TikTok has no setting called a shadowban. When creators use the word, they usually mean one of three things TikTok does name: a single post made ineligible for the For You feed, a whole account made ineligible for recommendation, or a feature such as posting, commenting or messaging that has been restricted. TikTok's account status help page says you can check for these in the app under TikTok Studio, then More tools, then Account check, and each kind of notice has its own appeal route.
This guide is an audit sheet for those notices. It lists what each one means, where it appears and which button appeals it, drawing on TikTok's current Help Center and the Community Guidelines released on 25 August 2026. It covers account-level limits only. If one video is simply not travelling, the questions are about content and audience, which our explainer on how the TikTok algorithm works covers. If the account has been banned outright, go straight to the TikTok ban appeal guide.
What TikTok calls it instead of a shadowban
The For You feed is meant for a broad audience, and TikTok's For You feed eligibility standards say some content is kept out of it even when it is allowed on the platform. Being kept out of the feed is a different outcome from having a post removed, and both differ from losing access to a feature. The vague word makes these sound like one problem. In the app they show up in different places and need different responses, so the first job is to work out which label actually applies to you.
| Notice | What TikTok says it means | Where it appears | Appeal path | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post ineligible for the For You feed | That post will not be shown in the For You feed; people can still reach it through search or your profile | A notification in the post's analytics, which only shows once analytics is switched on | Open the post, tap More insights or Analytics, tap the notification, then Appeal | For You feed eligibility; For You feed standards |
| Account ineligible for recommendation | After repeated posts unsuitable for the feed, the account and its posts stop appearing there and become harder to find in search | An inbox notification and a notice below your username on your profile | Inbox notification, View more, Appeal; or tap the profile notice, then Appeal | Why is my account not being recommended? |
| Feature restricted | You are blocked from logging in, posting, commenting, editing your profile or sending messages | A warning sign next to that feature in Account check | Appeal the violation behind it from its notice in Inbox, System notifications, Account updates | Your account status |
| Content removed | The post broke a Community Guideline; the notice names the reason | Inbox, System notifications, Account updates | Appeal from the removal notice | Content violations and bans |
| Account status Fair or Severe | Your violation history over the last 90 days has lowered the account's standing | The account status record in the app | Appeal individual violations; an approved appeal reinstates the content and the account status | Content violations and bans |
| Links blocked | A link broke the rules and was removed; TikTok can also stop you posting links for a while | Your Account updates notices; links are not among the features Account check lists | Appeal from that notice if you think the link was allowed | Accounts and Features |
| Banned | The account has been banned; a ban banner appears when you try to log in | The login screen | Log in to appeal and to download your data | Content violations and bans |
Copy the table into your own notes and add three columns: the date you saw the notice, the video or feature it named, and what you did about it. Kept up to date, that one sheet replaces guesswork the next time reach drops.
How to run Account check
TikTok gives two routes to the same check. Both are in the mobile app; the help page does not describe a desktop version.
- Tap Profile, open the menu (the three-line button at the top) and choose TikTok Studio. Under More tools, tap Account check.
- If that menu looks different on your version of the app, go through Settings and privacy, then Support, then Safety Center, then Account check.
- Read each line. A checkmark means no issue with that feature or post; a warning sign means there is one.
- Switch on analytics if you have not already, because TikTok only shows For You decisions there. In TikTok Studio, tap Get started within Analytics, then Turn on.
- Open the notices behind any warning sign. Violation notices sit in Inbox, under System notifications, then Account updates.
The account status page lists five things Account check can flag: logging in, posting, commenting, editing your profile and sending direct messages. When TikTok introduced the tool in its April 2024 announcement, it said Account check audits the account and its last 30 posts and shows whether content was removed or kept out of the For You feed. That is the official way to answer the question every so-called shadowban checker claims to answer. No outside website can see TikTok's moderation records, so never hand your login to one.
Post-level and account-level For You limits are different problems
A post-level decision affects one video. The For You feed eligibility page says TikTok will tell you the reason and let you appeal. Inside the post's analytics you answer whether you understand the decision; if you say no, you can explain why before appealing. If the appeal succeeds, the post becomes eligible for recommendation again.
An account-level decision is wider. TikTok's page on accounts that are not being recommended says repeatedly posting content that is unsuitable for the feed can take the account and its posts out of the feed and make them harder to find in search. TikTok may restore the account automatically, depending on how much of its content is unsuitable, or you can appeal. The Accounts and Features section of the guidelines adds a point creators often miss: an account can get this treatment without breaking any rule, simply by posting a lot of feed-ineligible material.
In practice, open the account-level notice and read the list of flagged videos it gives you. If you agree they fall under the feed-ineligible rules, the useful change is to what you post from now on, because the restoration wording depends on the overall mix of the account. If you think the flags are wrong, appeal from the notice and keep a note of which videos you disputed.
One response to avoid is moving the same material to a second account. The Integrity and Authenticity rules list using another account to avoid restrictions, including For You ineligibility, as circumvention, and TikTok says it may ban accounts created for that purpose.
Account status, violations and the 90-day window
TikTok's content violations and bans page now describes enforcement through account status. Your status reflects your violation history across TikTok over the last 90 days, and it can be Healthy, Fair, Severe or Banned. The effect of each violation depends on the policy area involved and the feature where it happened, such as comments or messages. Repeated violations can lower the status step by step, bring temporary feature restrictions or end in a permanent ban.
- Violations expire after 90 days and are then no longer taken into account, according to the same bans page.
- For some first violations, TikTok offers optional in-app policy training. Completing it can lift eligible restrictions; it is not offered when the first violation is severe.
- Deleting a video that broke the rules does not remove the violation, and TikTok says it may still lower your status after the deletion.
- An approved appeal reinstates the content and the account status, unless you have already deleted them.
Older official sources describe this differently, which explains why guides disagree. TikTok's February 2023 announcement set out a strike system with thresholds per feature and policy, and the April 2024 update added a warning strike for first violations. The current Help Center has replaced that strike wording with status levels and policy training. Where the two differ, follow the current Help Center, because it is the newer text and the one TikTok's US terms link to.
In the United States, the platform is now run by TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which its launch announcement says holds decision-making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. The joint venture's US Terms of Service say it may ban, suspend or restrict features at its discretion and that you can appeal in the app, and they link to the same Help Center article. The mechanics above therefore apply to US accounts too, but US decisions are made by a separate company.
For You eligibility checklist for creator accounts
Every section of the Community Guidelines ends with a list headed “FYF ineligible”. These are the entries that most often affect accounts run as a business. Run through them before posting, and again when an account-level notice arrives.
- Reposted clips without creative edits, including clips that still carry another account's watermark or logo (Integrity and Authenticity).
- Low-quality or minimally edited posts, such as short clips assembled only from GIFs.
- Engagement tricks: like-for-like promises, false incentives for gifts or follows, and misleading claims designed to boost views.
- Unverified claims about a crisis or civic event, real footage presented out of context, or health claims that could cause moderate harm.
- Realistic edited or AI-generated content that has not been identified as such and could mislead people about public matters or harm private individuals.
- Adult content built around sexualised framing, suggestive movements or significant body exposure, which the Sensitive and Mature Themes section marks as both feed-ineligible and age-restricted. In some regions, moderate exposure is kept out of the feed as well.
- Shock effects in sound or visuals, such as jump scares.
- Paid or brand content posted without the content disclosure setting. TikTok says it may switch the setting on itself or remove the post from the feed, and repeated cases can restrict posting; see our guide to the TikTok paid partnership disclosure setting.
- On LIVE, in markets where TikTok Shop operates, sessions that send viewers off TikTok to buy products.
The checklist reduces avoidable flags; it does not entitle any post to reach. TikTok's enforcement section also says content goes through automated review first and gets a second look if it becomes popular or is reported, so a decision can arrive after a video has already picked up views.
When low views are not a restriction
The For You standards say plainly that a video getting few views has not necessarily broken a rule, and that videos kept out of the feed can still be found through search or a creator's profile. If Account check shows a checkmark on every line and no post carries a For You notice, stop treating the account as punished. The questions become which videos held attention, who watched and where the views came from.
That is a testing job rather than an appeal. Change one creative variable at a time and compare matched pairs, as set out in our TikTok content testing framework. Skip the folk remedies, such as deleting the app, going quiet for days or reposting the same clip until it lands. TikTok's pages describe none of them as a fix, and an unchanged repost can fall under the guidelines' line on reused content posted without creative edits.
A short routine after any notice
- Screenshot the notice the day it appears and note the date, the policy it names and the post or feature involved.
- Run Account check and record which lines show a warning sign.
- Decide whether you agree. If you do not, appeal from the button attached to that notice, not through a general feedback form.
- Track the appeal. The Community Guidelines say you can follow its status in the in-app Safety Center.
- Check any monetisation program you are in, because violations can affect those separately; the Creator Rewards eligibility checklist lists that program's violation rules.
- If the notice turns into a ban, move to the ban appeal process, which has its own forms and, in the EU, outside review options.
Limitations of this guide
TikTok does not publish how many unsuitable posts trigger account-level ineligibility, how status levels are calculated or how long reviews take, so this guide does not guess. Menu names vary by app version, region and account type. The Help Center pages here were read in English from Australia on 1 October 2026, and US accounts are moderated by the joint venture, so details may differ for you. The Community Guidelines cited took effect on 24 September 2026 and will change again. This is general information, not legal advice. If an account restriction affects contracts or income, keep dated records and use TikTok's Report a problem form for anything the appeal buttons do not cover.