Shadowban check: what TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook actually show you
Free, no sign-up · built from 18 platform rules, each re-verified weekly · last verified September 23, 2026
No website can tell you whether you're shadowbanned. The platforms don't share that data with outside tools, and TikTok and Instagram don't publish a "shadowban" at all. What they do publish is the actual mechanism, and a screen where you can check it yourself. Pick your platform and what happened.
1. Which platform?
2. What happened?
TikTok doesn't publish a shadowban. It publishes For You feed ineligibility, which looks the same from the outside.
Videos that are unoriginal - reposted without creative edits, or carrying another creator's watermark - are made ineligible for the For You feed. They stay up and your followers can still see them, but TikTok stops recommending them. Adding subtitles to someone else's audio doesn't count as original; your own edit, your own spin or appearing on camera does. Repetitive automated posting is classed as spam.
Where to check
TikTok doesn't document a screen that labels an individual video as For You feed ineligible. It does document that ineligibility is an appealable decision, and that an appeal's status appears in the in-app Safety Center.
- Look at the videos whose views fell. Are any reposts, clips with someone else's watermark, or near-duplicates of each other?
- If a decision looks wrong, appeal it and follow the appeal in the Safety Center.
- Don't repost the same video to 'reset' it. Post something that clears the originality bar.
This answer is based on
Unoriginal content is For You feed INELIGIBLE
DistributionWhat actually counts as original on TikTok
DistributionRepetitive automated content is spam
DistributionFor You feed ineligibility can be appealed, and tracked in the Safety Center
GuidelinesWhy no tool can detect a shadowban
A "shadowban checker" would need to know how a platform is distributing your posts - who they're shown to, and who they're withheld from. None of these platforms make that available to third parties. A site that claims to check can only look at public signals, like whether your posts appear in a hashtag search, and those change for many reasons that have nothing to do with a penalty.
The platforms do give that information to you, the account owner, and it's more specific than any outside check. Instagram's Account Status says whether your content can be recommended to non-followers. YouTube emails you about every strike. Meta's Account Status lists restrictions and how long they last. This page tells you which one to open.
Every answer, by platform
TikTok
My views or reach suddenly dropped
TikTok doesn't publish a shadowban. It publishes For You feed ineligibility, which looks the same from the outside.
Videos that are unoriginal - reposted without creative edits, or carrying another creator's watermark - are made ineligible for the For You feed. They stay up and your followers can still see them, but TikTok stops recommending them. Adding subtitles to someone else's audio doesn't count as original; your own edit, your own spin or appearing on camera does. Repetitive automated posting is classed as spam.
Where to check
TikTok doesn't document a screen that labels an individual video as For You feed ineligible. It does document that ineligibility is an appealable decision, and that an appeal's status appears in the in-app Safety Center.
- Look at the videos whose views fell. Are any reposts, clips with someone else's watermark, or near-duplicates of each other?
- If a decision looks wrong, appeal it and follow the appeal in the Safety Center.
- Don't repost the same video to 'reset' it. Post something that clears the originality bar.
I lost monetization, or can't get it
Creator Rewards has two tests, and the second one is the one people miss.
The published bar is at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last 30 days, a Personal Account, and being 18 or older. But TikTok also says content that is ineligible for the For You feed is not eligible for Creator Rewards, so views on reposted or unoriginal videos earn nothing even once you qualify.
Where to check
TikTok states the criteria in Creator Academy. It doesn't document a single status screen that explains why a given video earned nothing; For You feed eligibility is the documented link.
- Check the thresholds against the last 30 days, not all time.
- Check that your account is a Personal Account. Business Accounts don't qualify.
- If you qualify but earnings are low, look for unoriginal or reposted videos - they're excluded.
A post was removed or my account was restricted
Removals, bans and For You feed ineligibility are all decisions you can appeal.
TikTok lists a banned account, removed content, content made ineligible for the For You feed and other restrictions as decisions you may appeal if you believe they were a mistake.
Where to check
After you file an appeal, TikTok says its status appears in the in-app Safety Center.
- Work out which decision it was: a removal, a ban, or For You feed ineligibility.
- If you think it was wrong, appeal the decision.
- Track the appeal in the Safety Center rather than reposting the content.
My views or reach suddenly dropped
Instagram doesn't publish a shadowban policy. It publishes recommendation ineligibility - and it shows it to you.
Posts that go against Instagram's Recommendation Guidelines stay up and still reach your followers, but aren't recommended to people who don't follow you. Instagram also names reels it makes less visible: low-resolution or watermarked reels, muted reels, reels with borders, reels that are mostly text, and reels already posted to Instagram.
Where to check
Account Status, for professional accounts: Settings, then Account, then Account Status. It shows whether your content may be recommended to non-followers in Explore, Reels and Feed recommendations, and separately whether your account can be recommended in Search and Suggested Accounts. You can request a review from the same screen.
- Open Account Status and read both recommendation checks.
- If something is flagged and you think it's wrong, tap Request a Review.
- If nothing is flagged, check recent reels against the list of things Instagram makes less visible - watermarks and reposts first.
I lost monetization, or can't get it
We couldn't verify Instagram's monetization thresholds on a Meta page, so we don't state them.
The follower and view figures quoted for Instagram monetization appear on third-party sites, not on a Meta page we can read and re-check. What Meta does document is that restrictions on an account are recorded, with how long they'll last.
Where to check
Account Status. Meta says it shows your history of violations, some restrictions your account might have, and how long they'll last, on both Facebook and Instagram.
- Check Account Status for any restriction and its end date.
- Rule out a restriction before assuming you're below some threshold.
- Be wary of anyone claiming a precise threshold without linking to Meta.
A post was removed or my account was restricted
Instagram records what it applied to your account, and for how long.
Meta keeps a record of violations and of some restrictions on each account, including how long they last, and shows it to the account owner.
Where to check
Account Status: your history of violations, some restrictions and their duration. For recommendation decisions, the same screen offers Request a Review.
- Open Account Status and look for a violation or restriction.
- Note its end date before changing anything.
- If you think it's a mistake, request a review from Account Status.
YouTube
My views or reach suddenly dropped
YouTube documents no hidden reach penalty. Its penalty, a strike, is always emailed to you.
YouTube's enforcement for reposting other people's material without adding anything, and for automated mass-produced videos, is a strike under its spam policy - and YouTube says that when you get a strike, you're told by email. A drop with no strike email isn't a documented penalty.
Where to check
Your email, plus the notifications YouTube can send to your phone, computer and channel settings. If no strike appears there, none was issued.
- Search your email for a strike notice.
- If there's none, the drop isn't a documented penalty. Look at the content: reposted material and mass-produced, repetitive videos are what YouTube's policies target.
- Remember that since August 24, 2026 YouTube counts public views from the first frame, so view counts before and after that date aren't directly comparable.
I lost monetization, or can't get it
Your Partner Program status is shown in YouTube Studio, not by any outside checker.
Two routes in, both starting at 1,000 subscribers: 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Watch hours from the Shorts feed don't count toward the 4,000. Mass-produced or repetitive content is ineligible regardless of how it was made, and views on non-original Shorts earn nothing.
Where to check
YouTube Studio, then Earn in the left menu. YouTube says you can check your application's status there at any time.
- Open Studio, then Earn, and read the status.
- Work out which route you're on: mostly Shorts means the 10-million-views route.
- If the review was rejected, check for reused or repetitive content first: YouTube names it as ineligible, and fixing it takes real changes, not new titles.
A post was removed or my account was restricted
If YouTube removed a video under its spam policy, you'll have been told by email.
Reposting other people's material without original commentary, educational value or unique editing is scraped content under YouTube's spam policy. Enforcement is by strike, and three strikes within 90 days can terminate a channel.
Where to check
The strike email, and the notifications shown in your channel settings.
- Find the strike email and read it in full.
- Don't upload the same material again while a strike is active.
- Add real commentary, teaching or editing to anything you reuse.
My views or reach suddenly dropped
Facebook penalizes reposting at the account level, and it shows you restrictions in Account Status.
Since July 2025, accounts that repeatedly reuse other people's videos, photos or text lose access to monetization for a period and get reduced distribution on everything they share - not just the reposted posts. Stitching clips together or adding your own watermark doesn't count as making the content your own; creative editing, voiceover or commentary does.
Where to check
Account Status. Meta says it shows your history of violations, some restrictions your account might have, and how long they'll last.
- Check Account Status for a restriction and its end date.
- Look at what you've posted recently: reposted or lightly edited content from others is the documented trigger.
- Stop reposting while any restriction runs, because the penalty applies to everything you share.
I lost monetization, or can't get it
Reposting other people's content can switch off Facebook monetization for a period.
Meta's unoriginal content policy removes access to monetization programs for a period of time from accounts that repeatedly reuse others' content. We don't state Facebook's eligibility thresholds, because Meta doesn't publish them on a page we can verify.
Where to check
Account Status shows restrictions on the account and how long they'll last.
- Check Account Status for a monetization-related restriction.
- Replace reposted material with content you've edited, voiced or commented on yourself.
- Treat any third-party threshold list as unverified.
A post was removed or my account was restricted
Meta records violations and restrictions, with their duration, in Account Status.
Account Status is Meta's own record of what has been applied to an account and for how long, on Facebook and Instagram alike.
Where to check
Account Status on Facebook.
- Open Account Status and read the violation and its duration.
- Note when the restriction ends before changing how you post.
- If the violation was for reused content, change what you post, not just how often.
How this is kept accurate
Every answer is built from rules in our platform rules library, each linked to the platform's own page. Every week we re-check that the exact sentences each rule quotes are still on that page. When a platform changes a rule, it shows up in the dated policy timeline.
Common questions
Is there a real shadowban checker?
No. A third-party site can't see how a platform distributes your posts - that data isn't public, and none of these platforms offer it to outside tools. What does exist is the platform's own record: Instagram and Facebook show restrictions in Account Status, YouTube emails you about strikes and shows Partner Program status in Studio, and TikTok shows appeal status in the Safety Center.
Does TikTok tell you if you're shadowbanned?
TikTok publishes no shadowban policy. It publishes For You feed ineligibility: unoriginal or watermarked videos stay up but aren't recommended. It lists that as a decision you can appeal, with the appeal's status shown in the in-app Safety Center. It doesn't document a per-video eligibility label.
How do I know if Instagram is limiting my reach?
Open Account Status (Settings, then Account, then Account Status) on a professional account. It shows whether your content may be recommended to non-followers in Explore, Reels and Feed recommendations, and whether your account can be recommended in Search and Suggested Accounts.
How long does a shadowban last?
There's no documented 'shadowban' to put a duration on. Where a platform does apply a restriction, Meta says Account Status shows how long it will last. TikTok's For You feed ineligibility applies to the content itself, so posting original content is what changes the outcome.
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