How To Know If Your Banned On Instagram

Getting an action blocked on Instagram is the last thing you'll need on your day, especially without knowing the reason behind the block.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms and is used extensively by users worldwide. Instagram allows its users to have their profile, post their images, follow other people, like or comment on other's posts, and message people. But, if Instagram finds out that you are misusing any of its services, then it will punish you by blocking your account.

If you have landed on this page, you are probably blocked by Instagram, and you are looking for a fix. But, before knowing how to fix the Action Blocked issue on Instagram, let us first understand, what Action Blocked means on Instagram, as well as, what are the possible reasons owing to which Instagram decided to punish you with the block.

Let's find out. 🔎

What "Action Blocked" Means on Instagram?

When a message, "This action was blocked. Please try again later. We restrict certain content and actions to protect our community. Tell us if you think we made a mistake" is displayed on your Instagram screen, it means that Instagram has decided to punish you for some of your activities and has blocked your account.

When Instagram blocks your account, you are not allowed to follow anyone on Instagram. You are not even allowed to like or comment on anyone's post. However, you are still allowed to log in to your account.

Instagram has a strict policy for spammers and bots to make sure that its users don't get annoyed, and if the Instagram system finds out even a small mistake from your end, it will block you. The Instagram system doesn't even inform you before taking this action, and it also doesn't tell you the reason behind it. Although there a few possible reasons why this may happen, and we will discuss this below once we discuss how to fix it.

How To Fix Action Blocked On Instagram: 8 Ways

1. Tell Instagram to Unblock You.

When you receive the Action Blocked message pop-up on Instagram, you can raise a request to Instagram for unblocking your account. In this method, you would get yourself verified by Instagram, and if Instagram successfully verifies your identity, then it would unblock you.

To raise the unblock request, you can follow the steps mentioned below:

Click on Tell Us when you're prompted with the Action Blocked message.

Action Blocked On Instagram

Complete the security information asked by Instagram through your registered email address.
Share your photo for verification when asked.
Instagram will unblock your account in a few days after completing the verification.

2. Let's Wait Out for 24 – 48 Hours. ⏰

The chances are that Instagram has blocked you only for a short while to restrict your actions. Since Instagram uses a flagging system that moderates all content, you will have to give it some time to understand that you have behaved all fine during the restricted access period. This usually would be a good enough reason for the Instagram team to consider unblocking you.

So wait for 24 – 48 hours before you take any other action and check if Instagram has already unblocked you or not. If not, try out the few methods below and report to Instagram about your innocence.

3. Complete Your Profile Information.

In case your profile is incomplete then, complete it by filling up all the profile information as well as by uploading a profile picture in you haven't uploaded one yet.

You can add your profile information on Instagram by following these steps.

Go to your Instagram profile then c lick on Edit Profile
Fill in all the blank fields which you've not filled up. Upload an image if you don't have one yet.
Lastly, hit Done.

4. Post Something if You Haven't Yet.

If you have not posted anything from your account or if it's been very long since your last post, then post a few things from your account so that Instagram knows that the account is still active and may unblock you after seeing some actions from your account.

5. Switch to Mobile Data on Some Other Devices.

So after you have tried out all the methods discussed above, what you can do now is try to open up the Instagram app on some other device. Instagram blocks your account by using your IP address. So you can try using a different device that would have a different IP address.

Also, make sure that you connect your new device with its cellular data instead of WiFi because WiFi uses the public IP address, and we don't want that. We want our device and IP address to be completely new to Instagram. That is possible when we use mobile data as that would then use the private IP address of that device.

6. Uninstall All the Third-Party Apps if Any.

If you were using any third-party apps to increase the number of followers on your profile or to increase the number of likes, then the best solution you can try out is to uninstall all those third-party apps.

7. Stop Using a Bot. 🤖

In case you were using a human-like bot to perform like, comment, message, follow, or unfollow actions on Instagram, then what is advisable is that you immediately stop using such bots.

8. Link Your Instagram Account With Your Facebook Account.

Sometimes Instagram thinks you are a bot and blocks you due to some of your actions. So you can prove your credibility by linking your Instagram account to some of your other social media accounts such as Facebook.

To link your Instagram account to your Facebook account, you need to carry out the following steps:

Go to your Instagram profile and then c lick on the menu icon (the one which looks like a hamburger)
Go to Settings (the settings cog).
Click on Account and then click on Linked Accounts
Chose Facebook and enter your Facebook login details. If you have any other social handles, then you may link them here as well. Connecting your Facebook account, for example, shows Instagram that you're legitimate, and you're not a spam bot or trying to abuse the platform.

Action Blocked On Instagram

9. Report to the Instagram Support Team.

If none of the fixes discussed above works in your favor, then what you can now try doing is you can report your problem on Instagram and Instagram support team will get back to you with an answer or a solution. It may also raise an unblock request if everything seems fine to them.

You can write a detailed report of your problem to the support team. You can lodge your report on Instagram using the following straightforward steps:

Go to your Instagram profile and then c lick on the menu icon (the one which looks like a hamburger)
Next select Settings (the settings cog).
Click on Help.
Then click on Report a Problem. Something Isn't Working. You will need to fill the form with a request for unblocking your Instagram account and provide information that you are a real person.

Action Blocked On Instagram

Lastly, once you're done, hit Submit.

10. Uninstall the Instagram App and Re-Install.

This step should be your last choice when all the above methods fail to resolve your problem. What you can do is uninstall the Instagram application from your device and clean all its previous data and then reinstall the app.

Check if everything works fine after reinstalling the application.

One for the Future: The Reasons Why Instagram Decided to Block You.

There are times when you don't have a clue of what action of yours resulted in getting your account blocked on Instagram. Sometimes the mistake is very minute or even unintentional.

So let us first discuss some of the common reasons which could result in "Action Blocked" on Instagram. This discussion would also help you in being extra conscious the next time and knowing what actions can land you in this situation.

Your Instagram account bio info is not complete. If you are using your Instagram account actively but haven't completed your profile information or upload a profile picture, then Instagram would consider your account as a fake account and block you.
There are no posts or only a few posts on your account. You have an active Instagram account but, you haven't posted anything on it yet or have posted just a couple of things, then Instagram would feel that it is some spam accounts and would decide to block you.
You are posting numerous posts at a single time. Do not post all your trip or celebration images at once on Instagram because that is going to annoy Instagram definitely, and it is going to block you. So, you will have to be patient and post the images periodically instead of posting them at a single go.
You are posting a single post multiple times. Is there a shortage of fresh, new images at your end, and so you find yourself posting the same picture repeatedly? If yes, then Instagram is going to block you for your action because Instagram feels that you are annoying its audiences by posting the same content over time.
You are posting inappropriate content. Posting sexual, abusive, or inappropriate content from your account will result in blocking of your account. So you need to be careful that you don't post anything controversial from your account.
You are posting copyright content illegally. Whatever you post on Instagram needs to be your original content. If copied from elsewhere, you need to ask for authorization from the concerned authority. If you post something that has been copyright by someone and you haven't taken legal permission from that person before using his/her content, then Instagram will find it out and will block your account.
You are liking numerous posts at a single time. As per Instagram rules, you are allowed to like a maximum of 350 posts in one hour. So, if you like more than 350 posts in an hour, then Instagram will block your account as it would consider that it is a spam account, which is like a large number of posts to get noticed.
Tagging the same account very frequently in your posts or comments. Suppose you are tagging your friend or your family member repeatedly in a short span in your posts or comments, then Instagram is going to block your account. Try and avoid doing so
Commenting the same content under several posts. Suppose you want to thank all your friends and family members following you on Instagram and who have wished you for your Birthday by a post. But, sometimes, it can create a problem. If you keep on commenting on the same content under several posts, then Instagram may block your account.
Commenting about inappropriate content. Commenting anything offensive or inappropriate on someone else's post can also lead to blocking of your account.
You are messaging many people in a short span. If you have bugged a lot of people by messaging them and if you have done it in a very short period, then there are chances of your account getting blocked by Instagram's system.
You are messaging inappropriate content. You cannot message any offensive, abusive, or sexual content on Instagram because if it finds out that you have messaged something inappropriate to its another user, it is going to block you.
You are following or unfollowing various accounts frequently. People follow a large number of accounts to increase the number of followers for their account and later unfollow those accounts. So if you have followed or unfollowed a large number of accounts in a short span, then be careful because Instagram is not going to like it and is going to block your account as a repercussion for your actions.
You are following a large number of accounts. If you keep on pressing the Follow button for every account and you end up following more than 20 people in an hour, then beware because you may be blocked soon. Also, Instagram allows a single account to follow a maximum of 7500 other accounts. So if you have exceeded that number, then Instagram is going to block you.
You are using third-party apps to increase the number of likes on your post(s). If you want to become popular very soon by increasing the number of likes on your posts and for which you are using any third-party apps, then Instagram will quickly figure it out as spam and will block your account.
You are using third-party apps to increase the number of followers on your account. If you use any third-party apps for increasing the number of followers for your account, then beware because Instagram will soon figure it out as spam and will block your account.
You are using an automated system or bot to perform actions. If you are using an automated system or a bot to follow, unfollow, like, comment, or message on Instagram, then you will be blocked.
You are logging into your Instagram account from various IP addresses. If multiple sign-ins are happening to your account from multiple IP addresses, then Instagram would think that either your account has been hacked or is a spam account and will block your account.
Several user complaints against you. If Instagram receives several complaints about some of your actions, then it will decide to block your account.

You should go through the guidelines above, provided by Instagram, to avoid any such mishaps in the future. Now that you know the reasons owing to which your account must have got blocked. Let us address some of the ways you can try to fix this issue.

We hope that the information above would have resolved your Action Blocked issue on Instagram or, at the very least, prevent you from ever getting into one. Also, we would suggest to be careful in the future and know the reasons beforehand so that you don't end up permanently losing your Instagram account.

Feel free to go through the many tips and advice from the many helpful comments posted by others who faced the same issue below. Also, let us know below if you found any better solution, and we would update the article with your credit.