Instagram may temporarily lock your account for several reasons. They do this to protect user accounts, protect the platform, and encourage the best user experience. If you tried to log in to your account and received the message "Your account has been temporarily locked", today we will see what could be the cause and how to unlock your account as quickly as possible.
To prevent your account from being temporarily locked again, we have detailed some specific account activity that Instagram will deem suspicious and then automatically lock your account.
Why has my Instagram account been locked?
Instagram will place a temporary lock on your account if it believes you have violated any of its usage policies. Locking can occur even if you had nothing to do with the breach.
Here are the common activities that cause Instagram to lock the account:
1. Bot-like activity
Instagram is on the lookout for actions taken too quickly per hour and per 24-hour period. The following acts performed at an abnormally rapid rate will be considered "bot activity" and will trigger a temporary account lockout:
Bulk follow and unfollow users
Typical Instagram behavior is to “follow” someone, and they will “follow” you directly. To exploit this practice, one could “follow” hundreds of people at a time, then once they have been “followed”, the person “unfollows” them.
Instagram will consider this behavior a bot because humans using Instagram have agreed not to abuse the platform with such behavior.
Liking and disliking images too quickly
Again, this would be considered bot behavior.
Scrolling through your feed and "liking" a few or more photos at a medium pace is typical human behavior. However, "liking" or "unlinking" a hundred images, for example, in a few minutes, can only be achieved by a program.
Commenting on posts too quickly
The more comments you leave on people's posts, the more engagement you get and, eventually, more followers. Super-fast comments on many posts will seem artificial to Instagram's algorithm.
Post the same comment multiple times
Not only is it unlikely to add value to a conversation, but it's also not something a user who actually engages in posts would do.
2. Use of third-party applications
Using certain third-party apps on the Instagram platform violates their Terms of Service. Not all applications are prohibited; there is an approval process for certain applications to have access to it.
However, types that help automate actions are banned and easily detected by Instagram. Bots work against a great user experience, and as Instagram encourages, any account suspected of using them will be locked.
3. Phishing Account Credentials
Hackers can get your login details using scam website. If you accidentally submitted your Instagram credentials while logging in at a login screen that looked like Instagram's login screen but wasn't, you may have given out your login credentials.
Since your account is compromised and the hackers can do whatever they want, everything they did raised a red flag with Instagram, and the platform responded with an account lockout.
How to Unlock a Locked Instagram Account
To unlock your account when the message "Your account has been temporarily locked" during login, you must submit the My Instagram account has been deactivated:
- Go to My Instagram account has been deactivated form or enter a search "My Instagram account has been deactivated" in Google, and choose the Facebook result.
- Fill out the form, then enter the email address linked to the Instagram account you are trying to unlock.
- Explain that your account was mistakenly blocked and that you believe you did not violate the guidelines.
- Once the form is completed, click “Send”.
- You will eventually receive a response asking for a picture of you holding a piece of paper with the code they sent you handwritten on it. Your photo should be natural with your face seen clearly with the paper – no photoshop editing. Instagram is pretty strict and may reject the photo if they think it's not you.
- There is a waiting period after the photo is sent.
- You will receive a confirmation from Instagram that your account has been unlocked. Approval times can range from a few days to a few weeks.
Additional FAQs
How long does an Instagram ban last?
A temporary ban duration depends on your number of past bans and the causes of those bans. A typical duration could be anywhere from a few hours on the lighter side to 24-48 hours for repeat offenses.
If you receive subsequent bans, the duration can be further extended. Therefore, do your best to avoid bot-like behavior, so that your account does not get flagged.
If you receive the message "Your account has been temporarily locked" when trying to log in, complete and submit a "My Instagram account has been disabled" form to restore your account as soon as possible.
Human Instagram account owners only
An Instagram account is automatically locked whenever Instagram believes a user has violated their community guidelines. To create the best user experience, Instagram prohibits the use of most third-party apps. It will block any account showing bot-like behavior or an account showing irregular activity.
Fortunately, unlocking your account is a long way off. By filling out a form and proving that you are the human owner of the account, Instagram will recover your account as quickly as possible.
Has your account been locked by Instagram by mistake? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
