How to Fix and Avoid a TikTok Shadow Ban

Getting banned from TikTok is terrible. You can’t log in and won’t even find your profile when you search for it. However, being shadow-banned is far worse.

The platform doesn’t let you know you are shadow-banned. It simply hides your account from other TikTok users. This means you won’t be able to grow your audience or promote anything successfully.

A shadow ban is incredibly frustrating for content creators and influencers. It could also end your contract with a big brand if you can no longer market products to a TikTok audience.

Fortunately, there are ways to fix and avoid a TikTok shadow ban in 2025. But before we get to the solutions, let’s look at what a shadow ban means.

What Does It Mean to Get Shadow Banned?

As mentioned, a shadow ban means your TikTok profile visibility is decreased. If this happens, you likely violated a TikTok community guideline.

The most obvious sign that you’ve been shadow banned is a sudden drop in engagement.

TikTok is very strict when it comes to guidelines. If you post adult or hateful content, you’ll be banned.

If you promote violence or hate speech, a shadow ban is in your future. The same applies if you continue to post copyrighted material or spam your followers.

Another potential sign that you’ve been shadow banned is if your content no longer appears on the For You page. You may also not find your hashtags in search results.

How Long Do Shadow Bans Last?

Even though there may be potential signs of a shadow ban, there is no way to know for sure. This means you also won’t know how long your ban will last.

TikTok users who believe they have been banned claim to have struggled to create engagement on the platform for at least two weeks.

How to Fix a Shadow Ban

Ignoring a shadow ban won’t make it go away. Instead of waiting and hoping your account becomes visible again, follow these steps.

• Remove all content that may have violated a TikTok community guideline. You will have to scour your existing posts for unacceptable content.
• While you wait for engagement to improve again, don’t spam your followers with loads of posts. It will not help your case anyway since you may just be shadow banned for longer.
• Check the hashtags you’ve used over the past few weeks or months. Remove them if they are part of TikTok’s list of banned hashtags. (Always research hashtags before using them in your videos).
• If nothing seems to work, contact TikTok Support for assistance. While you wait for a response, you could try clearing your TikTok cache or reinstalling the app. This could improve your account’s visibility on the platform.

How to Avoid Another Shadow Ban

When you get shadow banned and continue to violate TikTok’s community guidelines, you may be permanently banned at some point. You can avoid a permanent ban by doing the following:

• Always follow TikTok’s community guidelines.

  There are several of these guidelines you must adhere to. TikTok updates them periodically, so always check for these updates before posting new videos.

• Use TikTok hashtags the way you are supposed to.

  First, you should never overload your posts with hashtags, even if they are all relevant. Once you post more than five hashtags on a video, it starts looking spammy.

  
  

  Furthermore, only use hashtags that TikTok allows. Banned hashtags or those flagged for abuse will only result in your account being banned.

  
  

  The best way to use hashtags is to combine branded ones with popular ones and limit them to three to five per video.

• Stick to original content.

  Don’t repost your old videos all the time because you haven’t made new ones.

  
  

  Also, stop posting copyrighted material created by other TikTok users (if you are doing so).

  
  

  The point of TikTok content is that it should bring value to those who watch it. If all your content is recycled or belongs to another creator, you won’t escape a shadow ban.

• Don’t become impatient with your TikTok progress.

  Everyone who uses TikTok to promote content knows it is not easy to get engagement. If you are frustrated because of a lack of engagement, spamming the platform will not help.

  
  

  If you post too many videos in one day or one week, the algorithm may flag your profile as spam. In turn, this will result in a shadow ban.

  
  

  Instead of randomly posting videos day and night, create a content schedule. Spread your posts over a week or two. You want your followers to look forward to your next video, not get annoyed because they see too many of them.

• Engage with your followers at least once a week.

  TikTok may flag your account as inactive if you constantly ignore your audience while spamming them with posts.

  
  

  If you want your audience to react to and share your videos, you must ‘make yourself available’ to them.

  
  

  Your followers likely have comments and questions they need you to respond to. If you don’t, your engagement levels will stagnate, creating a problem with the algorithm.

• Use the TikTok analytics features.

  TikTok analytics will help you spot drops in engagement, which may indicate a shadow ban.

  
  

  Review your posts to ensure they haven't breached guidelines as soon as you see a drop in your usual likes, views, and comments. If they do, change them or delete them immediately.

• Don’t go overboard with AI.

  AI tools can help you create content faster, but going overboard with technology may get you banned on TikTok.

  
  

  The idea behind TikTok content is to stay authentic. People want to see the real you, not only watch videos with robot voiceovers.

Stay in the Clear on TikTok in 2025

Risking a shadow ban because you want to post inappropriate content is not worth it. It will only end up hurting your TikTok account.

Stay clear by cleaning up your post history and posting only original content. Use your hashtags wisely and stay on top of changes in TikTok guidelines.

By doing this, your account will stay visible, and you can continue promoting your content to wider audiences.