Shadowbanning is a mechanism Twitter uses to limit the visibility of content that breaks its policies. It makes your tweets less visible to everyone on Twitter — not just those who follow you — and can also affect search results. Typically, users receive a shadowban when they use spammy strategies to gain interaction with their posts, such as purchasing followers, likes, and retweets or engaging in other tactics that aren’t organic.
Twitter can also shadowban accounts if it’s a first violation of its policies, or for repeated offenses. The duration of this restriction can range from a few hours to several days, depending on the severity and scope of the violations. In more severe cases, a shadowban can lead to the permanent suspension of your account.
In addition, Twitter can also shadowban a user for posting inappropriate or offensive content. This includes hateful language, as well as discriminatory or derogatory imagery or references. For example, the company’s policies against transphobic and sexist slurs and tropes have been tightened since Elon Musk took over as CEO of Twitter/X.
To prevent a shadowban, follow best practices. This means avoiding having an inverted Follower/Following ratio, as well as ensuring that you’re following the right kind of people. It’s also important to be mindful of who follows, retweets, mutes, or blocks your posts. Finally, it’s important to avoid using hashtags that are too generic or used in a spammy way.