Why Does Instagram Keep Banning My Account Again and Again?

Recently, some friends who are working in private traffic and SNS social media asked me:

“Marcus Steele, my Instagram account was just registered, I haven’t even started using it, and it got banned immediately!”

Others said:
“Instagram is so strange. I only posted a few videos, and my account got banned. Meanwhile, some accounts with tens of thousands of followers are still safe.”

And even more people complained:
“Oh no, Marcus Steele, one of my Instagram accounts with 30,000 followers just got banned. The loss is really huge…”

As everyone knows, Instagram is a goldmine for private traffic and one-on-one social media sales.

Take the type of account mentioned above. Don’t underestimate an account with fewer than 4,000 followers. Because the replica e-commerce industry is relatively high-margin, combined with the strong repurchase ability of private traffic, such an account can be extremely profitable.

For example, a high-quality Instagram account with just 5,000 followers can easily generate $10,000 USD in monthly profit. The real challenge is not the monetization—it’s how to successfully grow and maintain an account to that 5,000-follower level, which is never easy.

Let’s get back to the main topic. Below are some of the most common reasons why Instagram accounts get banned:

1). Environment
Some friends said:
“My device didn’t log in with multiple accounts. I’ve been using a VPN for a long time. My connection to foreign sites is always stable. I didn’t even start operating the account—so why was it banned?”

The moment I heard VPN, I asked:
“What type of VPN are you using?”

He replied:
“I always use Letsvpn…”
“I use QuickQ…”
“I use this VPN tool…”

Different VPNs, but here comes the real issue: your tool is the problem.

>>> Solutions <<<

A. Real Target Country Traffic
If you are not physically located in the target country, one option is to purchase a local SIM card and activate international roaming. This way, you can simulate the most authentic network environment of the target country.

The downside of this method is the higher cost. But the advantage is high authenticity and safety. In fact, Instagram’s algorithm has a preference for mobile traffic, which makes it easier for accounts to grow.

B. Clean Nodes
Another option is to install Shadowsocks (Surge/Shadowrocket) on your phone and connect it with relatively clean target-country nodes.

It is strongly recommended to keep one IP / one device for one Instagram account. Avoid logging into the same account with multiple IPs or devices, otherwise Instagram’s security system may flag it as suspicious activity and block the login.

If you need to operate multiple accounts (matrix style), you can use anti-detection multi-login technology or rely on emulator-based solutions to reduce the risk of being linked.

2) High-frequency Actions (Operation Frequency)

This refers to actions like liking, commenting, reposting, and following. With new accounts, many people get impatient: right after registering they rush to upload photos and try to gain followers by:

1. Following others to get follow-backs.

2. Leaving comments to drive profile visits.

3. Liking posts to attract visits.

4. Reposting to gain exposure.

5. Using automation scripts to perform the above actions.

Very quickly they find the account gets banned. The lesson is clear: rushing for quick growth won’t work — you need to build your account gradually and organically.

>>> Solutions <<<

Control your operation frequency. In general, it is recommended that your total daily actions should not exceed 15 times per day. Here, “15 actions/day” means the total number of likes, follows, comments, and reposts combined.

Also, never try to use scripts to simulate human actions — even those so-called “protocol-based” automation tools or mass-control scripts. Instagram’s algorithm today is extremely powerful, and it can easily detect this type of activity. Once flagged, your account will almost certainly get banned, whether it’s new or old.

In today’s Instagram environment, the golden rule is: real human behavior only. Avoid automation software or bots. Stick to manual, organic actions, and don’t overdo it.

3) Operational Bans

Even after overcoming various ban reasons and ensuring your account seems safe, once you start growing followers and increasing revenue, bans eventually become inevitable.

What does this mean? Can a perfectly fine account still get banned? Yes — that is unavoidable. The simple reason is the nature of the replica industry. With lots of replica product images posted, over time the account will almost certainly be taken down.

o does that mean running Instagram has no value? Absolutely not! On the contrary, Instagram’s audience is young and has strong purchasing power. It is a powerful traffic source for standalone e-commerce sites, and a goldmine for private domain e-commerce to “capture traffic.”

Since account bans are the inevitable end, what we can do is maximize the account’s lifecycle and, more importantly, drain as much traffic as possible into WhatsApp private domains — building our own private customer pool that survives even after the Instagram account is gone.

>>> Solutions <<<

A. Content
Instagram is, at its core, a sharing-based platform. Therefore, we need to adapt closely to its algorithm by focusing on “sharing” rather than “selling.”

• Avoid marketing-heavy words in your captions such as sell, price, how much, discount, etc.

• Avoid risky keywords like replicas, counterfeit, fake, and similar terms.

B. Landing Page
Hide your real landing page carefully. If you place the direct link of a replica standalone e-commerce site in your Instagram bio, the crawler will quickly detect it, and your account will likely be banned.

Instead, you can use tools like Linktr.ee or similar “second-layer redirect” services to bypass crawler inspection as much as possible.

C. Traffic Diversion
All major platforms heavily crack down on “traffic stealing.” Since you can’t openly “grab” the traffic, the smarter way is to think about how to safely divert traffic in a less obvious manner.