How Long Does a Shadowban Last on TikTok?

Here’s the thing about shadowbans – they’re not officially recognized by TikTok as a legitimate method of banning users.

However, TikTok clearly has functionality that acts like what people commonly call “shadowban”.

Many users confirm that they have experienced shadowban-like effects on their accounts.

This effectively means that we “don’t know” how long a shadowban lasts. We can approximate, of course. But there’s no precision involved in these approximations.

Plus, users’ experiences with shadowbans are as varied as they are random. Some users report being shadow banned for a few hours, others for a few days, and others for a few months.

They could also be permanent in some cases for all we know…

Now you tell me – how long does a shadowban last on TikTok? Yeah, thought so… no one really knows.

Summary: In this article, I discuss the concept of shadowbans on TikTok. I explain that while TikTok does not officially recognize shadowbans as a legitimate method of banning users, many users report experiencing shadowban-like effects on their accounts. 

The duration of a shadowban is unknown and can vary from a few hours to a few months or even be permanent. 

I also discuss the futility of contacting TikTok support to remove a shadowban and recommend waiting for it to expire and taking care not to break community guidelines in the future.

Can I Contact TikTok to Remove the Shadowban?

I mean, you CAN contact them, but they’re most likely going to deny that you’re shadowbanned. That’s why they haven’t yet acknowledged that the thing even exists.

So, you can’t ask for help from the TikTok support team. This leaves you with almost nothing other than simply waiting for the shadowban to expire by itself.

You could ask them why you’re experiencing the things you’re experiencing:

Fewer likes
Fewer comments
Lesser user interaction on your videos
Your videos stop appearing in the FYP

All the “symptoms” associated with a shadowban.

However, they’re most likely going to give you run-of-the-mill-useless information like “we can’t control how users react to your content” or something like that.

In other words, don’t expect any help from them because you’re not getting it.

Is There Anything I Could Do to Solve This?

Not really, no. I recommend waiting for the shadowban to expire by itself and then taking great care not to break the community guidelines again.

This means:

Not spamming
Not harassing people
Not posting NSFW content
Not picking on people
And so on…

You’re getting shadowbanned because you’re breaking some kind of rule. So, just stop breaking the rules and you’ll be fine… yeah I know how “stupid” this sounds considering TikTok won’t reveal the reason for your ban.

But that’s kinda the reason social media platforms use this technique. I think the first one to use it was Reddit.

Reddit admins admitted that the reason shadow banning exists is to keep the appearance to rule breakers that they are still talking with real people, while in fact, no one else can see their replies.

This way they won’t create a new account in order to circumvent the ban, as would be the case involving a “traditional” ban.

This explains why social media (including TikTok, most likely) will never reveal to you that you are shadowbanned. If they would then that would defeat the purpose of the shadowban.

You aren’t supposed to know if you are shadowbanned…

I am very well aware of how insidious this tactic is…

While I have no proof, I would be extremely surprised if TikTok wouldn’t have a shadow ban feature. Pretty much every social media platform does shadowbanning these days…

Unfortunately, that’s all I can say about this topic.

If you have any questions, leave them below, and I’ll be glad to reply and try to help you. Cheers!