Every so often, Instagram users encounter this problem — Instagram action block. Here’s your short guide on how to fix and avoid it.

Types of action blocks

The temporary block is the most common action block implemented by Instagram. It usually lasts up to 24 hours.

Action block with an expiration date. The name speaks for itself — this type of block states the date up to which the block lasts.

Action block without an expiration date. The duration of the block may vary from several hours up to two weeks. This type of block usually doesn’t have the Tell us button, so if you’re sure you haven’t done anything wrong but still got flagged, you may request a manual review going to Instagram Settings ->Help ->Report a Problem.

What can trigger the action block?

Action blocks are typically caused by the number of actions you do in a window of time — per hour or day. Once you exceed the allowed limit, your actions get blocked by Instagram.

The limit set by the platform may vary depending on your account age, previous violations of Instagram rules, misuse of automation third-party tools or bots, and some other things we’ll discuss below. Knowing all the reasons that can trigger action blocks will help you to avoid such an issue in future.

You exceed the Instagram daily action limits

Instagram has daily limits on actions that are to be performed by each user an hour or a day. In June 2019, Instagram reduced the limits for about half, so now, even those users who perform all the actions manually are at risk of getting blocked if they exceed the limits. The action limits touch on likes, comments, follow/unfollow actions, and even users’ data loading. The exact limits are not yet revealed and may be different for each account.

Your account is too young

Your account age has a direct impact on the allowed number of actions you can perform from the account. The younger your account, the higher the limits. If your account is from one up to three months old, you should gradually increase the number of actions you do. Otherwise, the boost of activity will be detected by Instagram as suspicious, even if you do it all manually.

You have already violated Instagram rules

Previous violations can cause action blocks or bans, too. The number of daily actions allowed increases once you break Instagram guidelines. Moreover, if you’ve violated the guidelines from one account, it may influence your other profiles run with the same IP address. That’s why it’s so vital to use different IPs while managing several Instagram profiles.

You are slightly active on Instagram at all

Instagram tracks your activity on the platform, so if you only check it a couple of times a day to like several people, it reduces your limits on daily actions. In this case, perform your actions slowly increasing them week by week.

You misuse automation

There still are ways to use automation tools properly; now, it just demands consciousness. To get the most out of automation tools, mix different types of actions, don’t repeat the same tasks, and don’t perform similar tasks within the same windows of time. For instance, if you use any third-party tool for Instagram growth and utilise it only for liking, you should change your strategy ASAP.

Act like a human within your tool but later comment manually. Or follow people automatically but some time later unfollow them gradually without any tools. Combine the automation with manual use and don’t forget to like posts from your feed because, well, that’s what people usually do on Instagram.

All in all, always alter your actions and keep in mind your account age, overall activity rate, number of followers and posts, and types of actions you perform.

Your actions are too heavy

Have you ever thought why the action limits differ? This is because all the Instagram action types vary in their 'weight'. If you use only commenting, for instance, your overall action restrictions elevate. Likes are the lightest actions in terms of limits.

How to get rid of the action block?

In order to answer this question, I’ve done some research and looked through forums and sub-reddits to find effective tips on how to remove the Instagram action block. Here are some of them.

1. Reinstall your Instagram app.

The most obvious way is to delete your Instagram app and relaunch it. After that, the cookies and other data collected by Instagram should be removed, which is helpful in getting rid of the action block, especially the temporary one.

2. Report a problem.

Primarily, if you did nothing wrong. When the 'action blocked' error pops up, it usually has two options: Tell us and Ignore. To request a manual review by Instagram, tap the Tell us button.

But some types of error pop-ups have no other option but OK. In this case, do the following: press Settings, then Help, then Report a Problem. In the text field, write that for some reason you’ve been blocked though you haven’t done anything wrong (try it even if you’ve done).

This should be done even if you spam or use third-party tools for growing your account. This action of yours will show Instagram that you’re not a bot.

3. Switch to mobile data.

The reason for your actions blocked may be your IP address. Sometimes, Instagram even blocks accounts at the stage of creating ones if it doesn’t like the IP. So after you see any errors, switch from the Wi-Fi to the mobile data or vice versa.

4. Link your Instagram account to Facebook.

Now Instagram allows creating Business and Creator accounts without connecting them to Facebook. If your account is not linked to Facebook and it has been threatened with the action block, link it to your Facebook page. Thus you’ll prove that you’re not a bot. To make it even better, you can link your Instagram page to other socials.

5. Log in with another device

Change the device you log in to Instagram. Try using another phone, tablet, or even PC.

6. Wait it out.

All of the aforementioned ways may or may not help. If none of the above enables you to get rid of the Instagram action block, wait it out, and your block will disappear shortly. Even better if you stop any of the Instagram actions for 24 or 48 hours. Don’t use Instagram or any third-party tool within this period of time.