I always share with you lots of Instagram tips. This one is a very important one.
You’re here because you know the importance of using hashtags on Instagram (that’s how people find you account). So I’ll jump right into the issue.
Some hashtags are banned or blocked by Instagram – they can be very innocent hashtags like “desk”.
Important rules:
- Some hashtags might be banned forever
- Some hashtags might be banned temporarily (so they might appear or disappear)
- Using banned Instagram hashtags could shadowban, block or penalize your account
- Using one banned hashtag could cause all your other hashtags to not work anymore
- If you want to use a “new” hashtag, check if it is banned before you use it
Currently, there are over 114,000 banned Instagram hashtags.
I have compiled a list of 2018 banned Instagram hashtags (see the end of the page).
Before I show you the list, I need to show you how you can find banned hashtags yourself. This is very important.
How to view banned hashtags on Instagram
Like I said, there are over 114,000 banned Instagram hashtags on Instagram.
At the moment there’s no “automated” tool to get a complete list of all the banned Instagram hashtags.
Here’s the thing:
Your Instagram page might be about a very specific topic. We cannot possibly tell you ALL the hashtags banned for YOUR industry.
So you need to know how to find banned Instagram hashtags yourself.
For example:
- You might sell furniture, but #desk is banned.
- You might have a fashion shop for curvy women, but #curvy, #curvygirls are banned.
- You might be a personal trainer, but #shesquats, #fitnessgirls, #swole, #lean or #pushups are banned.
- You might be an entrepreneur who want to use #humpday, #tgif, #hardworkpaysoff or #workflow. These hashtags are banned too.
You shouldn’t use these hashtags to promote your Instagram page. Instagram might ban, block or penalize your account. You need to be careful. Quickly do your research before you use a hashtag.
I wrote a separate article about how to find banned Instagram hashtags. Here’s a summary:
- On Instagram, go on the Explore page (the magnifying glass icon)
- In the search bar, type a hashtag
- If the hashtag does not appear in the search results, it is banned (see below)
- The hashtag could be banned temporarily or indefinitely. This means that one day it might be blocked, another day it might be back
- If the hashtag does appear in the search result, tap on it.
- You have to confirm it has not been banned. Sometimes it will show in the search result but it links to a broken page (like #beautyblogger below).
Ok, now you know how to check for banned hashtags yourself. Let’s have a look at the list of banned hashtags.
List of Banned Instagram Hashtags 2018
While there’s over 114,000 banned hashtags on Instagram, here is a list of “normal” Instagram hashtags that are actually banned:
Look at the table below to view all the banned hashtags.
Quick tip: If you’re on your computer: Press control / command + F to find specific hashtags you might be worrying about.
List of Banned Instagram Hashtags (2018)
A
#adultlife
#alone
#asia
#attractive
#assday
B
#beautyblogger
#brain
#babe
#bikinibody
#boho
#books
#beyonce
C
#costumes
#curvy
#curvygirls
D
#desk
#direct
#dm
#date
#dating
#dadylove
#dogsofinstagram
E
#eggplant
#elevator
#easter
F
#fitnessgirls
#fishnets
G
#goddess
#girlsonly
#gloves
#graffitiigers
H
#happythanksgiving
#hardworkpaysoff
#humpday
I
#ig
#instamood
#iphonegraphy
#italiano
J
Leave a comment if you find a banned hashtag starting with the letter J.
K
#killingit
#kansas
#kissing
L
#lingerie
#like
#lean
M
#master
#models
#mustfollow
N
#nasty
#newyears
#newyearsday
O
#overnight
P
#petite
#pornfood
#popular
#pushups
Q
Leave a comment if you find a banned hashtag starting with the letter Q.
R
Leave a comment if you find a banned hashtag starting with the letter R.
S
#skype
#snap
#snapchat
#single
#singlelife
#stranger
#saltwater
#shower
#shit
#sallyhansen
#sopretty
#sunbathing
#streetphoto
#swole
#snowstorm
T
#tanlines
#tgif
#todayimwearing
#teens
#teen
#thought
#tag4like
#thighs
U
#undies
V
#valentinesday
W
#woman
#womancrushwednesday
#women
#workflow
#wtf
X
Leave a comment if you find a banned hashtag starting with the letter X.
Y
Leave a comment if you find a banned hashtag starting with the letter Y.
Z
Leave a comment if you find a banned hashtag starting with the letter Y.
If you find new banned hashtags, leave a comment and we’ll add it to the list.
I hope you found this article useful.
Feel free to roam around our blog for more Instagram tips and tricks!
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Tks a lot for sharing!
You’re welcome! Let me know if you find other ones when you’re on Instagram 🙂
#reading is banned
why the hell are some of these banned? Like “books”? I use that hashtag all the time, what is wrong with it? But tanks so much for sharing. I didn’t even know that inocent hashtags like these could be banned.
No problem! Let me know if you find other banned hashtags. I’ll add them to the list. And to answer your question, they are banned because Instagram checks if people post inappropriate content OR “spam” OR overuse certain hashtags. Just to be safe, try to use “less popular” hashtags instead. They are usually safer (and you can be part
of smaller and tighter communities).
Thank you so much making this post! Had no idea. My #’s does not work, so I presume I’ve used a banned one.
However – what do I do to make #’s work again for my account? At the moment nothing works ?
You’re so welcome!How long has it been since your hashtags are not working? Can you copy and paste here the hashtags you usually use on your posts please? I just want to see what your mix looks like.
The hashtag I created for my puppy photos is blocked. All of the photos on the hashtag are mine and they’re just of puppies I’ve posted on Instagram…. #puppydogmondays 🙁
That’s so strange!! I just checked it out. When did you notice it was blocked?
I have the same issue, it seems all my older posts that I tagged with tags like #captivatinglight20likes etc no longer show up in my tags like #captivating_crochet etc. And there are apparently 2000 posts under that 20 likes tag so would take me forever to delete all the tags
That would be such a headache to go through all 2000 posts! How long ago was it when you used #captivatinglight20likes? And what are the other hashtags you use in your posts now?
Two years ago. I used to use that as well as the same but with 30 likes and 40 likes just as a way to categorize my own pictures. I noticed that it was only newer posts showing up under for example #captivating_art and was trying to figure out why. And it seems all my ones with the amount of likes tags weren’t showing up under any tags.
An Extraordinary Post about Instagram.
I Never think about that hashtags are gonna also banned!
So Now i Know some of banned hashtags by your post.
Thanks for Sharing!!!!
You’re welcome!
Thank you so much for this post it was a life saver!
I have found a banned hashtag that is banned this morning…. #romance
I think they not only ban the offensive ones but the ones with too many public posts. (Or I don’t know.
You’re welcome! And yes, you’re right. They seem to block hashtags that contain inappropriate content and ones that have too many public posts too. It’s actually a good thing because now you have community hashtags that are being created.
Thank you, I appreciate your marketing education! I just put in some of the blocked hashtags in the list and got results. I did #brain, #desk, and it displayed a “follow” button. #lingerie gave the same msg as the beautyblogger example above so I know it’s blocked.
Does this mean #brain and #desk were banned temporarily?
Also, when creating branded hashtags like #BadSugarMommyMakeover it will say “no results found” Can we assume it’s ok to use?
Thank you!
#tgif is not banned as claimed. It used to be but not anymore. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d90aed559133ccb5b11d3b66e8853e31571a0fbe11039a8cbe8041d9c466349f.jpg
Thanks for letting us know! A few hashtags get blocked and unblocked. It’s always good to check their status.
Hello! Super happy you’re enjoying the blog posts 🙂 ,Yes, some hashtags are blocked temporarily and others for a long time / forever. For example, #brain and #desk are still blocked on my accounts at the moment. They display the “Recent posts from #… are currently hidden because the community has reported some content…..”.
As for branded hashtags, if you see “0 posts”, then it’s fine.
Some people have reported that they had issues with their posts not showing up under their own branded hashtags. Just something to be mindful of.
What happens to your account if you used a banned hashtag? Does it just not show up in the search results or Instagram does something to you?
You won’t appear in the feed for your tags – all of them – you’re shadow banned for a period of time
I have been using ONE banned hashtag for months, and all of the others still show up in their individual directories, however the amount of likes and views I get is drastically lower so I don’t know. I’m going to experiment
I find the ban of #women offensive. Isn’t that discriminatory… they need to decide whether they want for profit business or not bc this shadowban algorithm is just not right
the reason of them banning certain hashtag isnt because of what the hashtag literally means or refer to, but what’s the actual content of it.. some people uses hashtags like women or woman to post inappropriate content and/or offensive content.. thats why its banned. this is annoying.. yesterday I posted a street photography pic using #streetphoto and only got 3 likes..its been almost 12 hours. SIGH..
Seems that #instagood and #instadaily made the rest of my hastags not working. So I guess they’re both banned?
They could have. We’ve noticed that some hashtags that are too popular (with millions of posts) are sometimes blocked by Instagram. Check out this article on what hashtags to use: https://thepreviewapp.com/9-types-of-instagram-hashtags-groups-you-need-to-know/. Hope it helps!
How long does it takes for Instagram to unblock you again? And what do I need to do going forward.
Who knows. Sometimes they last 2 weeks, sometimes 3 or more./ There’s no rhyme or reason. It kills me. And no one from Insta to offer answers or support. They SUCK!
This is very sad. Same with me..
It seems that both of those come up perfectly fine now… I can see neither are banned at least today.
Another tag: #iphonesia 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Just wondering if you might know what is going on: I created a hashtag for a photo challenge this month #capturingasenseofplace . As of a couple of days ago, all of my posts no longer show up in the hashtag feed (they used to show up). I also checked a couple of posts from 2 years ago that I knew had a little used hashtag on them (231 posts only), and they no longer show up there. Any suggestions?
thanks Alexandra!
Wowzer. Who knew!!!!! Well, just zapped #petsoninstagram and #valentinesday on a couple of posts . Thanks much for the heads up.
I’ve just posted on a Insta, it wasn’t showing up in some specific #s so I dug digger. Turned out either #blondes or #twoblondes was the culprit… I removed both so not sure which it was ?
Thanks for sharing!
Very useful article! Thanks!
Also #leaves and #carving are banned!
Thanks for letting us know!
Thank you so much for this list! I’ve been wondering why my posts haven’t been showing up in hashtags and it turns out it’s probably because I use #books. Taking it out of my queued up posts now…
No problem! Now you know how to check hashtags 🙂
#1STAMENDMENT #POTUS
#Mirror isn’t working; put up a stunning mountain pic (with a reflection in “Mirror Lakes”) last night and had 6 likes this morning (12 hoirs later); all followers. Resubmitted without #mirror 5 minutes ago and now have more likes than that, all from strangers…
Why when none of the hashtags I use are banned, my posts are still not showing up under those tags?
Nobody knows for sure what causes this. How long has it been since you noticed that your posts are not showing up under hashtags?
However, this is what we have noticed:
– Sometimes you can be “hidden” / “shadowbanned” for a couple of days, and then your account comes back to normal
– Instagram doesn’t like robots and it seems the algorithm is trying to pick up who is a robot (so it might punish us by hiding our posts, sometimes by mistake unfortunately)
– Posting consistently seems to help (to make sure Instagram doesn’t think you’re a robot or spam)
– Liking and commenting normally helps too (avoid liking and commenting non stop for 30 minutes straight and hitting the Instagram limit)
– Basically keep it natural
– Avoiding using super popular hashtags can help too since some hashtags are seen as “spammy” by Instagram (hashtags with millions and millions of posts – especially #like4like #followme #follow4follow, etc…)
– Use different hashtags from time to time. Don’t use the same bunch all the time.
Hashtag tips: https://thepreviewapp.com/how-to-use-instagram-hashtags-17-golden-rules/
– Avoiding using automated tools is very important too because Instagram prohibits the use of tools that AUTOMATICALLY post, like, comment and follow for you. If you have used an automatic tool in the past, make sure you revoke access (https://thepreviewapp.com/remove-apps-connected-to-instagram-account/)
Useful article:
https://thepreviewapp.com/avoid-instagram-shadowban/
I hope this helps.
I still use instagram as a user. But I stopped posting pictures years ago. Since they don’t have a word search like every other social media platform on the face of the earth, they force you to use hashtags, which I always hated, bc I hate using hashtags, just in general. I’m not the type of person who uses hashtags. But I drank the kool-aid, and begrudgingly used them. But then they started banning hashtags. And banning hashtags that weren’t even bad. That’s when I knew I had to retire. But now, as a plain ordinary user, its become frustrating.
#freakshow is banned
exotic
I asked my friend to check if she can see my post with #ellenmahlangu and the response says post from this hashtag have been removed because the community has reported same content that may not meet instagram rules.. It looks like I have been shadow banned.. I’m not sure what to do next..
The other day I noticed my pictures weren’t showing up under the hashtags I added so I assumed I was shadow banned and deleted all my hashtags from weeks of posts and so on to try to speed up the return of my fully functioning instagram account. Fast forward a a few days and I just tested my instagram account out by posting a video of my dogs and tagged it appropriately and instantly likes were coming in so I assumed I’m all good. I just tried to post an image for my website that I’m building relative to beats/music and producing music and the tags I added to that image ALL showed up when adding them(thus were not banned hashtags) and the image isnt showing up under the hashtags.How can one set of hashtags work and these music related ones won’t if they arent banned, thousands of other people are using the exact tags every second, and O’m not violating any IG guidelines?!?! Someone PLEASE HELP I am open to any ideas as I used Instagram to do a lot of promotional marketing for my music. (Along with millions of other users)
So, nothing that refers to celebrating the holidays. So why is Beyonce banned? I cannot see it unless she does not want her name to be a hashtag. And workflow? I cannot with #petite only because I am short and petite sounds better that short.
# newyears #newyearsday #easter & #valentinesday are on the list
This is a great post, thank you! I used #instagood on a few photos and my account has been shadowbanned for almost a month now. I’m going through my account (1500 photos!) and deleting every single hash tag to try and speed up the process of getting unbanned. Is there anything else I can do? My account is @lu_bish. Even my own branded hashtag #biggreenjuan doesn’t work. Really not sure what I can do!
Good info here on how to recover from being shadowbanned: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/299275
In the meantime animal abuse is totally ok for Instagram.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Instagram/comments/82p5ah/so_dog_fighting_accounts_are_perfectly_acceptable/?ref=share&ref_source=link
All of my personal hashtags are banned including the ones for my dogs and wedding. Neither have inappropriate content. Why would that be? #cutiesantacruz is my dog and the hashtag no longer works!
The same thing happened to a few other people. Their personal hashtags didn’t work. I’m not sure what would be the reason. What other hashtags are you using in your posts? Maybe try to remove some overly popular ones. From what we’ve heard, it seems like they might be causing issues for some people.
Have a look at this article:
https://thepreviewapp.com/how-to-use-instagram-hashtags-17-golden-rules/
I hope it helps.
I’m really confused…am I doing something wrong? Every word I tested from the list above shows up. I tried beauty blogger, single, shower, woman, lingerie, tgif, curvy. ALL of those showed up under tags, and when I clicked on the hashtag, all of the images showed…
That’s interesting. They are blocked on all my accounts. I can only see some posts under the hashtags, but not all of them. If I scroll a little bit more down, the posts don’t load anymore. I have this message that says: “Recent posts from #single are currently hidden because the community has reported some content may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines” = blocked. May I ask which country you’re in?
Also, it seems that some hashtags are blocked temporarily and others indefinitely. Like for example tgif and beautyblogger were blocked on my accounts for months. And sometimes they pop up as unblocked.
Nonetheless I’d still be careful and avoid overly popular hashtags as Instagram doesn’t give stability for them (and it’s harder to gain exposure with those).
#instababy is banned
Thanks for sharing!
Do they ever unban hashtags? I noticed that they are allowing #tgif
Yes sometimes a hashtag is temporarily banned or forever banned. You just got to check before you use them. Personally, I’m trying to stay away from these hashtags, even if they get unbanned.
Communist left brain liberal-minded the establishment cocksuckers
When I try searching for #romance it does show up but when I click on it the app crashes
None of my photos will show up anymore under hashtags. Is there any way to find out what the reason is??? I mainly post pictures of watches. No way to contact instagram, or any notices to find out why my photos are not showing up under any hastags. Ridiculous.
#thinspo is banned, and #selfharm is banned off and on all the time so don’t use that one either
I don’t believe that any of this is accurate. I just tried a few of the ones on the list and I got results on all of them. Not one of the ones I checked came up with the note about the hashtag being hidden.
I even tried the one below my comment #freakshow and it came up with results too. So what I’m guessing is that every time you want to post something you need to check the hashtag first because you can’t rely on a list.
Why not ban Instagram forever.
#lookbook is banned too!
Anyone else have a problem with the fact that #woman ans #women are banned, but not #man or #men?!?
thanks for the info!
I have a 177k account I had been shadow banned it really sucks it makes your account stagnant ?..Instagram users should be aware of a shadow ban your post will only be seen by your followers new people won’t be able to see your content sucks asf!!! Its sad that Instagram can’t admit there is something like a shadow ban ?.
Does it stay like that forever or does it go away after some time?
It usually goes away. For some people it goes away after 2 days. For other people it stays a little bit longer. I always say to people: be careful what hashtags you use (don’t use super popular ones, vary your hashtags, don’t use the same ones all the time on all your posts), and just act like a human being. Sometimes our behavior might look like a robot – and it signals a red flag to Instagram.
So strange! When did you notice that something changed? Did you do anything different? Do you use hashtags and apps to manage your Instagram?
I created a hashtag for this year’s 100 Day project. Showed up as banned. I deleted on all 6 posts, put a new one in with a totally different string of words and it was instantly also banned for abuse. Clearly my ACCOUNT has been shadow banned and my participation in this annual event will have limited circulation. I suspect if someone keeps asking for ads to be hidden, IG shadow bans you. Screw them, talk about censorship with zero chance of appeal.
how long does a shadowban last? What can I do to remedy this? Delete my posts or just remove the hashtags?
I’ve done what you said… writing the words of the banned hashtags and all those I’ve tried and that were on the list you provided were working just fine!
So, I don’t understand why you say they are banned.
Can you explain? (I tried #assday, #asia, #beautyblogger, etc. and they all came back with lots posts)
Some hashtags are blocked temporarily and others for a long time /
forever. For example, #brain and #desk are still blocked on my accounts
at the moment. They display the “Recent posts from #… are currently
hidden because the community has reported some content…..”. Always check the hashtags before you use them.
Utter bullshyte
Why is Kansas banned?
#books is banned….. Wtf?
It just killed my post engagement ….. (it’s not being shown to as many people as it should….) I removed the tag from the post now but still……
Great tips!!!! thanks very much 🙂 My instagram is urquharteatery, would
love if you checked it out!! ❤️❤️❤️all the thanks to [email protected]
Try http://www.bannedhashtags.com – online web app with daily updated database of instagram banned hashtags
Can a ban be localised or all bans international? tgif seems to work fine.
Good point! Not sure about this. We looked at websites from Australia, the US and Canada and we found similar banned hashtags. However it does look like some hashtags become banned and then they become unbanned. So we always have to check them before we use them. We usually stay away from super mega popular hashtags.
Ugh. Instagram blocked my personal hashtag #simplyadia I posted all of my weightloss photos/food there. Nothing spammy. No selling of any products, nudity, etc. Now my account isn’t showing up under any hashtags. I post pictures of my planner and it’s not showing up in those feeds either. What can I do?
I have to tell you that I was using another paid app, and I did quit and cancel, and never looked back. I am in love with Preview (I would like to see more simple frames though ahahah)
Thank you Dalila 🙂 by frames do you mean the borders?
If so we’re working on new editing tools and it will be more simple!
Hi Alexandra! On Editing tools, you have frames, between stickers and overlays, And on frames, you have originals Flourish and supplies. I use the originals (Aura) because I like a minimalist clean look, so more like that if possible would be awesome. I am so happy with Preview, you guys really do an outstanding job. One more question, do you have a desktop version of the app? I discovered how to upload photos via desktop on Instagram, and it is really handy, specially when there is a long text as a caption. If you have a desktop version, it would make it perfect for me, as I work all day on a desktop
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! We so appreciate it. And good news: We’re working on a desktop version. Would you like us to send you an email when it’s available? If so, please email us at [email protected] and let us know you’re waiting for the desktop version.
I will, thanks a lot Alexandra (I follow you on Instagram also di_myway_)
I found something curios about this post:
1) First of all, I loved it… Didn’t knew anything about this subject.
2) I tested #books in the search panel but did appear available, with a lot of content. What does that means?
They aint all banned.
Does anyone know the reasoning behind the algorithm of banned hashtags and why it is that they are banned at all? I’m so confused…I’ve been completely Shadow Banned for MONTHS. I don’t have a huge following on IG, but 2.6k is quite a decent amount for an average person. I learned about banned hashtags as well as what it meant to be Shadow Banned when it was already too late and now, I think I’m Shadow Banned for good…I’ve had my account for 6 years. If I get my page deactivated because I accidentally use a banned hashtag, I’m gonna be really pissed!! The fact that you can get deleted simply bc Instagram decided to ban random ass hashtags!!! RIDICULOUS!
Does anyone know why common terms like easter and desk and elevator are banned? I mean ones that are obviously based on hate or porn I can understand but I mean, seriously – KANSAS? What did Kansas ever do to Instagram. And don’t tell me that’s a position.
It’s just crazy the list of banned hashtags. Check out this infographic on banned IG hashtags. https://www.radiantelephant.com/radiant-elephant-blog/2018/02/04/how-to-prevent-getting-shadowbanned-on-instagram/
How is “eggplant” banned lol. This is insane!
Hi Thanks for a great post. I have linked back to it from an article in my blog which I hope is OK with you guys. It can be found at http://home-business-hq.com If its not ok please let me know. you do not need to publish this comment with it having the link, its just a way to contact you and ask for your approval.
This is Orwellian.
Hastatag goddest is banned
#myheart #mommysgirl #memories are also banned…
#qatar is banned
Kansas is banned 🤣🤣