Overview
This guide explains how to recognize, fix, and avoid shadow bans on X (formerly Twitter), focusing on the role of "tweep cred" (a social credit score) and specific behaviors that affect account visibility and reach.
Recognizing Shadow Bans
- Receiving a label indicating suspicious activity and limited reach means you are shadowbanned.
- A sudden, significant drop in post impressions can signal a possible shadow ban.
- Use a separate (ALT/burner) account to search for your primary account to test for search suggestion bans.
- Replies hidden in “probable spam” or behind “Show additional replies” labels indicate a shadow ban.
- Replies being invisible in threads (ghost ban) suggest a more severe form of shadow ban.
Causes of Shadow Bans
- Low tweep cred due to interacting with or being interacted with by low-quality accounts.
- Posting or replying with offensive or sensitive content triggers immediate or search bans.
- Poor follower-to-following ratio negatively affects tweep cred.
- Replying to, or engaging with, accounts in probable spam/Show additional replies or suspended accounts reduces tweep cred.
- Use of multiple hashtags or referencing multiple trending topics in a post lowers your score.
- Accounts under 30 days old are more susceptible to shadow bans.
- Excessive and repetitive actions (liking, reposting, commenting) are detected as possible bot or manipulation behavior.
- Engagement in platform manipulation (follow-for-follow, repost-for-repost) leads to shadow bans.
Steps to Fix a Shadow Ban
- Immediately stop posting and interacting to prevent worsening the situation.
- Delete posts and replies associated with probable spam, sensitive content, flagged accounts, or platform manipulation phrases.
- Uncheck the browser setting hiding sensitive content warnings to identify problematic posts.
- Avoid mass-deleting; spread deletions out over several days if necessary.
- Review and unfollow low-quality accounts, especially those with poor following-to-follower ratios.
- Repeat content review and deletion if the shadow ban persists, focusing deeper on replies and duplicate messages.
- Wait for a day after cleanup; repeat the process if not resolved.
- Seek direct help if the shadow ban remains after a week.
Avoiding Future Shadow Bans
- Do not interact with or post sensitive content or offensive language.
- Avoid replies to probable spam or accounts using platform manipulation tactics.
- Refrain from mass actions (following, unfollowing, replies) and repeated identical replies.
- Check replies using a burner account before interacting, especially with accounts you follow.
- Do not engage with trolls, toxic content, or coordinated engagement groups.
Action Items
- TBD – User: Create an ALT account if needed to test for shadow bans.
- TBD – User: Uncheck the sensitive content setting in browser privacy options.
- TBD – User: Systematically review and delete problematic posts, replies, and unfollow poor quality accounts.
- TBD – User: Space out deletions and account modifications over several days.
- TBD – User: Contact the guide creator for help if shadow ban persists after a week.