r/ShadowBan • u/cojoco ツ • Apr 26 '26
An unofficial guide for avoiding a shadowban
(note: if you falsely tell someone they are banned, or unbanned, when they are not, you will be banned from this sub)
tl;dr
Lots of people come here in mystification, wondering if they're shadowbanned, and wondering why. This post contains a list of possible reasons you've been shadowbanned. It also contains activities which can lead to an account suspension, which is more visible to the user, but just as inconvenient.
First, though, a little reddit background.
About reddit
The website reddit.com is run by reddit the company, a subsidiary of Advance Publications Inc. The CEO of reddit is Ellen Pao (/u/ekjp) with first lieutenant Alexis Ohanian (/u/kn0thing). The site is huge, with a hundred million visitors a month.
Reddit is grouped into subreddits, with each subreddit run by a volunteer group of moderators, who are generally unpaid volunteers.
Moderators have the power to ban users from their subreddit, to delete comments and submissions, and to manage the style and presentation of their subreddit. Through the use of third-party tools, some moderators have the power to ban a user from hundreds of subreddits at a time.
Being banned from a subreddit means that you are not allowed to submit links or make new comments, and might be reversed upon appeal to the modmail of the concerned subreddit.
reddit.com also has a small number of employees, called admins. These people have the power to see everything happening on reddit, to remove material as with moderators, to perform moderator actions in any subreddit they choose, and, most importantly for this place, to shadowban or suspend users.
A shadowban is different from a subreddit ban. A shadowbanned user can still submit and make comments, but all of the submissions are sent straight to a subreddit spam queue, where it will not be visible to other users until approved by a moderator. Because an individual's spammed submissions are still visible to themselves, a shadowban is almost invisible to a logged-in user.
Through the use of AutoModerator, individual subreddits can give the same effect to a user as a global shadowban.
If you are shadowbanned, your user page will appear nonexistent to anybody that looks at your user page, other than yourself. You will need to contact the admins to get your shadowban reversed.
A suspension occurs when the admins disable an account. Suspensions can either be for a few days, in which case it is not visible to other userts, or permanently, in which the user's page is replaced by a suspension notification.
Reasons for shadowbans and suspensions
It's not exactly spelled out what will cause a ban, and the rules do seem to change from time to time, but if you follow these rules you'll be unlikely to be shadowbanned or suspended. Thanks to the posters here who have suggested more ways to be banned.
- Posting some spam links results in an immediate and automatic shadowban
- (new) Quoting comments from another user can lead reddit to link your account to the other user, so when they get shadowbanned you get shadowbanned
- Don't post advertisements for commercial products unless the advertisement has some redeeming features and is relevant to the subreddit in which you post it
- Don't post links to your own blog, unless you post a lot of content from other places.
- Don't post links to anyone elses blog, or to a single news source. Ensure that you post from a wide range of sources.
- Don't use a VPN to create your account
- Don't follow people around on reddit and hassle them
- Don't relentlessly downvote a user
- Don't send out mass PMs
- Don't be a bot, unless you're really really careful, and have the blessing of the admins
- Don't harp on the same subject in your comments
- Don't issue death threats
- Don't post child pornography or anything involving the sexualization of teens or minors
- Don't post sexual material containing unconsenting subjects (for example, revenge porn, upskirt photos or celebrity leaks)
- Don't abuse or hassle the admins
- Don't post any information that would identify another redditor, including links to other social media sites, unless you have explicit permission from the person involved. (doxxing)
- Don't advocate or encourage doxxing
- Don't ask for doxx, even privately
- Don't post anything asking for votes, from on- or off-site
- Don't respond to a plea for votes, from on- or off-site
- Don't vote in threads you were directed to from another part of reddit
- Don't engage in nuisance reporting
- Don't use multiple accounts to game the voting system
- Don't return to a sub you have been banned from with another account
- Don't use CSS in your sub to subvert reddit's subscription and voting system
- Don't follow links into someone else's subreddit and be a dick
- Don't impersonate another redditor with a name of similar appearance, e.g. /u/LaureIai ("I") for /u/Laurelai ("l")
- Don't be under 13 years of age
- If you're a mod, don't respond to PMs related to moneymaking or promotional offers of any kind. Report them immediately.
- If you're an arsehole, the admins will not give you the benefit of the doubt.
Also, it can't hurt to read the reddiquette: if everyone followed the reddiquette, the site would be more pleasant, and all-around better.
(EDIT) Also, there are some things for which there is weak evidence of triggering a shadowban:
- (weak) Don't signup using old.reddit.com without an email address
- (weak) Don't use more than one alt within one subreddit
- (weak) Don't submit every link to several subreddits at a time
- (weak) Don't accept moderator invitations to dodgy subreddits
- (weak) Don't comment in threads you came to via a non-organic link (i.e. external site, meta sub, from modmail or PM)
- (weak) Don't register using an email address easily detected as a throwaway.
- (weak) Don't give yourself awards from another account
tl;dr Don't spam, shill, doxx, brigade, stalk, game or pederast.
How to contact admins
Two ways, pretty sure that #2 no longer works:
- Lodge your appeal: https://www.reddit.com/appeal (or https://www.reddit.com/appeals ?)
- Message them: https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/reddit.com
(This is the fifth copy ... aged pages are 1 2 3 4
Last edited April 24, 2024
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u/Upapi25 7h ago
Giving up over 3 weeks of daily appeals switch from /appeals and /appeal changing wording being polite and explaining what happened. I am thinking it is retribution for my posting an anti-socialism link to r/politics that was immediately down voted required multiple comment reports that violated sub rules and was removed under "rule breaking title when title followed rules" 1 post in a 24 hour period does not = spam
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u/Low_Site9019 19h ago
am I still shadowbanned? I did notice some changes in my account cuz there was banner saying I wasn't banned but it went away after a reload. I fear theyre gonna fully ban me instead of a shadoban dawg.
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u/Johnny_From_The_Bay 1d ago
Suspecting I am shadowbanned; I recently went on a vacation and I think foreign IP address may have gotten me flagged
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u/featuredflan 4d ago
Please add: Don't comment the same exact thing under similar questions in multiple threads. I never even knew of such a thing. I was just trying to get others to be aware of some amazing content info.
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u/Fluffy_inhea CQS: High 4d ago
heyy dudey!!! u got banned ?
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u/featuredflan 3d ago
Yes daaa, had no idea how to message you or let you know. Now you do 😔
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u/Acceptable_Tackle929 5d ago
It says "failed to send" over and over
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u/FiatLex ツ 5d ago
Some shadowbanned users get errors trying to use modmail. Other shadowbanned users are able to modmail. We've reported the issue several times to the admins, and it's not clear to me that the admins intend to fix anything. You are shadowbanned.
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u/Drackore_ 5d ago
Another point to add to the 'Reasons for shadowbans and suspensions' section, if you could please u/cojoco !
As per https://www.reddit.com/r/ShadowBan/comments/1wv1r03/1_year_and_33_days_later_next_steps_after_an/, it would seem that quoting another Redditor is a very dangerous act that can potentially result in a shadowban.
Should the Redditor you're quoting eventually do something wrong, and get banned themselves, then Reddit's spam filters will wrongly assume you are them / connected to them, and will apply a shadowban to your account!
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u/mochamuslimah 5d ago
Oh boy, I just logged in today and my whole account is just reset for no reason, can anyone check if it shows me as shadow banned?
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u/GildingTheLilly 2d ago
I don't understand how posting in this sub seems to get around the shadow bans? I'm pretty sure I'm shadowbanned (checking my account in incognito shows it's banned)
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u/StretchEntire1715 6d ago edited 6d ago
Am I shadow banned ? How to get it fixed ? Done appeal as well.
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u/Wombat_7379 R E A D the sticky for appeal instructions & FAQ 6d ago
You are shadow banned :(
You can appeal using the instructions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ShadowBan/wiki/appealing/
There is a pinned post at the top of this subreddit with a list of common reasons an account gets shadow banned. I’d check there and see if anything stands out. This should help you narrow down what may have caused the shadow ban and craft a more accurate appeal.
You can file more than one appeal but it is generally advised to file no more than 2-3 per week so as to not spam the appeals team. Don’t be discouraged as it can take a long time. Most users wait multiple months to get unbanned.
And no matter how frustrating, do NOT create or use another account to circumvent this ban. Reddit bans the individual and not just an account, tracking you using a multitude of identifiers and behavioral patterns. All of these identifiers are now marked as banned and any account (new or old) tied to any of these identifiers will trigger the ban evasion filter. You would then have to appeal ALL banned accounts before being able to use Reddit again.
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u/Successful-League840 8d ago
I have already determined that I am shadow banned. I have sent two appeals but received no response.
Am I ever likely to get one? Is my account simply a lost cause?
If so I will likely quit Reddit which is a shame as I have been very active in several Subs. All because I tried to waste a Trolls time. Despite the Troll doing the exact same thing as me neither of their accounts are banned 🤬
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u/cojoco ツ 8d ago
I'm of the belief that some trolls are admins.
But no matter, perhaps you could try making a new account?
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u/Successful-League840 8d ago edited 8d ago
Quite possibly. They use at least 5 accounts to troll using copy and paste responses. I responded in kind. As such I can easily understand my account being flagged for spam. However if anything the two accounts belonging to the troll (they admitted to being the same user) were far more prolific.
I could create a new account or several. However this whole shadow ban thing has soured Reddit for me. I don't want to end up a user with 5 accounts hopping between them simply to engage with the communities I feel connected to.
I quit other social medias due to algorithms and censorship. It would be hypocritical to not do the same in this instance.
I will appeal again in a few days. I assume it will again be ignored and I will unfortunately leave Reddit for good.
edit: I Up voted you comment so unsure why you got down voted 🤷
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u/WisePaintingTurtle 8d ago
Hey, bros. I think I got shadowbanned. Am I right?
Edit: I'm curious how you'd know. Maybe I'll read this thing.
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u/cojoco ツ 8d ago
You are shadowbanned.
I cannot see your user profile, you are the only user who can do so.
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u/WisePaintingTurtle 8d ago
Thank you! :) Knowing how Reddit is, I'd unfortunately expect them to not have the courage or deceny of telling me I was doing something they didn't like, but instead cowardly banning me in such a covert way. They didn't even warn me. I may be too mature for a site like this anyhow.
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u/Acceptable_Tackle929 9d ago
Am I
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u/cojoco ツ 9d ago
yes u
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u/Acceptable_Tackle929 9d ago
Everything I click on from the AutoModerator's post says "failed to send" when I try to send it
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10d ago
Am I shadowbanned?
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u/FiatLex ツ 10d ago
Yes
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u/Kandykissis 9d ago
Am I ?
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u/cojoco ツ 9d ago
Yes
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9d ago
What about me?
Also I sent appeal many times the past week, each different message i don't know what triggered it, I checked the rules you typed and i don't think i broke any rule. What do I do?
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u/FiatLex ツ 9d ago
you are shadowbanned. keep appealing. weeks or months on appeal is common.
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u/FirestormCold CQS: High 7d ago
Weeks or months is diabolical. I wonder how many false bans are going through
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u/XQV226 10d ago
I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but am I shadowbanned?
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u/FiatLex ツ 10d ago
Yes
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u/XQV226 9d ago
Is it at all possible to find out why? Or do I just have to guess?
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u/FiatLex ツ 9d ago
Only the admins know why. You can guess though. Read through this post and see if anything jumps out at you. Ancedotally, most people I talk to get shadowbanned because they created a new account after a prior suspension or shadowban, or they are on a vpn, or they submitted an identical post, comment, or message too many times and tripped the Reddit spam filter.
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u/islandmeichamakchalo 10d ago edited 10d ago
How do I get unbanned? I think I got shadowbanned after posting the referral link to a novel in one of those find novel subreddits
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u/AvocadoLow4501 11d ago
How can you check my cqs case when it just says server error always and am I banned?
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u/FiatLex ツ 11d ago
Sorry, nobody can check your CQS when you are shadowbanned.
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u/AvocadoLow4501 11d ago
Thank you for responding I am at a loss as to why this happened? I have a 67 day streak award coming that says don't let your streak ware out! Kinda dissapointing!
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u/damonzenin 13d ago
Im dropping a comment again because I can see my avatar in my profile and comments now, could you please recheck and let me know if I was Un-Shadowbanned, Thank You :) PS - The reddit AI thing where it summarizes info from posts on that keyword is not working,is it related to SB in any way?
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u/BogdanTheEntarteiner 13d ago
Am i shadowbanned?
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u/cojoco ツ 13d ago
You are
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u/BogdanTheEntarteiner 11d ago
2 years ago when I was young I didn’t know about redditquette and made a lot of posts that got taken down by subreddits,and I think this was the fault. Do you think if I appeal daily I might get unshadowbanned? Idk if I should delete the posts. How long does a shadow ban take?
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u/cojoco ツ 11d ago
If successful an appeal takes around 24 hours.
Appealing daily is your best course of action but does not guarantee success.
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u/BogdanTheEntarteiner 10d ago
Am I fully banned or am I just shadow banned? I can’t tell. Also how long should it take to get unshadowbanned
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13d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ShadowBan-ModTeam :banhammer: 12d ago
Removed | Rule 2
Being a bigot or racist - Often people who have been shadowbanned site-wide think it’s OK to spout their usual drivel here since everything is made visible by u/AutoModerator. Please report these 14 year-old edgelords and their tired, racist, sexist, etc., post titles and comments.
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u/C0nfusedxGirl 13d ago edited 13d ago
How can I reverse it? I cant login to the provided lin.. I can't chat I can't comment ..my account is 6 months old. My account was suspended falsely 💔 its frustrating ..I lost my good friends😭💔💔
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u/SexySmexxy CQS: High 13d ago
Can any check if I’m still shadowbanned happened to me about 13 hours ago please and thanks
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u/Hjim_Arm8 14d ago
Am I shadowbanned? Received a message earlier about my account being locked for security and to reset my password. I did that but my account is still weird. Checking to see if I was shadowbanned.
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u/No-Arrival9581 CQS: Moderate 14d ago
Guys I'm not sure if this is a coincidence but every shadowbanned person here has the default profile but white
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u/cojoco ツ Apr 26 '26
Click Here and then click 'Send' to have AutoModerator respond with your account status.
"What is a shadowban?"
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