Instagram is telling creators when and why their posts are ‘shadowbanned’

Instagram’s latest update aims to help creators better understand one of the most frustrating aspects of the app: the dreaded “shadowban.” The app is updating its account status feature to help creators “understand if their account’s content is eligible to be recommended to non-followers.”

With the change, Instagram will allow anyone using a “professional” account to see when one of their posts has been blocked from recommendations. The notice will appear in the app’s “account status feature,” and tell users why the post has been blocked from non-followers. It will also offer creators the chance to appeal the decision if they think Instagram made a mistake.

For now, the feature only covers specific posts that have been blocked from recommendations in Explore, Feed and Reels. But the company says it’s working on expanding the feature so creators will know if they are blocked from suggestions at the account level as well, such as in search or “suggested accounts.”

Though Instagram avoids using the word “shadowban,” the change is clearly meant to address long-running complaints from creators about why their posts aren’t being distributed in the way they expect. To diffuse these concerns, the company has tried in recent years to better explain how its algorithm works, and pointed to its recommendation guidelines to help creators understand the inner workings of the app.

By now showing users exactly why their content is being removed from recommendations, the company is hoping creators will be able to take steps to “fix” their mistakes. At the very least, it could give creators some satisfaction to see an acknowledgement that their content has indeed been reduced in visibility, and provide the opportunity to ask for a second look. An Instagram spokesperson said review teams will work “as quickly as possible,” but didn’t say how long the step could take.

In a video posted to Twitter, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company was making the change in the “spirit of transparency” and said the company was on a “longer path to try and be more transparent” with users. Additionally, he said Instagram is also testing a feature that will alert users when the app is experiencing a bug.

The company has talked about notifications for service outages in the past, but the latest version will also alert users if there are bugs affecting specific features like Stories, according to images shared by Mosseri. He cited past bugs with “unfortunate timing,” that cause people to “assume the worst,” about the company. The feature will be only a test within the United States to start.