Instagram is very popular during holidays for its high number of giveaways and contests. But many people find themselves blocked or banned and it leads to frustration understandingly. One of the most asked questions in my contest group is " How to avoid being blocked on Instagram?"
Contrary to what you may read on marketers and other bloggers websites there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid being blocked or banned. Those are just the raw honest facts. I have even come across articles that claim you are less likely to be blocked if you have a public account, which is actually the opposite of the truth or reality. Most times when an account is blocked or banned Instagram states you were trying to gain follows or likes. With a private account that isn't an issue.
Facts About Being Blocked on Instagram
Whether you chose to have a
public or private Instagram account is up to you. It is always safer to have a private account but some have the need for a public one. Doing things such as product reviews would call for having a public account. Entering giveaways does not mean you need a public one at all.
There isn't always a human looking at your post or comment and deciding that you went against the policies and banning you. It's done by AI and errors are going to happen. There is no rhyme or reason to the comments or posts they pick at all. Some comments that have triggered a ban have been complimentary comments, or uplifting ones to the poster.
There are petitions floating around asking Instagram to fix their AI spam watching to stop accounts being banned. These are simply a waste of time. Instagram is so large they simply don't care. If a few thousand people decide to leave the platform over being banned at one time or another it doesn't affect them in the least.
What Can You Do About Being Blocked on Instagram
You can do nothing. That is the cold hard truth. In the last year many things have changed on Instagram and there is simply nothing you can do to avoid being banned or blocked.
You can go about your daily life and not allow a social media platform to stress you out and take any space in your brain space. There are other social media platforms where giveaways are happening every minute of the day.
If you find yourself blocked on Instagram step away from it for a few days. Enter giveaways on Facebook,
Bluesky, X, Threads or on Blogs and even
web based contests where you actually have a better chance of winning prizes.
Don't take it personal. There isn't a human behind a keyboard targeting giveaways and making sure to ban people so they can't enter. That is not the prerogative of Instagram. Instagram welcomes giveaways as long as they follow the terms of Instagram which have become much more lax in the last year.
Keeping Your Instagram Account in Good Standing
- Have a profile picture
- Put some details in your bio
- don't ever buy followers
- post regularly
- interact with accounts you do follow
- don't link apps to your account
- block bot accounts as soon as they follow you
- adjust your privacy settings to meet your needs
Just remember that a social media platform should have no power over you. It shouldn't be able to stress you out, upset you or bother you. You are in control of yourself. A positive mindset is how you become a winner!