How to prevent Twitter (X) shadowban?

Before we get into how to prevent Twitter shadowban, it’s essential to understand what shadowban means.

A Twitter shadowban is a form of account restriction where your tweets or your entire account have limited visibility to other users. Sometimes X (former Twitter) notifies you through what it calls as a "Twitter (X) temporary label", but sometimes it's just silent and hits your engagement rates.

In order to prevent Twitter shadowban, let's first take a look at what causes it.

Why does Twitter shadowban

Here are a few of the common causes of a Twitter shadowban:

• Violating Twitter rules: Engaging in activities like spamming, promoting hate speech, spreading misinformation, or tweeting prohibited content can lead to shadowbans. And if you have any such tweets, you may need a cleanup.

• Excessive use of hashtags: Overusing hashtags can sometimes trigger shadowbans, especially if they're irrelevant or spammy. So choose your hashtags wisely.

• Automated activity: Using automated tools to follow, unfollow, or tweet can be seen as spam and result in a shadowban. Always use safe and official tools that you trust.

• Engaging in controversial topics: Discussing highly sensitive or controversial topics can increase your risk of being shadowbanned. So it's not just the appropriateness of your content that counts, but also the topics you talk about.

So how to "not" fall for all these, and prevent being shadowbanned on X (former Twitter)?

How to prevent a Twitter shadowban

Familiarizing yourself with Twitter's rules and policies, and strictly adhering to them is a must to begin with. But there are also a few other things you can do to prevent Twitter shadowban.

Avoid spamming and overposting

One of the most common reasons for a shadowban is perceived spamming. This includes repetitive tweeting, excessive retweets, or posting similar content in a short period.

Spacing out your tweets throughout the day, ideally at the best times to post would work fine here. And if you'd like to save time doing that, you may want to use a Twitter scheduling tool like below:

Steer clear of banned or restricted hashtags

Using certain hashtags that Twitter has flagged as inappropriate or spammy can lead to a shadowban. Even if the hashtag seems relevant, it could be on Twitter’s restricted list.

So, research hashtags before using them to ensure they aren’t banned. Also, regularly update your hashtag strategy to align with current trends and guidelines. Here's some inspiration to start with:

Maintain a healthy follower-to-following ratio

Accounts that aggressively follow and unfollow users in an attempt to grow their follower count quickly might be flagged as spammy. Twitter monitors these actions and could shadowban accounts that engage in this behavior excessively.

The solution here is to grow your following organically by engaging with users who share your interests and avoiding activities like buying followers. And to find accounts that have similar interests to yours, you can conduct advanced searches on Twitter.

Avoid controversial or sensitive topics

Twitter has strict guidelines on what content is appropriate. Engaging in or spreading controversial, sensitive, or potentially harmful content can result in your account being shadowbanned.

For example, if you’re discussing current events or political issues, ensure your content is respectful and doesn’t violate Twitter’s community guidelines. Try to engage more in constructive conversations and avoid trolling or heated debates that could lead to reports against your account. By the way, you may find this article useful, just in case:

To sum it up...

Understanding how to prevent Twitter shadowban is crucial for maintaining your account’s visibility and engagement. By avoiding spammy behavior, steering clear of restricted hashtags, maintaining a healthy follower ratio, and respecting Twitter’s guidelines, you can reduce the risk of being shadowbanned.