbanning on Twitter. After explaining the term, I will share some tricks that will help you determine if you are blocked or not on the platform. My main goal is to provide you with tools and resources that will guide you towards unlocking.
Hopefully, after reading this post, you will not experience similar problems again!
What is a Twitter Shadowban?
Shadowbanning is not exclusive to Twitter. It is a practice used for various websites and social media platforms where users are blocked from using certain features. In the case of Twitter, your tweets will not appear in searches, threads or feeds, and you will not be able to reply to other users.
The trickiest thing about your shadowban status is that you won’t know you’re affected. In most cases, people realize they have a problem when they notice a lack of responses and interactions with their content. However, this is a necessary practice as it prevents spam-like behavior by blocking users who provide no value.
There are various reasons why you have been banned. For example, you may have posted offensive content, spammy content, or gone against community guidelines in some other way. Ghost stopping can be algorithmic or manual.
As you can imagine, the ban will lead to a huge drop in engagement. You may not be able to have any follower engagement or experience follower growth. Basically, your account will be dead in the water if you don’t take corrective action.
Signs that your account may be blocked
As I’ve mentioned, realizing you’ve received a conventional shadowban shouldn’t be that difficult. The best indicator is a sudden drop in engagement. Since followers won’t see your tweets, you won’t get replies, likes, and other interactions. Your posts will be de facto invisible.
Another way to check your shadowban status is by typing your Twitter handle or username into searches. Those who were banned will not appear when you browse within the platform. The same can be said for their tweets. Visibility restrictions won’t be noticeable right away, but you’ll likely notice the problem after a day or two.
Further Reading: 6 Reasons Your Twitter Account May Be Restricted (Unbeknownst To You)
How to run a Twitter Shadowban test
You have several methods to determine whether or not you are shadowbanned from Twitter. Experienced users will easily notice the drop in engagement, but you can also run other manual tests to determine if something is wrong. Additionally, you can use third-party tools to check if you are suffering from this problem.
Manual method
The first thing you should do is check if your posts are showing up for certain hashtags. If you cannot find yourself among the search suggestions, this is a clear indication that you have been banned. Similarly, you can check your Twitter username within the search.
Alternatively, you can create a tweet from your account and share it on the timeline. Check the engagement levels and compare them to what you were getting before. Keep in mind that this method may not be ideal for users who otherwise receive a small number of likes and replies.
If that doesn’t work, you should ask one of your followers to search for your relevant hashtags. Have them search for specific tweets that are potentially troublesome. They should also enter your name in the bar to see if it will appear. This is probably the most difficult method to execute, as you will need to find someone to help you.
Further reading: 13 Best AI Tweet Generators for Twitter / X
Using Twitter Shadowban online testing tools
As someone who has been on Twitter for a while, there are few things I haven’t seen or experienced. Fortunately, I was never shadow blocked for my main account. However, I’ve had a lot of people who have gotten into shadowband contact me over the years, so I’ve had the opportunity to test some of these web-based tools.
Despite having extensive experience with various software, I didn’t want to burden you with unnecessary information. So, I’ve decided to share my three favorite tools from this list. Each of them is easy to use and gives fast results.
However, this comes with a caveat. While I’m sure each one is great in its own right, I would use all three of Twitter’s shadowban tests at the same time to make sure I’m banned.
Circleboom
Circlebloom has some great tools that will help Twitter creators. Among other things, you can use this website to clean up fake followers and inactive accounts. I also like the fact that Circlebloom helps you track everyone who has unfollowed you on the platform.
As for the shadowban test, it’s pretty straightforward. There is a big search bar in the center of the page where you have to enter your username. After a second or two, the program will tell you whether you are banned or not with a short text. You will not receive any information other than this.
Reversery
If you are a social media creator, you should definitely check out the Revesery website. The platform offers multiple tools to users regardless of their preferred platform. For example, you can interfere with TikTok video downloader, IG following Instagram, YouTube music downloader and various small, great programs.
Revesery works the same way as Circlebloom. All you have to do is enter the profile name and the software will do the rest.
The thing I like about Revesery is that it gives you extra information compared to Circlebloom. First, it tells you if an account still exists. After that, it analyzes all the restrictive measures against you, including banning search suggestions, banning search, banning ghosts and removing replies, and tells you whether you can use these features.
Further reading: 25 Best Twitter Marketing Tools in 2024
HiSubway
The thing I like about HiSubway is that there aren’t many distractions on the screen. Unlike the previous two tools, there is just a blank page with a search bar where you enter your Twitter username.
The software will check your profile within seconds, telling you if it exists or not. Similar to Revesery, it shows the status of stop search suggestions, stop search, stop ghosting and enable replies. I like the fact that there is an explanation for each of these prohibitions, so you can get all the information in one place.
Another good thing about this software is that it comes with an Android app. While this isn’t a huge improvement, it’s still a nice feature to have. If you want, you can also share your test results on Twitter.
What to do if you are banned in Shadow
The first thing I recommend is to avoid any Twitter activity for the next few days. You should learn more about your violation before taking any action. Moreover, by taking a break, you will be more level-headed about your situation. It wouldn’t hurt to read about similar cases and how people solved their specific problems.
After you calm down, you should contact customer support. Many content creators get soft shadowbans for some minor issue that you can fix in a day or two. So if you think you have been wronged, you should contact the moderators. However, if you have posted malicious content on purpose, you should delete it from your profile.
The biggest problem with deleting posts is that the platform only allows you to remove a single post at a time. Because of this, it will take you a long time to “clean up” your profile. However, if there is a lot of spam related to your account, it is best to simply remove it and avoid posting it in the future.
Most importantly, when you clean up your profile, you’ll need to take steps to prevent future bans. Start providing valuable content to your followers by avoiding cursing, controversial and hurtful statements and tweets. Stop sending people all kinds of nasty stuff and avoid banned hashtags.
Overall, you should try to provide value to anyone using the platform.
Further Reading: 21 Best Tweet Schedulers to Boost Your Marketing X
Preventing future Twitter shadowbans
Avoiding a potential shadowban is not as difficult as some people might think. Basically, all you have to do is produce high quality content while avoiding any abusive or hateful behavior.
My sincere suggestion is to avoid discussing politics, culture, religion or any other sensitive topic. Even if you don’t want to offend anyone, someone can report you for controversial opinions. So, it’s better to avoid this content strategy altogether and focus on more user-friendly topics.
Reading the user manual is another way to avoid trouble. Go through the entire document, paying particular attention to the issues that previously caused you trouble. In fact, if you’re a big influencer, it wouldn’t hurt to read the full guide every time it’s updated.
You should focus on authentic engagements and respect all users on the platform. Talk to users as you would to people on the street, with due respect for their cultural, political and religious backgrounds. Most importantly, avoid abusive content and bulk posting of irrelevant content.
Next steps
Like all other social media, websites and search engines, Twitter wants to provide an amazing experience for all its users. The platform wants to create an environment where everyone can express their opinion and share videos and images without worrying about harmful behavior from other users.
So even if you are not banned from social media, you will gain value by reading this post. By following my advice, users can significantly reduce the chances of being trapped in the shadows. Otherwise, if you were prevented from using Twitter’s features, I suggest you re-read this article and consider all the suggestions I have provided.
Check out the top influencers on the platform and follow their lead. These creators are aware of the guidelines and what can get them into trouble. As such, you should model your Twitter game after their example.
Further reading: How to use Twitter for business: 15 ultimate tips to help you master tweeting
Hero Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash
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