Have your latest TikTok videos been falling flat?
You post what feels like your best content yet, but the likes and comments are crickets city. Your viral videos from last month now barely get any engagement. And your follower count suddenly stops growing – no matter how many hashtags you try or accounts you interact with.
Feels unfair, right? Well unfortunately, you might be a victim of the infamous TikTok shadowban.
You’re not alone. A ton of innocent creators wake up to realize TikTok has completely hidden their content from the world. Their usual views, growth, and income avenues evaporate nearly overnight.
The good news is, you can recover from shadowbans by better understanding what causes them. Then take specific steps to prove to TikTok you deserve that coveted algorithm love again.
What is a TikTok Shadowban?
A TikTok shadowban is when your content and account are subtly being suppressed in the algorithm and search results.
Your videos, sounds, hashtags, and profile won’t show up for most users. You aren’t notified and it can happen for unclear reasons.
Signs You Might Be Shadowbanned
Watch for these common signs of a possible shadowban:
1. Sudden Drop in Views
If your views suddenly plummet around 80-90% or more for no clear reason, you may be shadowbanned. For example, if you usually get 20k views per video and now only get 500, TikTok has likely limited your reach.
Check if old videos are still getting views too. If only your new uploads have low views, your content may just be underperforming. But if old viral videos stopped getting views too, you’re likely shadowbanned.
2. Low Engagement Despite Lots of Followers
Do you have over 10k or 100k followers, but only get a few hundred likes and comments? Then you have low engagement and something is limiting your reach.
A major follower-to-engagement mismatch suggests you’ve been shadowbanned. TikTok is preventing your content from reaching followers’ For You feeds.
3. Drop in Discoverability
When shadowbanned, it becomes much harder to be discovered by new viewers. So if hashtags you usually perform well under have low engagement, that’s a red flag.
You may also disappear from hashtag search results completely. Ask friends to search hashtags you’ve posted under — if they can’t find your videos, you’re shadowbanned from searches.
4. Lack of Growth
Being shadowbanned restricts your account’s ability to attract new followers. So if your follower growth suddenly grinds to a halt, TikTok has likely shadowbanned you.
Where you once steadily gained 50+ followers a day, now you get 1-5 at most. This happens when people can’t stumble upon your profile and videos in the main feeds.
Why You Might Get Shadowbanned
TikTok shadow bans accounts that appear to violate community guidelines and terms of service. However, their detection systems aren’t perfect. Here are some of the most common reasons for innocent accounts accidentally getting shadowbanned:
1. Mass Actions Like Follow/Unfollow
Doing too many follows, unfollows, likes, or comments in a short timeframe can appear bot-like. Even if you did all those actions manually, TikTok might assume you used automation software and limit your reach.
So if you tried aggressively growing by mass-following users in your niche, you may have gotten shadowbanned.
2. Reposting/Duetting Videos Without Credit
Duetting or downloading and reuploading viral TikToks is an easy way to get views. But neglecting to credit the original video creator will get your account shadowbanned in no time.
TikTok wants to protect creators’ content. So if you don’t prominently mention the original creator in captions and use #Stolen, TikTok treats you as a content thief.
3. Community Guidelines Violations
Even minor or suspected violations of content policies can trigger a shadowban.
For example, posting harmless behavior in a racy cosplay outfit might get you banned for “adult nudity”. Sharing leggings hauls could be considered “sexually suggestive” content.
The rules are very subjective, so you may get shadowbanned even if you had good intentions.
4. Too Many Blocked Hashtags
If you consistently use banned hashtags related to dangerous challenges, illegal substances, or adult content, TikTok may limit your account’s visibility.
They assume accounts using prohibited hashtags multiple times are posting risky content themselves. So don’t erroneously tag viral hashtags without checking what they’re about first.
5. IP Address Issues
Using a VPN or proxy servers, sharing an IP address with a banned account, or logging in from different regions can trigger shadowbans too.
TikTok may interpret strange IP patterns as someone trying to evade an account ban or grow inauthentically.
So if you moved countries or homes, changed wifi networks, or share internet with others, you might end up shadowbanned by association through no direct fault.
6. Mass Reporting
Unfortunately, mass false reporting campaigns happen in competitive niches. If enough people report your account, TikTokbots automatically restrict you without manual review.
Don’t publicly feud with anyone who has a loyal fanbase. All it takes is one callout post saying “Report this account!” to trigger an unjust shadowban.
How to Confirm You’re Shadowbanned
Wondering if you’re definitely shadowbanned? Here are a few methods to check and confirm:
1. Ask Friends/Followers to Search For You
Go through your follower list and DM 5-10 random followers asking “Can you please search my name and let me know if any of my videos show up?”
If the majority respond no, your TikTok account isn’t showing up in search results. That’s clear confirmation of a shadowban.
2. Compare Analytics to Older Videos
Use TikTok’s Creator Tools analytics to compare an older viral video’s views to a recent one posted right before you noticed issues.
If the lifetime view count, likes, and engagement is drastically lower (like 90%+) on the new video, you have hard data proving your lack of visibility from a shadowban.
How to Get Unshadowbanned
Now that you confirmed your shadowban status, here’s how to get your account back in TikTok’s good graces:
1. Stop Posting Daily
Posting less helps reverse shadowbans faster according to experts. TikTok wants you to lay low and reset your behavior, not keep posting more content they’ll suppress.
So take a 1-2 week break from uploading. You can resume a more modest schedule of 2-3 videos a week after the break. Just avoid sudden daily posting again right after.
2. Delete Problematic Videos
If any uploads got you banned — reuploads without credit, inappropriate content, etc. — delete them immediately.
Removing the offending content tells TikTok you learned your lesson and are fixing the issue. This helps lift automatic restrictions faster.
3. Change Hashtags
Stop using banned hashtags or niche tags that encourage false reporting. Only use long-tail hashtags accurately describing your content from now on.
For example, use general tags like #CookingTips or #DanceTutorial instead of potentially controversial niche ones.
4. Submit Shadowban Appeal
You can formally appeal your shadowban directly to TikTok by submitting this form:
Explain you believe your account was incorrectly shadowbanned and provide any details why high appeal volume triggers auto-restrictions. Ask them to manually review your case.
5. Use TikTok’s Review Request
Similar to appeals, requesting content reviews proactively prompts manual checks by TikTok’s human moderators.
Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing > Posting > Request Review. Select individual videos to submit for review you think caused issues.
Explaining the intent behind restricted videos can help overturn unfair shadowbans based on confusion over Guidelines violations.
Hopefully TikTok support can properly assess each case and lift erroneous shadowbans. Some creators swear these steps worked for them, so try this troubleshooting checklist before starting a new account!
Let me know if you have any other questions!
