Why can’t I comment on Instagram?
You’ve had your Instagram comments blocked!
IG continues to battle spammers, and innocent users are caught in the aftermath.
Duplicate comments, and comments with multiple users tagged, are likely to be blocked by Instagram.
But, there are lots of possible reasons your comments are not showing!
Read on to discover them all.
Why Is My Comment Not Showing on Instagram?
If you’re not able to add a comment, first try updating your app to the latest version.
If your Instagram app is up to date, you may be getting an error for another reason. Here are some possibilities:
- There’s an Instagram glitch. Try a hard close and restart your app.
- You’re on Airplane Mode or have no internet connection.
- The post has had commenting turned off, or limited to selected people.
- Instagram is down (it’s rare, but you can check here).
- You are over-engaging (likes, comments, follows, unfollows).
- You included more than 5 @ mentions in a single comment.
- You included more than 30 #hashtags on a single post.
- You posted multiple, duplicate comments (including emoji).
- You have a brand-new account and are trying to comment on numerous big accounts.
- You’ve included banned words or phrases.
- That account has blocked you, or a word you used, from comments on their posts.
The first 4, of course, have nothing to do with a block. They just require you to determine which is the cause, and take steps to fix the situation as soon as you can.
Or wait it out!
Reasons 5 – 11 are a bit trickier. Learn more about each below.
Also find tips on how long your block will last, and how to get unblocked faster!
How Often Can I “Like” and Comment on Instagram?
Instagram puts daily Engagement Activity Limits on your account. This is to safeguard against spammers using unethical growth tactics.
There’s not a specific limit for every account. You’ll have a lower limit if your account is newer.
In fact, for a brand-new account, I suggest limiting your activity severely until you complete your Instagram profile with a bio, add a profile picture, and share a few posts.
A typical Instagram user is allowed 60 activities per hour – that includes commenting, liking, following, or unfollowing someone on the app.
If you’re only commenting, you’ll be allowed 60 comments per hour or 180 to 200 comments per day.
The daily limit, however, increases with the age of your Instagram account. More established accounts can post up to 400 or 500 comments a day – significantly more than a new account.
Tips to avoid being restricted from commenting on Instagram:
- Gradually increase your number of daily comments.
- Avoid posting the same comment multiple times (including emoji) .
- Don’t over-engage (likes, follows, unfollows, comments).
- Don’t tag (@mention) more than 5 accounts in a comment.
- Don’t try to use more than 30 hashtags in one post.
Exceed these limits, and you’re put in “Time Out.” For a period of time, you won’t be able to do any of these activities.
TBH, I see similar on every social platform. Consistency is key!
Maybe you’re excited and you want to jump in enthusiastically. Take it easy. Slow and steady wins the race.
Before taking your social media break, you could try:
- Logging out and back in on your Instagram app.
- Posting your comment from a different device.
- Waiting for an hour or so before trying to comment again.
Why Can’t I Post the Same Instagram Comment Again?
Spammers (and some marketers) use automated “bot” commenting to draw attention to their accounts. It’s annoying to put up with as the Instagram audience grows, becoming a more attractive target.
Instagram is hoping to stop bot commenting by blocking comments that duplicate what you just posted.
Friends and I have noticed this on our personal accounts when we write “Congrats!” or similar to more than one person. Totally innocent, but IG only sees it as a duplicate comment – and blocks it.
If you’re marketing on Instagram, please don’t use bot commenting. Even if your comments are varied or spaced out enough to not get blocked – auto commenting is just flat-out annoying.
If you’re trying to make a number of quick comments, add a few relevant emoticons. IGers actually like those 🙂
But don’t repeat one comment in its entirety! Change up the emojis.
Consider including the person’s real name in the comment, too. Not only does this add a personal touch, it will help Instagram see it as a genuine, un-automated, comment.
Instagram Comments Blocked for Tagging Users [@mentions]
The current limit, according to Instagram, is 5 @mentions per comment.
If you tagged no more than 5, and your comment was still blocked, read on for more ideas.
In the past, I’ve had comments blocked when I’ve tried to thank a few users who have congratulated me on being featured by a “hub” account (see sample comment). This is disconcerting, as Instagram tells you your comment may be “abusive.” Certainly that would be the furthest thing from my mind!
After having that happen 3 times, I gave up tagging anyone who was not following my account. Now I’m tentatively tagging non-followers if they’ve tagged me first. This seems to be acceptable – for now.
Again, this blocking is due to those abusive spammers who tag numerous users in comments – usually on a post to “get free followers.” Ugh!
I have to admit, since this crackdown, those obnoxious spammers have declined greatly. Small price to pay, I suppose – as long as we nice folks don’t get confused with spammers, and possibly have our accounts closed!
I suggest you err on the side of caution. If I get another comment blocked due to tagging others, I’ll return to only tagging my followers.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to stop thanking people for congratulating me on hub accounts. It’s not worth risking a banned account.
Updated: Instagram has eased up on me for tagging multiple users in a comment thread. I’ve tried it a few times and didn’t get blocked. I was replying to people who had already commented in the thread, as in the image above right.
IG Comments Blocked on Accounts with Over 50K Followers
I hear this often. Several ‘grammers have found this post and left comments begging me to resolve this. Here’s my answer.
Starting a new account and quickly posting on huge and/or celebrity accounts is not typical behavior – except for spammers!
The only solution for this one? Don’t do it.
Be cautious of posting on accounts with huge followings immediately after opening an account.
Which Words Are Banned in Instagram Comments?
Instagram doesn’t provide a list of banned words. If they did, it would have to be constantly updated.
So, just be on your best behavior and try not to offend.
Don’t curse. Be kind.
Instagram says:
We want to foster a positive, diverse community. We remove content that contains credible threats or hate speech, content that targets private individuals to degrade or shame them, personal information meant to blackmail or harass someone, and repeated unwanted messages. We do generally allow stronger conversation around people who are featured in the news or have a large public audience due to their profession or chosen activities.
It’s never OK to encourage violence or attack anyone based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, disabilities, or diseases. When hate speech is being shared to challenge it or to raise awareness, we may allow it. In those instances, we ask that you express your intent clearly.
Serious threats of harm to public and personal safety aren’t allowed. This includes specific threats of physical harm as well as threats of theft, vandalism, and other financial harm. We carefully review reports of threats and consider many things when determining whether a threat is credible. source
In addition, each account can set their own list of banned words… read on.
How Can I Block Comments on My Instagram Account?
As you probably know, you can post a photo or video with commenting disabled.
Did you know you can also block comments that contain specific words, phrases, numbers or emoji that you’d like to avoid?
Yes! Instagram has enabled Comment Controls, and these could be the reason your comment won’t post.
If your account is public, you’ll see a new way to choose who can comment on your posts — from everyone to just groups of people, like people you follow or your followers.
Also, whether your account is public or private, you’ll be able to block other accounts from commenting on your posts.
If you have the offensive comment filter turned on, you can also turn on a keyword filter to hide comments that contain specific words, phrases, numbers or emoji.
- Go to your profile and tap the three lines at top right.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Privacy and Security.
- Tap Comment Controls.
- Make sure that Hide Offensive Comments is turned on.
- Tap next to Manual Filter to turn it on.
Enter specific words, phrases, numbers or emoji in the text box to filter out comments.
Keep in mind that default and custom keyword filtering aren’t currently available in all languages:
- Default Keywords: The default list of keywords is only available in certain languages.
- Custom Keywords: Currently, custom keyword filtering doesn’t support languages without spaces (ex: Chinese, Japanese, Thai).
When you turn on comment filtering, it’s applied to both new and existing comments on your posts. When you turn off comment filtering, filtered comments on your posts will be restored. source
And of course, any account can block you, delete your comment, or even report you.
Instagram says:
You may find content you don’t like, but doesn’t violate the Community Guidelines. If that happens, you can unfollow or block the person who posted it. If there’s something you don’t like in a comment on one of your posts, you can delete that comment.
Be wise: only post #KindComments.
How Long Am I Blocked from Commenting on Instagram?
A typical block will last 24–48 hours.
If it’s your first offense, your block may be as short as 2 hours. Proceed cautiously! Be sure to review the daily and hourly limits above.
If you’re a repeat offender, and if you’re been reported by other IGers, your block could last as long as a week or even a month.
If you’ve been blocked from commenting by the account owner, please respect that. Don’t even try to comment or message that account.
How to Get UNblocked on Instagram
So you’re blocked, you’re not sure how long it will last, and you’re in the throes of Instagram withdrawals.
There may be some things you can do to get the block lifted faster.
According to Guiding Tech, if Instagram has blocked you, it could be that Instagram has blocked your IP address and not your account.
The first solution that you should try is to switch to mobile data instead of using your WiFi.
Or switch your IP address!
I haven’t tried this, but just read about it from someone who said they do this on a monthly basis. I don’t know all the ramifications changing this setting might have, so beware. Since you’re resetting, you will have to re-enter passwords.
The simple solution if you are on iPhone. Go to your settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings. This will give you new IP address.
If you’re still blocked, I strongly recommend you put the phone down and stay off Instagram for at least 24 hours.
And absolutely, stop using any automated tools that are not approved Instagram marketing partners.
It’s also recommended to link your other social media accounts inside your Instagram settings.
Basically, anything that makes your account look like it’s run by a real person!
You can also report your issue to Instagram from the Settings within the app.
On iPhone:
- From your Settings, tap Help.
- Tap Report a Problem.
- Tap Something Isn’t Working.
- State your case!
My guess is you’ll be unblocked before they read your problem report!
Here are more tips to unblock your IG account from a reader comment. Not sure if you have to do ALL these things, but essentially, you want to make your profile look genuine.
- Add / change a profile picture and description.
- Delete your link if it might be suspect (affiliate links, typos, possibly shortened links).
- Use Instagram normally. Do NOT use automation!
- Comment very little, if at all.
Another reader, QQ says:
I had the same problem. I could only post 3 comments every 24 hours. If I posted more than 3 comments I’d get banned for 24 hours from commenting (could still like pictures, follow people – just couldn’t comment.)
I did the following things:
– Change my profile (just write something new in your profile; maybe don’t leave any links until you’re unbanned from commenting too).
– Set a profile picture.
– Log in and out of your Instagram account.
– Go on your computer and log into Instagram. Like some pictures and try commenting at least once.
– On your phone, use Instagram normally: just browse, look at pictures, search hashtags, like some pictures, (show that you’re not a bot).
– Set a gender: male or female.
– Don’t comment for a few days or a week, but do all the above.
– Post two pictures (6 hours apart) every day.
I got unbanned in 4 days doing all this. I can comment all the time now, like pictures, follow etc. Good luck!!
Thank you QQ for sharing!
IG Comment Block Takeaways and To-Dos
I know it’s frustrating. As in all things, patience is a virtue here.
I don’t know how long your block will last. Just be sure you’re not making duplicate comments or multiple tags, which would likely make it worse.
Be sure you have the latest version of Instagram and your mobile OS. Old versions may prevent your comments from posting.
Never tag more than 5 users in one comment.
Try Instagram on your browser. At least one user has reported this resolved his issue.
If your app has frozen, you can try a hard shutdown of your device. This worked on my iPhone. I have no experience with Android or Windows devices, so do your due diligence before trying anything.
If you still can’t open Instagram, you can try deleting the app and reinstalling. Again, check this out first before trying. I’m not qualified to provide tech advice!
Read the comments to see if other readers have left advice you can follow.
Leave advice if you have any. If you ask a question, be aware that I have no further advice beyond what I’ve provided in this article. Maybe another reader can help.
Be real, be authentic, be you – and be careful not to get your Instagram comments blocked!
This post on blocked Instagram comments was originally published in April 2015 and has been updated 8 times.
Rocky says
Wow, this is an amazing post. Informational content and very helpful for me.
JB says
No such word as infomational but agree the post is very informative shame non of it works for me,
I have been posting pictures of my diecast collection, I have tags to the brand of model, maker, and various brand associated ig sites .
I also put @ to the brands diecast sites and one friend but still I got blocked, I am not a new account either, I have built up my tags and @ gradually with no issues, but as I was in bed yesterday unwell I spent a lot of time online, why should I get banned from replying to friends comments on my own posts, is it not the point of social media to make me friends and post stuff, I post far more on twitter and Facebook with no issues if this is the case I will not bother with this silly thing
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately, there are limits to interactions on IG. These limits will vary by age of account and other factors. Sorry that you tripped it, and I hope you feel better soon!
fishfoot says
Well was a good read and very helpful at that. But this seems like an old post so does those limitations still stand or are they gone now because I haven’t really faced anything of those sort as of recently so if you’re still available would appreciate a follow up on this because this is the first time I’ve heard of these limited comments and likes thingy. Also for tips on disabling or deleting comments do check out the website. Well gotta do at least that while at it…. but really would appreciate a follow up
Louise Myers says
“Old” as in 4 months? The post is current… The info stands.
Andre says
I’ve used the “Something Isn’t Working” option in Settings, and after submission i could already start commenting again!
Louise Myers says
Awesome!
doc johnny lloydde says
ihave the exact opposite problem.. im a newer user less than 4 months.. and trying to be polite ,,,i followed everyone that followed me.. now i have 7500 that im following and 500 following me.. obviously i didnt understand the GAME of following and unfollowing…
so i try to delete 100 a day and get blocked all the time for too many deletes.. i get blocked a few days.. its easy to follow 7500..its like pulling teeth in ww3 to get rid of them..
very sad sic business model.. just like all social media,, its just BIZNESS as Usual
Louise Myers says
It’s not really the business model that’s a problem, it’s the spammers and spammy users. Sadly a lot of them…
James says
I have a decent sized account for my car/youtube channel. Everything was fine until mid last week when I woke up and tried to like a post (got a message saying “link not allowed”). This happens when I try to comment and post as well (but can still post stories without links, and DM). I also cannot change information in my bio or posts (whenI try to save I get an error that says “feedback needed”. This being said, it still lets me edit my website link and save it properly. This is also happening to a company I am partnered with for their car alert systems. Do you have any experience with this issue? Thanks
Louise Myers says
You might want to read about Instagram blocking bio link. Best of luck!
جسارت says
Thank you for this insightful article
I manage a verified account with 90K followers. I’ve noticed that spammers/Ad accounts are posting comment that I cannot view when I’m looking through the account as an admin. However, when I view the 90K account from my personal account I find these spam comments there!
I’m unable to delete them when I’m the admin because they don’t exist – but they do exist from other accounts.
Louise Myers says
That’s crazy! Let us know if you find solution.
doc johnny lloydde says
you can still report them
Chester says
had the same issue yesterday
Mauro says
Useful tips. I agree to share though. We need to keep a blog alive for further information.
Wendy D says
Thank you so much for this post. I was totally confused when Instagram started telling me there was something wrong with my profile and I couldn’t comment and I couldn’t put any description on my photos. I followed the advice of making a bunch of changes to my profile, including the picture, and logging out, and now I am fine. One thing I will be more careful with is adding a lot of hashtags. I do tend to get excessive.
Louise Myers says
Glad to hear it helped!
moon says
Tom Naughton is a programmer, and his blog page is very nicely set up. The number of comments is posted, and comments get tucked away in multiples of 50, so if you come in late you see the most recent blogs. People keep adding comments, so if you have already read the first 35, you can scroll down to where you had stopped and just pick up again. This does make it easier to navigate.
Curious says
I occasionally join a certain user’s instagram live broadcasts. I comment rarely, but I notice my comment seems to scroll up faster than other user’s comments. In addition, when I go back and watch a replay I can never see my comment. Why is that?
Louise Myers says
Don’t know, but I’ve always had trouble finding comments in a live replay. Weird threading system.
Kennedy Goodness says
please friends help me out, if someone should post something and I try to comment, it will just end automatically, and I wouldn’t be able to comment again pleas what should I do because I uninstalled the app and install it again help me out please
MPA says
“Who seeks out big accounts, immediately after creating an account”
Uhm celebrity fans? People who decide to get involved in an issue, (Political, humanitarian etc.).
It’s not just spammers, your article loss many credibility points for that one.
Louise Myers says
OK, not my milieu but it could happen. More likely to be spammers unless they’re totally obsessed fans of MANY celebrities. This is my experience, yours may differ, but I appreciate your opinion.
MEME says
May I add that I think that there is a limit on how many captions you can edit in a day? Because Instagram blocked me from editing captions after I edited about 14 captions(I was really just crediting photographers and agencies to them). I tried deactivating and reactivating after three hours, but it did nothing. So I will just wait 24 hours and see what happens then.
Along with blocking me from editing captions, Instagram also started blocking me from replying to comments on my page and other pages. All I did was remove the link from my bio and re add it and was immediately able to comment and reply to comments again.
I also was recently blocked from liking photos, which was unusual considering I don’t spam photos with likes. All I did was unlike two of my most recent likes and that immediately fixed the problem.
I will also add that earlier this year that I got temporarily shadow banned for adding too many hashtags in the comments. I had no idea that there was a limit on how many hashtags one can add, but I have a business account and the hashtags that I use are specific to my business. I removed the hashtags from several of my most recent posts, I limited the number of hashtags and my newer posts were showing up. But I noticed the older posts with the older hashtags were still shadow banned, it took a few weeks of regular activity for them to lift the ban.
Louise Myers says
Thanks for the great info!
Interesting about the shadowban. IG has insisted there’s no such thing. But it keeps happening…
I’ll add to be careful using others’ photos without prior permission (even if you credit them). If they report you, your account could be closed. Using others’ photos is against IG ToS.
Mike says
Great article Louise! I was looking for something on VPNs for unblocking Instagram but this is cool too!
theeradical says
Honestly…. i didnt do anything wrong and my likes are all unliked when i go back in. I am not blocked from seeing the account but I cannot post anywhere and when I tried to start a new account it told me that 5 different emails i tried to sign up with were already in use.
When I attempt to get the password for those accounts to get my instagram open (which is not yet attached to a phone) there seems to be a message that I cannot get a password because those emails do not have an account registered on them. I am certain that a third party entity has compromised my phone because the messages all go to a number in Seattle Washington which is known to intercept messages etc. my messages are being routed through 206.313.0004 and i can get no assistance
Jenn says
I keep getting the notification comment blocked: it looks like your comments contains a link that is not allowed. I get this notification when I try to caption my image but there is nothing bad in my caption. Any advice?
Louise Myers says
Check your bio link. Today they seem to be blocking accounts using linktree.
https://louisem.com/76182/instagram-block-bio-link
Callum says
Hi, I commented an emoji too many times and I’ve been “temporarily blocked from commenting” does this last forever or does it eventually go back to normal
If not how can I get it to go back to normal
Can you please get back to me as soon as possible please
Louise Myers says
The time it takes to go back to normal varies. If it doesn’t go back there’s probably nothing you can do.
Jdiai says
I had this same problem i got blocked from commenting on instagram after i posted same comment up to 10 times in a voting page. I updated the url link on my bio and immediately i could comment again. Hope this helps
Louise Myers says
Glad that worked! Thanks for sharing.
Emma says
I’m not marketing anything, my IG is 100% personal. Since I started posting pictures of me pole dancing (100% clean, no stripping, just regular pole fitness and trying to connect with other dancers) I cannot comment on ANYTHING, unless I am following the person or they are verified. Do my pictures have anything to do with this? I can’t think of anything else I was doing different.
And like I said, all are clean. In my videos on IG I wear opaque leggings meant for dance and a high neck tank top. No “dirty” (I don’t like that word but that’s how some people think…) dance moves, nothing that breaks rules. I’ve recieved nothing from IG about this…
Louise Myers says
If it’s your pictures, then maybe someone reported them, or perhaps IG is using AI that misidentified them as too sexy. I really don’t know.
They also might just have stricter rules about commenting on accounts you don’t follow.
E may says
Instagram blocks my comments when I reply to people on my own Instagram content. I have tried to vary the replies so they aren’t all thank you for commenting. But still get blocked.
Leah says
Same here!!! So frustrating. I thiught instagram wanted engagement on their app, but i cant even reply to peoples comments on my photos!
Nourah says
Hello,
Thank you for this insightful article
I manage a verified account with 90K followers. I’ve noticed that spammers/Ad accounts are posting comment that I cannot view when I’m looking through the account as an admin. However, when I view the 90K account from my personal account I find these spam comments there!
I’m unable to delete them when I’m the admin because they don’t exist – but they do exist from other accounts.
Very strange …. do you happen to know why?
Best,
Nourah
Louise Myers says
Wow Nourah, that’s the pits! I’ve never heard of this before. You can still report comments as spam from any account, so that’s what I’d do.
You could also try viewing your 90K account from desktop and/or a 3rd party tool (particularly an Instagram partner).
Best of luck.
Annette says
Do you have any idea why my friend (we both follow each other) can’t comment on my stories? He’s not blocked. He can see the place to make a comment but he can’t send it. Thanks for any ideas you’ve got!
Jodie Barnard says
I have an issue that I haven’t seen anyone else mention. When I comment on a certain friend’s photos, the majority of the time my comment is only visible to myself, but not always. We have no idea why. He has even seen the comment appear as a notification only to have it vanish when he opened the app. Another time he saw the comment in the app, clicked to reply and it vanished. But some comments get through, and this applies to both my accounts.
It’s very frustrating and I can’t find an explanation anywhere. I don’t have anything saying I have been banned or any error messages. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Louise Myers says
Very odd! Sorry, haven’t heard of this and have no ideas.
Jennifer says
I have the same problem!! It’s VERY FRUSTRATING !!!!!
Alsec says
Blocks are usually triggered by spammy looking links.
Thanks for the great post.
christiebmcleod says
Hi there! I found this article to be extremely helpful. We are new to running our business account. Just launched this past December. I try to comment back to everyone who has commented on my posts but now I know some of them are spammers. Didn’t even know this was a thing! Super frustrating for us out there who genuinely are trying to build a business. I would like note that I do have an iphone and tried your latest updated method and it worked!
“The simple solution if you are on iPhone. Go to your settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings. This will give you new IP address.”
Thank goodness for online bloggers! I so appreciate your time.
Cheers!
-Christie
Louise Myers says
Thanks Christie 🙂
Rosa says
I can’t comment,follow or like anything,it says that i have a link that is not allowee as far i i know i only have my snap username what cam i do?
Louise Myers says
If you have a link to snapchat, remove it.
Jim says
Hi
Whats your review about buying some instagram followers to grow my account?
What is your opinion about purchasing some instagram followers to grow my account?
Louise Myers says
Horrible idea – I block this type of account on IG. I also removed your link.
Ann says
Hi Louise, many thanks for all your info! I have a tag-related issue that bewilders me. On my images I use hashtags to create albums-of-sorts of my images. Clicking on one of the hashtags, on the bottom it says “Recent posts from #bogotacasasbykroonskollektion are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines.”
This is really really strange, because they are very innocent images of old houses, plus there’s actually not any images missing. Do you have any idea what this could be about? Seems to only occur on this specific hashtag (I have about 5 of them of this kind). Where could one find out? Many thanks!
Louise Myers says
Hi Ann,
Instagram does block some content on hashtag feeds, though I have no idea why it would happen on your personal tag – unless a spammer actually used it (or reported you). Most likely a glitch.
timothycohen says
It just happened to me…
I am featured on Lonely Planet’s instagram since yesterday and I was answering to the dozens of people commenting… 4 hours ago my comment were blocked and I cannot answer to anyone anymore, even if they are following me, and I don’t know until when this stupid ban will last…
miss harmony says
I am an owner of a public account. I try to block few comments on my account, however I cannot see the comment but others can, not even can search the profile of the commentor (he kind of blocking me from seeing his comments on my posting). I only can see the comment if someone screenshot to me. Please HELP!! How can he do that??
Ashley says
I temporarily disabled my account and re-enabled it just yesterday. Then I posted a pretty lengthy comment to a celebrity with over 2 million followers (it was an appreciation comment, btw). So when i sent it, IG blocked it and said that it was against their community guidelines. Do you happen to have an explanation on what just happened? It really confused me.
Louise Myers says
Enabling your account to post to a celebrity is a sure way to get blocked.
Vishal parihar says
I need help Louise i dont know why my instagram not works suddenly without giving me any warning but then i see my profile bio my telegram link was removed from my instagram i dont know about this news that instagram block telegram & snapchat link
My app faces this problem
1 my activity feed you section won’t load
2 my profile bio is not edited error shows
3 when I am try to private my account than it shows network error
Plz anyone have any solution for this ?? It almost 5 days I have facing this
Louise Myers says
I son’t have any more tips than what’s been shared here, and in the blocked bio link post. Hope you get it fixed.
Jessica says
I updated my web address in my profile and it immediately fixed it! Maybe try one thing at a time. Great suggestions, thanks!
Louise Myers says
Great to hear, Jessica!
Sherry says
I just created a new account solely to document my yoga progress and keep it separate from my personal account. I had started getting more yoga followers on my personal account and took this morning to add them all to my new account instead. I do some challenges where I need to tag a lot of the hosts and sponsors and when I tried to tag the main one of the challenge I’m currently doing, they banned the comment saying it was potentially abusive. I can tag them all day in my other account, but now this new account that I have created specifically for doing their challenges will not allow me to tag them! I’ve reported and reported it to Instagram. I sent them a help message and I even emailed them for help. Any idea how long it will be before they resolve this? I just don’t even see how they can think it’s spam!
Louise Myers says
New accounts are subject to stringent rules – much tighter than established accounts. You can try Google to find them.
Also, I’m not sure IG responds to help requests any more. It seems to have become like reporting a bug on FB.
This will blow over in time. You’ll just have to be patient and play by their rules.
Jon says
I can @Someone reply on any computer, but not on any phone. I’ve tried different phones and the moment I tag someone who leaves me a nice message and I want to say thanks i get “couldn’t post, tap to retry” happens on any mobile with my account. I have 250K followers if that makes a difference. This happened suddenly and only in the last 2 day. I can normal comment but no tagging even within my own account. I’ve literally tried everything on this page.
Louise Myers says
Same thing happening to me on my iPad, but not my iPhone.
Jay says
Hi,
So I guess I kinda screwed up and followed a few celebrities (3 people in a pop group) when I started an account (around 500 k followers each) and posted some comments. Then they broke up as a ground and I wrote “shocking!” then another comment to their accounts. Then I noticed that my comments weren’t showing up on their accounts when I’m logged out of mine but when I’m logged in they do. I’m from Canada and they are from japan so I tried another account for someone else from Japan and same thing my comments don’t show up publicly so I’m not blocked or anything (wouldn’t see why I would be anyway). I posted to juxtapoz Instagram and they are I think in the usa with high amount of follwers and bam my comments show up no problem on theirs when I’m logged out. Hope you understand this rambling 🙂 (FYI. I’m on a computer Instagram account) Any Ideas?
Louise Myers says
Stop commenting on large accounts for a few days to a week. Then take it slow. New accounts are subject to stringent caps on activity that’s common to spammers. Making a lot of comments on large accounts is a red flag.
Jay says
Will do! Thanks for your reply. 🙂
Anya says
Dear Louis, I opened a new account (got already one) and posted 5 pictures within the first two hours. Also I put websites in my picture descriptions for further information. Then I got partially banned. I could not post links to other IG accounts and could not edit my posts. What do you think was the reason for the ban? Too many posts or the websites in the descriptions? Thank you
Louise Myers says
Could be either or both. More likely the links. But don’t ever post links on other IG accounts, that’s just spammy.
Helena says
Hi Louise I have some problems with my Instagram I can’t click in a user of I can’t click a new user because it pops up a message saying “That unfortunately the Instagram stopped.” the options in the message are “report” or “ok”, so I have to open again the app and try to remember the user that I want to see or follow. Another problem I don’t receive notifications of users even having already marked to receive them and some of comments even in my own publications when I click to see them the number of comments it’s showing “7” and so is showing “4” maybe it can be the spam that you said before but in the other accounts it happens too!? I went to help center and did feedback to them recover all to polict terms that could do the question is
Am I blocked by Instagram or hacked?
Louise Myers says
Sorry, Helena, I really don’t know. I’m not sure I even understand what’s going on. Good luck though!
tamaetami says
I guess I’ve made a really bad impression on Instagram,..I made a new account yesterday and I went on a mass following-commenting and liking spree…I didn’t know we were NOT supposed to do that..I got blocked for 24 hours. I hope this works.
Louise Myers says
Ya, you can’t do that with a new account. Respect your block and take it easy when you return.
Blair says
ugggh. i’m blocked from commenting too many times. soo annoying.
mmiu says
I have the issue that I can’t use hashtags, at all. They are simply not visible to the outside world. They are visible to me and whoever follows me, but nobody can see them otherwise. I read this ban should be lifted after 1/2-month, which is ridiculously long for any poster that actually wants to have their posts seen.
My new art project thingy is doomed to be on hold because naive me thought I can post right away and my stuff will be visible to the world, but in fact I’m invisible. I thought so long for a good instagram name while I should have created it months ago while the project was developing and carefully post a little till the shadowban was gone. There’s no other option than instagram as well :/
I’m pretty annoyed by Instagram, honestly. I know they try to fight spammers, but I don’t think it affects them that much – every professional spammer uses bots and automated services, they probably don’t really care if they’re going to wait some time to spam or spam right away. And I also still see inappropriate posts and spam wherever I look, so it doesn’t seem to work that effectively.
These changes are affecting ordinary users the most, as we actually post and make content. I doubt it that it has much effect on spammers, although the spam has indeed subsided a little.
Louise Myers says
I’m in the same boat. I haven’t relied too much on Instagram for business leads, but it’s still annoying.
If you Google “shadow ban” you may find some tips. Good luck!
Jessica says
I have a similar problem but it’s to do with hashtags, they seem to be recognised in most recent or too posts but I don’t get likes or followers like I use too, would anyone have any answers as to why and how I can change this please?, ty in advance ?
Louise Myers says
Have someone who’s not following you check the hashtag feeds. You could have a shadow ban (Google it). Otherwise, some people are experiencing a huge drop in engagement – no one seems to know why.
Noureen says
I created an account… Am following few people and few people are following me. I have a DP, I have a bio. And I have few photos posted. I have commented in 2-3 photos last night.
But today, I cannot comment anywhere at all. Why? Wtf is wrong with Instagram?
Or did someone report something?
It keeps saying ‘Comment Blocked. Your comment could not be posted. We restrict certain content and actions to protect our community. Tell us if you think we made a mistake.’ And they give you an option to to say OK or Report Problem.
Why? ?
Louise Myers says
There are strict limits on new accounts, and you must have broken one of them.
Trinity says
Instagram is a entity that is elitist, racist and EVIL. Plain and simple. All these blockings are in place to keep ordinary people from gaining too much followers and decent black people from thriving on IG. I have seen them block DECENT clean artistic photos of beautiful black women, while promoting pages that have degrading pictures and porn depiction. This entity is a FRAUD, a gate keeper for celebrities/the elite, while ABUSING innocent unknown IG users. NON OF THE EXPLANATION HERE MAKES ANY SENSE in regards to what IG continues to do. I will NEVER create an IG account. IG is abusive, my daughter and others have experience the filth that comes with a IG account. IG shadow ban those who have great potential to succeed and people need to address this. It will ALL come to light.
Louise Myers says
You’re certainly free to your own opinion and to not use IG. Yes, there’s a ton of spam and porn. I believe they are trying. If you don’t like that “excuse” you’re welcome to your own.
Andrew says
Hello, what would you say about the actions limits cited in this article? elfsight.com/blog/2016/12/instagram-restrictions-limits-likes-followers-comments/
I’ve tried it on test accounts, and everything’s fine so far. But I want to make sure that everything’s going to work fine for the basic profiles, as well.
Louise Myers says
There are definitely restrictions on those actions, but I can’t verify that their numbers are correct, because I don’t know.
Adam says
Hey Louise,
Thanks for the info here. Lots of good stuff, and I learned some good information. Instagram has a lot of weird things it does sometimes. I don’t understand why it’d block comments!
Cheers,
Adam
P.S.: Do you think it’s a good idea to use sites to get free Instagram followers? Have you ever tried this before? Thanks!
Louise Myers says
Nope, I absolutely recommend against any of those spammy “free followers” sites, and I removed the link.
Nicole J Kearnes says
Hi Louise,
I own a boutique (and am friends with many others who own boutiques). Using Instagram, many would post an item and, if someone wanted to buy the item, were told to write the size and email address. Many of us have notices that any comments that have email address are getting deleted from Instagram, leaving the boutiques unaware of potential sales/giving customers the impression that we aren’t fulfilling orders. Do you know anything about this or why they’re deleting comments?
Some think it might be because of the new shopping rollout that Instagram is starting, but that is only available to the bigger companies.
Thank you for your thoughts/help,
Nicole
Louise Myers says
Hi Nicole,
I haven’t heard this. If IG is deleting comments with email addresses, I would guess that it’s more likely due to suspicion of spam than suspicion that they’re trying to buy something.
Why not just have them DM you? I wouldn’t leave my email in a comment anyway!
Oyeyemi67 says
I have been blocked for tagging people, is been 3days now,please what do u suggest I do as I am presently running a contest and need to tag my friends to get like
Tim scitt says
Says comment not posted only on instagram live, I was copying and pasting the same comment, is that why? And will it stay that way?
Louise Myers says
You can’t repeat the same comment – Instagram sees it as spam. People have reported being blocked from 1 to 7 days.
Erick says
When poeple go live on instagram doesn’t let me comment says comments failed is it because I put a lot of emojis at once ? Doesn’t let me comment for anyone’s live
Louise Myers says
It doesn’t seem it would be because of emojis, but IG does not reveal why it places these blocks. More likely you’ve done too many comments, likes, or follows / unfollows.
Patricia says
Hey I was wondering if you’ve got unblocked from that? I’m currently having the same issue!
Genesis Lopez says
hey im curretly having the same issue and cannot comment on live videos, but i can comment on regular post, i also dont know why
Elizabeth Bryan says
hello, i’ve been trying for days to resolve this problem and you are the only one who seems to have a grasp on it.
a few days ago I realized I could not mention people in comments or tag them. when I typed this problem in it said “it looks like you were misusing this feature by going too fast. You’ve been blocked from using it”
I am a low use user, have only tagged a photo once in three years and mention a follower or friend in a comment 1-3 times every couple days. Has my account been hacked?
Louise Myers says
Hi, I don’t think you’ve been hacked, but if you find out ore would you let us know? That way we can help others.
jasmin says
Hi ,
I have been blocked from commenting and it does not specifically say how long for. It has been the third time it has happened and i have tried everything to fix it but nothing works at all.
Ellie says
Hi,
This has happened to me several times however I fixed it by editing my instagram bio and changing my profile picture. It works!
Jackie says
I tried replying ONCE to Target on my own Instagram page because they left a comment first but it wouldn’t post so I kept trying. I changed my profile pic and edited profile but it still won’t work.
Louise Myers says
I suspect that large accounts have an ability to disable tagging. Not sure what else could be going on here! Only other thought was if it was possibly a fake (or hacked) Target account.
Emma says
Never met such problem. I did nothing out the rules. Maybe only used zen-promo to get followers when I’ve just started on instagram. But nothing else
Louise Myers says
All automated programs are against Instagram rules. Plus, they annoy people. So don’t use them.
Jess says
How long does the damn block last? I am about to delete instagram this is going to make them lose people for sure! How stupid! I’m definitely not a spammer ?????
kim says
Instagram has more serious issues they need to worry about like the 76 porn sites I reported in only 1 hour…as well as all the other trash they allow. They say how they welcome kids and want to keep the community safe but they don’t follow through. They say no nudity and no bare buttocks yet there are women all up and down these kids feeds with whole breast and nipples exposed and full body shots with naked women this is ridiculous!! and believe me I have seen much worse. I’m this day and time they are allowing kids to make videos reenacting school shootings and there is one where a boy is holding a gun to a girls head and yelling something. I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission but they don’t care. I am about to start forwarding all these videos tonthe multiple times a day with a complaint.
Louise Myers says
I completely agree, except that I’m not sure they don’t care. As a person in a micro-business, I know how hard it is to keep up with spam and the power of automated abuse. I can’t even imagine the scale of what IG has to deal with. But deal with it, they must.
John says
I tried to congratulate my cousin for his birthday but they said they don’t allow such words and I was shocked
Artur says
I believe its straight forward free speech abuse. I am even against blocking abusive posts. Thats the ugly part of the internet but still controling end users with unrealistic rules that are user unfriendly and are done not to make better experince for community but to protect their puny butts. I dont trust Silicon Valley fools at all!
SYED JUNAID IQBAL says
i am comments some picher but he say report problem why ? reply me fast