Bans in TikTok are a common situation faced by beginner authors and bloggers with a large audience. This social platform has become one of the most popular for traffic arbitrage. Mainly due to that, algorithms and administrators have become stricter in following the rules. Now you can be punished for something that was permissible a couple of years ago. Earlier we've already written about how to monetize traffic in TikTok, and in this article we'll tell you how to avoid blocking and how to act if you do get banned.

Types of bans in TikTok

The peculiarity of the platform is that you can attract and monetize organic traffic without large investments. TikTok's algorithms allow you to reach hundreds of thousands of users, even if you have very few subscribers on your page. Short vertical videos are a top tool in working with the audience, and we wrote about it in detail in the last article. 

Along with the huge promotion and monetization opportunities, TikTok also generously gives bans to anyone who violates the platform's rules. The application can delete an average video as well as block an account. Depending on the type of violation, the ban can be given from 24 hours to 90 days or even forever.

On the platform, you can face official blocking from the administration or from users themselves, as well as unofficial shadow bans, which are not prescribed in the rules of the service, but in reality exist and spoil the lives of many content creators.

 

1. Administrator ban. It is "given" by social network administrators for violating the rules of publication, posting prohibited content, as well as for fraud, for example, for scoring likes, comments, and followers. As a result, the user can lose access to his account for a while or forever.

2. User Ban. These are essentially complaints from other TikTok users. They can ban a video or page if they think you are violating the rules or creating inappropriate content. As a result, your visibility and interaction with these users will be limited, and the account can be checked by administrators in case of frequent complaints. 

3. Shadow ban. This is an informal term that describes a sudden drop in reach on a page for no obvious reason. Due to the platform's algorithm, content becomes less visible to all users, even page subscribers. As a result of a shadow ban, the popularity of the account drops and new videos don't gain views. 

 

To get any of the types of ban is easy, but to remove it is more problematic, but possible. In the article below we will tell you how to remove the ban, but first we'll analyze the reasons why it can be given.

 

Why can I be banned in TikTok?

An account in TikTok can be blocked for several reasons, sometimes not quite clear to users. However, being unaware of the rules doesn't exempt users from the consequences for violation. Therefore, it is important to understand what you can be penalized for on the platform. 

 

• Illegal actions. On the platform it is strictly forbidden to create content that calls for violence, bullying, drugs, suicide and other illegal actions. For this you may face a lifetime ban.

• Violation of TikTok rules. The normative list is detailed in the rules of the community. Briefly, it is prohibited fraud and phishing, discrimination, disclosure of personal data, promotion of prohibited goods and services, gambling, financial pyramids and others. The topic of trading and binary options is not forbidden, but in offers it is better to avoid phrases promising quick riches.

• Cheat. Organic development of an account requires investment of resources, both financial and time. Therefore, sometimes users use a simple way to increase popularity – scoring subscribers, likes, comments. All this creates the look of a promoted account, which is more readily subscribed to by a new audience. But everything is strict in TikTok. The use of bots is severely punished by blocking.

• Mass-liking and mass-following. If you put a large number of likes on other people's videos, make mass subscriptions, send a lot of messages at a certain point in time, the system perceives it as robot actions and will block the account.

• Frequent change of the main theme of the channel. If at the beginning you had a page with a personal blog, which generated you subscribers and good statistics, then you changed the direction, for example, to psychology, and later to trading, the administration may pay attention to you. The fact is that videos from previous topics continue to increase the statistics of the account, which in fact works already in another topic. This is a violation of the rules of TikTok.

• Unusual change of position. TikTok monitors users' location and reacts to strange jumps with IP addresses. For example, when you post a video from a German IP one moment, and a minute later write a comment from an American IP. Such a situation will raise the administration's suspicions. Therefore, if you use a VPN to work in TikTok, choose one location and stay in it.

 

As a rule, having detected a violation, the administration removes the content and sends a notice. The account is blocked after 5-6 violations. The validity of such a violation is 90 days, that is, if the next one occurs after 90 days, it will be considered the first. However, it is worth remembering that in some cases bans can be given immediately.

 

Practical tips to avoid being blocked in TikTok

Successful profile growth in TikTok is based on two principles – interesting viral content and following the rules. We understand that analyze the entire set of rules wouldn't be very popular, so we've compiled for you a list of key recommendations on what to avoid in TikTok. 

1. Do not use stop words and phrases that can be perceived as spam and fraud. For example: "Earn without investment" in the context of promoting a trading platform sounds suspicious, because trading involves investment.

Stop words that may attract negative attention of the administration: without experience, work from home, profit, without investment, returns, payouts, debts, commissions, rates, minimum payment, millions, thousands, success, benefit, risk-free, guaranteed, urgent. Carefully use stop words in calls to action: open, click here, save, start now, right now, today only, faster.

2. Do not make misleading offers. For example, in the video you promise that after registering on the platform the user will receive a bonus and offer to follow the link in the profile description. However, the link leads not to the platform, and, for example, to a form with the questions about personal data, a web page or a channel in Telegram. You shouldn't do that, because in return you will get a lot of complaints and a shadow ban. Be honest in your offers.

3. Avoid too many live broadcasts, as it may violate the rules of TikTok. Broadcasts are necessary sometimes, but it's better to emphasize video content on the page. Useful and interesting financial videos promote your TikTok account more effectively. They gain views over a long period of time and push your account in recommendations to new audiences.

4. Don’t use direct links. The administration of TikTok doesn't like it when users of their platform are transferred to other platforms. As an option, you can use link shortening services, for example, bitly. You can also call links during live streams and post them in the comments. 

5. Avoid using the name of the trading platform in your account name. It can be perceived as you impersonate another person/company.

6. Don't promote multiple products, services or companies on one page. This approach sharply reduces the audience's loyalty. One product – one page.

7. Don't publish only ads! If your account consists of 99% of calls to register on a trading platform, it will lead to a drop in activity, a flood of complaints and a shadow ban. 

8. Forget about obscene language, be polite and respectful. The TikTok platform has strict rules regarding swearing and insults.

9. Don't ignore the haters. If constant haters appear on the page, they should be immediately sent to the blacklist. This will prevent you from regular complaints about the content and further blocking.

10. Don't republish videos that were rejected during moderation or banned for complaints. Reposting can result in a lifetime ban. Don't move infringing content from a blocked account to a new page, otherwise it will suffer the same fate.

To grow your TikTok profile in an eco-friendly way and generate warm traffic, focus on creating interesting viral content. Dilute trading topics with educational, entertaining and inspirational videos. Tell success stories, show practical application of tools and strategies, add interesting facts and situations from the world of finance, give tips on money and risk management. Useful content on your TikTok page is a valuable resource that will accumulate a new audience on a regular basis.

What should I do if my account is officially banned? 

If you've been temporarily banned for a few days or weeks, it would be reasonable to wait for the ban to expire and not break the rules again. But if you've been permanently banned by mistake or for a minor violation, you can fight back. You can apply for an appeal and argue against the decision. However, remember that statistically "zero" accounts with few subscribers and only a couple of videos rarely get unban. In this case, it is easier to create a new account and, most importantly, play by the rules of TikTok.

How to act if your account is blocked? 

 

1. Open the app and, if you can't log in to your profile, tap the question mark in the top left corner of the page.

2. Next, click on the appeals icon in the upper right corner.

3. In the window that opens, click the icon to create a new request.

4. After these steps, a text box will appear. Write your login after "@" and specify why you think your account is blocked wrongly or unfairly. You can attach screenshots to your message.

 

It can take from 24 hours to several months for the application to be considered. Each case is different.

How to remove a shadow ban in TikTok?

A shadow ban sharply reduces the showing of new content in subscribers' feeds and in recommendations. How does it work? The platform's smart algorithm analyzes content according to certain patterns, which are determined as a violation of the rules. If your video falls under such a pattern, the algorithm will ban you.

Usually, a shadow ban takes up to 2 weeks. If you violate the strict rules, you will have to sit "in the shadows" for several months. 

You can realize that you've received a shadow ban by an unexplained decrease in statistics.

For example, if earlier training videos on a trending topic gained 10,000 views, and now such videos are getting 100 views, we can guess a ban. However, this is not a 100% indicator. New videos may not be interesting to users. Therefore, it is worth using a few lifehacks that will confirm or deny the suspicion of a shadow ban.

Lifehack 1. Verification using comments. The specific purpose of a shadow ban is that the platform deletes the comments of the banned user under the videos of other authors. Leave a neutral comment under someone else's video (so that the author doesn't delete it) and check in 24 hours whether it is still there. If the comment is not there, you are probably banned. 

Lifehack 2. Check by hashtag. Create a new unique hashtag that isn't already on the platform and add it to the description of the new video. Go from another account that isn't subscribed to your page and search for the video by hashtag. It doesn't show up in the search? That means a shadow ban.

You can get out of the shadow ban when the period of punishment expires. However, you can try to " soften" the situation and possibly speed up the process. Follow these rules: 

 

• Pause the promotion of the account, withdraw advertising and, definitely, stop any actions related to the cheating.

• Check all of your videos for violations and delete all of them, for which you may be banned. 

• Do not post new videos during this period, especially those of doubtful character. New complaints will only worsen the situation.

• Do not copy content and schemes of other arbitrageurs, the algorithm will easily notice it. 

• Take a break and do not enter TikTok for a couple of days, and after that try to behave like an ordinary user – watch other people's videos, like them, form your own recommendation feed by interests. Later, when you come out of the shadows, continue to practice "human" behavior, algorithms love it.

 

Keep in mind that in the first time after leaving the shadow ban, new videos won't show the same results. This is normal. But if the situation doesn't change for months, it's worth considering creating a new account.

Is it possible to get banned for promoting binary options? No, this topic is not in the list of banned topics. You can be banned for violating the rules, using stop words, copying content and suspicious actions. If you play honestly according to the rules of TikTok, you have nothing to fear. Follow the recommendations from the article to effectively develop your account and generate traffic in the affiliate program. Any questions? Contact a CleverAff manager to get professional advice.