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In March 2021, Instagram deactivated my account stating that “I was impersonating someone else”.

After 3 days of agony and multiple reports submitted (including a mugshot), I finally have recovered my account.

So, in this blog post, I want to share a quick summary of my experience, why I think my Instagram was deactivated and how I got it back.

First of all, you may be wondering “WTH is going on with Instagram blocking all these people?”

Well, tell me about it.

I was shocked to see my account was disabled, but not surprised.

You see, in my job as a social media marketer, I am connected to a net of small businesses and virtual assistants around the world.

They are my community and we usually share our experience (and ISSUES) with each other publicly.

Since the beginning of 2021, I have seen about 20 other people have their Instagram disabled and reinstated back after a long series of back and forth emails and appeals.

Knowing this, I felt more secure that NOT ALL IS LOST when I discovered myself kicked out of the platform that I loved so much and built a business upon.

What are some common reasons Instagram disables accounts

Here’s a quick summary of what other people told me they’ve had their business accounts suspended for:

• Fake Identity – aka someone lodges a report against you that you’re pretending to be someone else

• Copyright issues – aka. sharing images that you don’t own (or took from other people who now want to take revenge)

• Violating the Instagram Terms and Conditions – This can literally be anything from promoting products without using the hashtag #ad, using Instagram to scam people, buying fake followers or anything that the Instagram AI-powered algorithm finds odd with your account.

• Sharing “controversial content”, political content or content that includes violence, racism, profanity, exploiting minors etc.

But they usually don’t tell which policy you violated and you’re left guessing “What did I do wrong”

Here’s is a timeline of what I did to recover my Instagram account in hope that it may give you more clarity on what steps you can take to appeal if your account was disabled too.

*Disclaimer: Please take note that what everyone’s situation is different and worked for me may not necessarily work for you.

How I recovered my disabled Instagram account

DAY 1 – the agony and despair of not knowing why it was disabled

When I tried to open the Instagram app, I was asked to submit my phone number as verification.

So I submitted my phone number, but was blocked from using the app for 24 hours.

Every time I tried to log in, I saw this message: “Thank you for providing your info. We’ll review it and if we can confirm it, you’ll be able to request a review in the Help Centre within 24 hours.”

And then silence.

I just took the day off and went outside for a walk and do some errands.

DAY 2 – the time I spent filling up forms without knowing if it’s working

The next day came and I was still not able to log into my disabled business account.

I also noticed that my account disappeared from the Instagram search as if it never existed.

Naturally, I did what everyone else would do in this situation: I turned to my personal Instagram profile to inform my friends, clients and relatives that my business page was deactivated.

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Now after about 24 + hours of waiting, I tried to log in again and this time I was able to request a review using 2 different forms:

THE FORMS I FILLED UP

If you believe your account has been inadvertently disabled for impersonating someone else, you can fill up these forms:

1. https://help.instagram.com/contact/16…​

2. https://help.instagram.com/contact/60…​

*Pro tip: When you submit the appeal form, don’t tick the business option.

Request a personal review instead, and you’ll be able to recover your account will be faster (even if the account deactivated is for a business).

That’s what I found researching other YouTube videos and this is what ultimately worked for me!

*Note: I submitted these forms using 3 different emails (and 6 times each) because I couldn’t remember which email I used to create my Instagram account. I only received a reply from the Instagram team on the last email address I submitted.

Meanwhile … I also filed a YouTube video to tell my experience of the first 24 hours.

DAY 3 – after 72 hours, one of my emails was replied

In the evening of day 3, I finally received an email from the Instagram Team with guidelines on how to recover my account.

Basically, they asked me to send them a photo of myself holding a white piece of paper with my name, username and a code they provided in the email they sent to me.

About 30 minutes after I send the photo verification, people started messaging me that all of a sudden my business account was back LIVE!

So this is how I recovered my Instagram business account in March 2021 (just yesterday!)

I am happy to have it back, but I am saddened that this happened in the first place.

24 hours after getting my Instagram account reinstated, I still have no answer to the question “Why? What did I do so wrong that Instagram had decided to banish me from the app – taking away my only method of earning an honest income during a global pandemic.”

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Hope this helps you if you are facing a similar issue!

Please note that everyone’s situation is different and I cannot state for sure that if you follow this method Instagram will reinstate your account. But it’s with a try!

And let me know if you manage to get it back!

Feel free to ask any questions or share your tips if you managed to recover your Instagram account via a different method.

#instagram #deactivatedaccount #howtorecoverinstagramaccount #deactivatedaccount

I tell all about my experience and how I recovered my deactivated Instagram account in 2 NEW YouTube videos

WATCH PART 1 – Instagram deactivated my account for impersonating …. myself! https://youtu.be/Q9qojyfJ9UQ

WATCH PART 2 – How I recovered my deactivated Instagram account in 3 days https://youtu.be/gNjuu4p0dmo