Account instantly deleted by Instagram - no way to appeal?
February 6, 2024 12:15 PM
I am uncomfortable with the idea of social media and am not a regular user. Nevertheless, today I tried to create an Instagram account for a photography project, which was deleted immediately for violating their terms with no possibility of appeal. Why would this be and how can I avoid such a fate for subsequent accounts I try to create?
To be honest, I find everything associated with Instagram/Facebook/Meta distasteful, and I would rather be part of a world where they didn't exist, although I have had an Instagram account with my personal email for 10 years or so without ever posting a picture. However, I seem to be totally alone in this, and many artists I respect share their work on Instagram etc. To that end, I thought for a long time about creating an Instagram account to share the completely amateur photography that I do, which would be of interest to a few people but not millions by any means! It took me quite a while to settle on a username that I thought would be appropriate and original. The username was totally innocuous. Today, I created a gmail with that username, and then immediately afterwards an Instagram account.
Straight away, I was unable to access the Instagram account, receiving this message.
Answering "No" to "Was this helpful?" gives me an option to put in a text response, but it makes clear that this is for feedback purposes only and I will not get a reply.
Again, what did I do wrong, what should I do to create an account without the same result, and is there any way my original choice of username might be recoverable?
To be honest, I find everything associated with Instagram/Facebook/Meta distasteful, and I would rather be part of a world where they didn't exist, although I have had an Instagram account with my personal email for 10 years or so without ever posting a picture. However, I seem to be totally alone in this, and many artists I respect share their work on Instagram etc. To that end, I thought for a long time about creating an Instagram account to share the completely amateur photography that I do, which would be of interest to a few people but not millions by any means! It took me quite a while to settle on a username that I thought would be appropriate and original. The username was totally innocuous. Today, I created a gmail with that username, and then immediately afterwards an Instagram account.
Straight away, I was unable to access the Instagram account, receiving this message.
Answering "No" to "Was this helpful?" gives me an option to put in a text response, but it makes clear that this is for feedback purposes only and I will not get a reply.
Again, what did I do wrong, what should I do to create an account without the same result, and is there any way my original choice of username might be recoverable?
it's not 100% clear from your description but it sounds like you did not do anything with the account (post, follow, comment) before being banned.
the only thing i could see is that creating both a new gmail account and immediately a new instagram account is a red flag that points to scamming/fraud.
(i have no idea whether instagram and gmail have an agreement that would allow them to see such information.)
posted by noloveforned at 12:24 PM on February 6
the only thing i could see is that creating both a new gmail account and immediately a new instagram account is a red flag that points to scamming/fraud.
(i have no idea whether instagram and gmail have an agreement that would allow them to see such information.)
posted by noloveforned at 12:24 PM on February 6
I'm so sorry that happened. A similar thing happened to me last year when trying to create an activities-based account. Their AI/automated service insta-banned me with no real explanation. I used an older Gmail account, I think, but I doubt Instagram and Gmail has agreements on sharing ages of accounts (probably unless you use the "Sign up with Google" option, if it still exists).
Sadly, Instagram/Meta is probably mostly AI/automated now, and there's plenty of discontentment on their Reddit sub about people being banned, comments deleted, odd searches, and questionable content still remaining on IG. Word is that they don't have much actual employees anymore (laid off), and instead resort to AI/automation. Some friends of mine had impersonators, and no matter how much we reported the impersonators, IG didn't lift a finger. There's also no way to contact support and get an actual live person. Kind of scary when you think about it—especially if you use IG to keep in contact with people.
It's frustrating, I know. I wish I had a better answer. All I can say is, you didn't do anything wrong, from my perspective. Maybe somebody a bit more Meta-savvy will be able to pipe in.
posted by dubious_dude at 12:39 PM on February 6
Sadly, Instagram/Meta is probably mostly AI/automated now, and there's plenty of discontentment on their Reddit sub about people being banned, comments deleted, odd searches, and questionable content still remaining on IG. Word is that they don't have much actual employees anymore (laid off), and instead resort to AI/automation. Some friends of mine had impersonators, and no matter how much we reported the impersonators, IG didn't lift a finger. There's also no way to contact support and get an actual live person. Kind of scary when you think about it—especially if you use IG to keep in contact with people.
It's frustrating, I know. I wish I had a better answer. All I can say is, you didn't do anything wrong, from my perspective. Maybe somebody a bit more Meta-savvy will be able to pipe in.
posted by dubious_dude at 12:39 PM on February 6
A bit of an aside, you might want to try Pixelfed as an Instagram alternative. You might not get the audience you would on Instagram, but you'd avoid the Meta ecosystem. And the few photos I've posted on there have gotten more attention than I'd have wagered given the low effort I've put in.
There are also more features geared toward photography on Pixelfed than on Instagram (which has prioritized its TikTok clone, Reels rather than photos).
Anyway, worth exploring if you want.
posted by eekernohan at 12:50 PM on February 6
There are also more features geared toward photography on Pixelfed than on Instagram (which has prioritized its TikTok clone, Reels rather than photos).
Anyway, worth exploring if you want.
posted by eekernohan at 12:50 PM on February 6
it's not 100% clear from your description but it sounds like you did not do anything with the account (post, follow, comment) before being banned.
That's correct.
Since posting my question, I've made the mistake of trying to sign up with different longstanding personal and work email addresses, using alternative versions of the username I selected. I guess my ip address or similar is being flagged, since they're all being blocked/deleted (when I say all, I mean two or three max - I'm not sure right now), so all of my options are being cut off. I wish I hadn't started now. I've stopped for today anyway.
posted by cincinnatus c at 12:52 PM on February 6
That's correct.
Since posting my question, I've made the mistake of trying to sign up with different longstanding personal and work email addresses, using alternative versions of the username I selected. I guess my ip address or similar is being flagged, since they're all being blocked/deleted (when I say all, I mean two or three max - I'm not sure right now), so all of my options are being cut off. I wish I hadn't started now. I've stopped for today anyway.
posted by cincinnatus c at 12:52 PM on February 6
We're having the same issue with our Facebook advertising account. Not a clue what has violated their ad guidelines and no way to appeal. Must be a Meta thing.
posted by dlmedia at 1:07 PM on February 6
posted by dlmedia at 1:07 PM on February 6
You didn't mention what phone number you used. Trying to create an IG account without a phone number is unlikely to work nowadays, IME. If you really want an IG account, get a new phone, don't put it on your wifi yet, download the app, and sign up from there. If you're lucky, once you have the account, you'll be able to use it on other devices.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 1:41 PM on February 6
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 1:41 PM on February 6
There is no way that Instagram would know how old a Google/Gmail account is.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:41 PM on February 6
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:41 PM on February 6
Meta's policies are enforced by AI (or at least their advertising policies are) and that enforcement is ridiculously bad. Even if you talk to their support about it (which you can do if you're spending advertising money), they will basically tell you that it's a bot and there's nothing anyone can do about it. There is probably no way to know what caused their bot to ban you and they may not even be able to tell you definitively if they wanted to tell you.
That said, you will likely have more success if you add a new Insta account from within your existing account instead of creating a completely separate account, assuming that's what you did.
posted by ssg at 1:42 PM on February 6
That said, you will likely have more success if you add a new Insta account from within your existing account instead of creating a completely separate account, assuming that's what you did.
posted by ssg at 1:42 PM on February 6
The same happened to me a few days ago - I set up a new account and it was instantaneously deactivated due to [I can't remember the exact reason, but due to some kind of activity it didn't like, even though I'd done literally nothing with the account except set it up].
A bit of googling led me to this form. I filled it out, and very shortly afterwards the account was reactivated - no idea if that was because of the form, or just a coincidence.
posted by penguin pie at 2:17 PM on February 6
A bit of googling led me to this form. I filled it out, and very shortly afterwards the account was reactivated - no idea if that was because of the form, or just a coincidence.
posted by penguin pie at 2:17 PM on February 6
Any chance your username accidentally contains a bad word? Like you create an account for your two transylvanian hound dogs @Petrescu.n.Teodora and unwittingly are saying cunt? They do dumb stuff like that all the time with username banning.
posted by phunniemee at 2:28 PM on February 6
posted by phunniemee at 2:28 PM on February 6
What phone number did you use? Did you use one already associated with your current username?
I am also wondering if you tried to set it up as a personal account rather than a professional account (Business or Creator here).
posted by bluedaisy at 2:59 PM on February 6
I am also wondering if you tried to set it up as a personal account rather than a professional account (Business or Creator here).
posted by bluedaisy at 2:59 PM on February 6
Other possibilities: if you're using a VPN, you might be getting lumped in with other (bad acting) users of that VPN IP address, or even just being rejected for using any (publicly known) VPN address at all. Any chance you have one running?
Or if you're giving it a google voice number as your phone number, services do seem to be able to tell the difference between those and "real" cellphone numbers (though I've only ever seen them rejected at the signup stage for other services, not later).
posted by nobody at 3:10 PM on February 6
Or if you're giving it a google voice number as your phone number, services do seem to be able to tell the difference between those and "real" cellphone numbers (though I've only ever seen them rejected at the signup stage for other services, not later).
posted by nobody at 3:10 PM on February 6
(Anyone can look up what company currently "owns" a phone number, and known VOIP providers are often blacklisted when signing up for accounts since they're much easier to obtain than a traditional cell phone or landline number.)
posted by tubedogg at 6:52 PM on February 6
posted by tubedogg at 6:52 PM on February 6
Meta's policies are enforced by AI
I'm pretty sure that having any non-English words anywhere in your name/profile/email address can be enough to get banned.
I would rather be part of a world where they didn't exist
Sometimes the universe conspires to make your dreams come true.
posted by Lanark at 4:35 AM on February 7
I'm pretty sure that having any non-English words anywhere in your name/profile/email address can be enough to get banned.
I would rather be part of a world where they didn't exist
Sometimes the universe conspires to make your dreams come true.
posted by Lanark at 4:35 AM on February 7
"Suspicious activity" where there is no activity seems to be very straightforwardly an error on Meta's end, which will likely persist at your expense. Perhaps penguin pie's form link above may help.
All of the information above regarding IG/Meta being unresponsive with actual human help tracks with everything I've heard from dozens of people over the years. Revenue-generating accounts with thousands of followers have often taken 6-9 months and personal favors in the SF metro area to get resolved. You're not facing a realistic path to resolution through that.
I would try having someone else in a completely different location try to register an account for you, since this might be something where Meta is blocking an abusive network address & you may be unfortunately using the same data connection service as them (there are a couple of ways that could screw you over inaccurately). Let them log in and log out a few times over a few days before ultimately taking the user/pass over and trying to log in from your own location. If THAT strikes another suspension then you at least have narrowed down the likely cause, although you'll also be certain you cannot fix it. This is low-effort and free thing to try, anyway.
Flickr and Tumblr are still around. It's just unfortunate they're not visible to IG users.
posted by brianvan at 7:10 AM on February 7
All of the information above regarding IG/Meta being unresponsive with actual human help tracks with everything I've heard from dozens of people over the years. Revenue-generating accounts with thousands of followers have often taken 6-9 months and personal favors in the SF metro area to get resolved. You're not facing a realistic path to resolution through that.
I would try having someone else in a completely different location try to register an account for you, since this might be something where Meta is blocking an abusive network address & you may be unfortunately using the same data connection service as them (there are a couple of ways that could screw you over inaccurately). Let them log in and log out a few times over a few days before ultimately taking the user/pass over and trying to log in from your own location. If THAT strikes another suspension then you at least have narrowed down the likely cause, although you'll also be certain you cannot fix it. This is low-effort and free thing to try, anyway.
Flickr and Tumblr are still around. It's just unfortunate they're not visible to IG users.
posted by brianvan at 7:10 AM on February 7
I lost my 8 year old personal Instagram account with 1500+ followers in a similar way in 2021 and was never able to get it back despite really trying. I was traveling overseas and using a new Chromebook I had purchased for the trip and I can only assume somehow it triggered some predictive algorithm. Filled out countless forms asking for assistance and never got any. I think this is just a hazard. Apparently if you have a paying account (you are a business that buys ads) you can get better support...but not sure how cause you wouldn't be able to log into that paying account!
I really wish "free" services like Gmail and Meta had a paid tier where I could pay monthly for true ownership of my account and customer service. I pay for Spotify but I can't pay for Gmail???
posted by amaire at 9:39 AM on February 7
I really wish "free" services like Gmail and Meta had a paid tier where I could pay monthly for true ownership of my account and customer service. I pay for Spotify but I can't pay for Gmail???
posted by amaire at 9:39 AM on February 7
The paid version of Gmail is Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), though for the money you still don't get much in the way of support compared to Protonmail or Fastmail.
posted by Lanark at 11:47 AM on February 7
posted by Lanark at 11:47 AM on February 7
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
It is also possible your innocuous username is either not so innocuous or is so close to an existing Instagram account with lots of followers that they they think your are trying to spoof them.
This doesn't help you, though.
posted by AndrewStephens at 12:22 PM on February 6