Twitter suspension rules is not on the top of everyone’s reading list, but it is better to be aware of these rules now than it is for you to learn about them after your account gets suspended. Hopefully, it does not have to come to that. Sending an appeal is a messy process that still prevents you from tweeting to your followers. In fact, people who get suspended and do not get the desired result from the appeal would have to start all over again trying to build a strong following. I learned about some of these rules fairly recently and revamped my strategy so I would not be violating any of the rules. These are the 10 reasons why Twitter would suspend your account. If you are safe, that’s good. However, it is better to know that you are safe than it is for you to be sorry in the long run.
- Aggressively following and unfollowing people in a short amount of time. This one is the most obvious. People try to hack the system by following a lot of people and then unfollowing everyone who does not follow back. People who game the system tend to have a perfect 1 to 1 ratio or something very close to perfect (something like a 1 to 1.01) and continue to gain followers at the same rate their following number goes up. Another tip is to avoid passing the 1,000 following limit. If you reach that limit multiple times in a row, Twitter will notice, and that won’t be good. When you unfollow people, you can unfollow some of the people who do not follow you back, but also unfollow some of the inactive users who have not tweeted for a while. Following inactive users will tell Twitter that you are not only unfollowing the people who are not following you back.
- Favoriting too many tweets. I did not know about this rule for a long time. Before learning about this rule, I simply favorited tweets of people mentioning me at will. Now, I only favorite 5-10 tweets every day. If I do not favorite a tweet of you sharing one of my blog posts, that’s because I do not want to risk breaking the rule. Regardless of whether I favorite someone’s tweet or not, I am always grateful when people share or read my blog posts. A good way to substitute favoriting tweets is sending those people DMs. Not only does this reduce the risk of your account getting suspended, but DMs are more personalized messages for the people who shared your content or said something good about you.
- Spamming people (this one is really important). When people think of spamming, they think of a bot that sends out 500 tweets every day about the same thing. However, spamming also means sending out a lot of tweets (even if that means 24 tweets every day) and not having a lot of conversations with your followers. It is a harsh definition for the people who do not mean to spam, but with the real definition in place, you might be “spamming” your followers. Having conversations with your followers shows Twitter that you are a real person and will make Twitter less likely to suspend your account for this reason.
- Following too many people after creating your account. New Twitter users get too excited. They look around for all of their favorite celebrities and follow hundreds of them on the first day. Soon, these new users are following 1,000 people but only have 50 followers. Twitter does not like these kinds of accounts and associates them with spam and fake followers. The fake follower industry is a multimillion dollar business, and Twitter is doing everything it can to suspend users who look fake–whether those users are fake or not.
- Tweeting too much. No user can tweet more than 1,000 times every day. If you are caught reaching the limit multiple times, Twitter will eventually suspend your account. My recommendation is to stay under 100 tweets per day. For most people, that will not be anything to worry about since few people have enough time to send out 100 tweets in 1 day. If you feel the need to send out more than 100 updates every day, you should split those updates amongst multiple social networks.
- Creating too many spammy looking Twitter accounts. If you are creating too many spammy looking Twitter accounts with the same computer, Twitter will catch you. Remember how Twitter defines spam before deciding whether you are innocent or guilty. This tactic is used to catch and suspend fake followers that are created by the same person. When Twitter catches someone doing this, all of the accounts made by that person get suspended–even the real ones.
- Harassing people. Think about what you say before you post it. If a user harass someone, that person will most likely report that user to Twitter for harassment. If enough people report that user for harassment, Twitter will look into the situation and most likely suspend that account.
- Tweeting inappropriate content. In some cases, tweeting the inappropriate content may not be your fault. This is why it is very important to avoid getting your account hacked. Someone hacked my account, and all of the links for smart phone users led to porn sites. While my account was hacked, I was afraid that someone would report me for inappropriate content, but luckily, my followers knew there was something wrong with my account. The only way to solve this problem is not to tweet inappropriate content in the first place.
- Misusing trends and popular hashtags. Be sure that you know what something means before you tweet it. You would have to be consistently (multiple times every day) misusing trends and popular hashtags in order to get suspended for this reason. Twitter does not want news or events to be misinterpreted which is why they enforce this rule for people who do this on a consistent, daily basis.
- Twitter thinks your account has been hacked or compromised. Although it’s not your fault, Twitter may suspend your account if they think it was hacked or compromised. Just look through your list of third-party apps and make sure none of them are bad. In addition, choose a password that would be hard to figure out. If your password is 8 characters long, then it’s too short. The best way to avoid this problem is to make it harder for someone to hack your account.
Those are the 10 reasons why Twitter would suspend an account. If your account is not violating any of these 10 rules, then your account will be safe. If your account slightly violates one of these rules, you should fix that problem so your account is not in risk. What are your thoughts on the list? Have you been suspended for other reasons? Please share your thoughts below.
Hi! I recently had my account suspended and locked on Twitter, I believe, for inappropriate content. I was asked to delete the tweet. I was tweeting to another adult, and used a particular word. My account was suspended and locked, while the other person’s was not. We were both using the word in the same context. Why did my account get tagged, and his did not?
Twitter has a variety of factors they use to make those kinds of decisions. I don’t know why your account was suspended and the other person’s account wasn’t.
Is there a way to report efficiently spammer accounts?
I mean accounts that are twitting 24/7 and are twittering 2000 twitts
per day, always the same twitt over and over again.
Why twitter dont delete these accounts permanently?
I’m sure you can reach out to Twitter Support and bring up this issue. You can also hit the down arrow on the top right of any tweet to report it.
I just have a question and it may sound like a dumb question but I just don’t know the answer so here goes….if your account is suspended, can you still view other peoples post or pages from that acct or can you not even get on Twitter at all unless you create another account? Thanks
That is a good question that I don’t know the answer to. You can always view other people’s content on Twitter without logging in.
I think I got caught up in the too many accounts it must be spam thing. This is a shared family computer everyone uses so I know there are multiple accounts from multiple people on this computer. I am finding more and more every day all the issues sharing a computer causes, it’s ridiculous. I can’t even get points in a videogame I play because my sister has the game too and it thinks I’m an alt account.
That’s a new one for me Jak. I can see why Twitter would do something about someone logging into and out of several accounts on the same device (i.e. a hacker or someone with a buy followers service logs into thousands of accounts on one computer), but that’s definitely not what you are doing. Perhaps you can use your mobile device to show there are logins for the same account on multiple devices. However, understand that I am guessing at this point since Twitter’s rulebook is private (and, for the most part, rightfully so as some would abuse it)
Hi Marc, great article (and comments below). My a/c has been locked and I have done the contact them thing a couple of days ago but haven’t heard anything. I very, very rarely heart posts (simply because I don’t want to offend someone by not hearting their tweet if I hearted another followers tweets 🙂 ). I have never said anything offensive on twitter (or indeed the net) as that is not why I ever entered the net in the first place. I have a good following on twitter and indeed some high profile people have followed me (I never follow famous people unless I get a follow first). I have kept my a/c friendly and have made lots of friends there (some of us even get together a couple of times a year for a tweet up). Anyway, I noticed that not only am I currently locked which is obviously bad enough and I have no idea why, but also that they still have my follower number but have removed all the people I follow! I know I have done nothing wrong and as far as I know, not hacked so have no idea why I am locked out. I was in fact the highest rated for my county (before famous people from here got on to twitter 🙁 😀 ). When I go to the page to try and restore/appeal I can’t get past the ‘prove you’re not a robot’ bit. I click the areas of the pics shown to prove it and then that is that and I get no further – I just hope it means they still have received my request to unlock my a/c. I have another a/c not linked to that one and had never used it but am now and have tweeted to twitter from that to ask them to help but as I said, nothing so far. Hope you might have some ideas? Thanks.
I would recommend following up with Twitter as often as you can. Sometimes it can fall through the cracks and they get so many requests. One thing I’m almost certain about is that when your account gets unlocked, it will revert back to following all of the people you were following prior to the account getting locked.
I got hacked recently on Twitter and they suspended my account due to it posting inappropriate content. Before that I an app that was tweeting out stuff that i do not remember giving permissions to. I had not had a chance to login to fix things that were tweeting out on my behalf before this hack and then massive spam and the hacked happened at the same time. Tried to appeal but I keep getting denied when it appears this is all the work of the hacker to get me suspended. I don’t know what else to do and would love to get my account back.
Can you send me your Twitter username and the link you’ve been using to contact Twitter. I can contact them on your behalf. I’ve done stuff like this before.
same thing happend to me and I have a decent sized fan base a hacker tweeted out a threat and i need help getting it back my twitter is @itslukezz my twiiter i use now is @thedudelukez plz help
i also have had this problem. so frustrating
Is it spam when you mention other users too often? My account was suspended when I participated in quite a few Twitter chats and I had to mention others to interact with them. Twitter never provided a clear explanation
I didn’t even know about that rule. I don’t want to give a clear answer because I don’t know all of the details, but that doesn’t seem right, especially with a chat where that type of interaction is expected. I continuously thank the same people for sharing my content and my Twitter account is okay.
I have been on Twitter for 7 years and everything was fine for the most part. Only had 1 or 2 minor problems years back but they were always resolved with no problem. Another time I was blocked for a month from retweeting, I forget why I was but I let it go and waited that month out and went back to the usual tweeting and everything was fine.
Then recently, I had seen a story about ANTIFA’s run in at Fenway Park in Boston. Hanging a banner over the Green Monster in left field, We all know the story. Anyways, I had made a few remarks about ANTIFA’s immaturity and doing what they did. Never issued threats, nothing like that. Being on there as long as I have been, I knew better than to do that.
Apparently, it turns out that more than a few had complained about how I replied to what I saw and subsequently, I was suspended and I filed an appeal. Twitter, totally disregarding my nearly flawless record in 7 years ignored all of the positive history on the site and appease those who complained about me and suspended me. I filed an appeal and they got back to me and said that I ignored the general rules of Twitter and I had issued threats or something along those lines but I never did and had plenty of proof that I didn’t either. Again, they tuned it out, insisted my page is NOT being restored. I tried to overcome that and start anew with new Twitter names after I signed up using my Hotmail and Yahoo addresses. They had NO connection to the suspended account at all, not in the least, but before I could ever post, THOSE accounts were also suspended.
I enjoyed my time and all the friendships I had earned on Twitter during my 7 years as a upstanding member of the community. No matter how many times I appeal, they seem intent on keeping that user name silent. What I would like to know is if I can do anything possible to be able to resume using Twitter again as I had before? I would set up a brand new name on a completely different e-mail site and would NOT any of the previous credentials I used in the past. Is there anything possible that I can do to possibly regain my access and username back on Twitter like before or no? I was hoping someone could help me with this ASAP! Thanks much, Eddie
As a lot of people may know, I am a Red Sox fan, so it was painful to see those few people do what they did. I hope people are better than letting a small group of people create the perception for how all Red Sox fans and people of Boston must be like (I’m not from Boston, but still. That idea applies well beyond a sports team, its fans, and the city).
Regarding your Twitter account, I’ll see what I can do. I’d need to see that no threats were issued, and then I’d contact Twitter. I’ve done stuff like this for people in the past when they’ve had problems. For someone who was fine for 7 years, it’s shocking they would immediately suspend you.
Dang… Didn’t know the heart button or favoriting could get you in trouble. Twitter doesn’t even explain this on their unsuspend page I was sitting here trying to think of what I could have done when I found your article. ( I think I retweeted too many times) Thank you!
I believe Twitter needs to be more clear on what results in an account suspension. They have some guidelines, but sometimes Twitter can get very technical about small stuff that is not clearly stated. Bridget, I am sorry to hear about what happened to your account. You can complain but finding their email address is so hard (though I understand why).
Fantastic article! Several months ago, I actually reached the 2,000-follower mark on Twitter and Twitter said that I reached that limit in a big way. I was able to delete some followers so that it wouldn’t happen again. Now, I’m staying somewhat cautious whenever I try to follow more people on Twitter.
It’s good to be careful about who you follow. You should only strive to follow people within your niche who empower you, you can empower, or people who possess both of those traits.
great article, very educational!
Thanks Rich 🙂
Thanks for a great list. I have to admit I went a little crazy with the follows when I first started. I thinks that’s not unusual though. Thanks again for the info
My pleasure Samantha. It’s not unusual for people to go crazy with following people at the beginning. It’s constant following and unfollowing (this is called churning) that typically leads to a suspension.
Marc only just seen this post today (good regeneration of content strategy BTW). Great tips and advice.
I have one main a/c & several off-shoot /xx I use for particular industry sectors. I hope I’m not falling foul of rule no. 6. I’d hate to loss my main a/c because of that.
Based on what you are doing, your account will be safe. Twitter mainly enforces that rule on people who create numerous accounts (i.e. in the hundreds or in the thousands) so they can offer services where people can buy fake followers (a.k.a. flushing money down the toilet). You are providing value and engaging with your audience so your accounts will be safe.
It would be great if everybody knew the “rules” when they open their account. The rules seem fair, although I might have been guilty of using favorites too much. Thanks for the information Marc.
My pleasure John. The reason I think favoriting is bad is because it’s just a time efficient way to have a conversation. Conversations like “Thank you for sharing this article” are more meaningful than simply favoriting the tweet. Favoriting the tweet makes the person imply you are grateful, and for some people, favorites are easy to miss.
Excellent post thank you, AS
My pleasure Annmarie.
Some great safety tips here – as an Affiliate Marketer I always play by the rules and you make mention of engaging with your audience which is key.
Colin
Yes, engagement will always be key. Engagement allows us to understand our customers, and no matter how much we advance, that knowledge will always be important for businesses.
Just followed link from Twitter posted a couple of hours ago. My impression with favorites on Twitter was that the daily limits were comparable to how many tweets you could put out. I’ve always used favoriting liberally: as thank you for posting engaging content, bookmarking, acknowledgement and hopefully sometimes as a fillip. All best wishes.
Thank you Katharine. Although favoriting is the preferred method, it is more effective to interact with your audience. Twitter also likes it when you interact (spammy accounts don’t interact at all). Besides, the word social is in social media.
Great post, Marc! There were a few things I learned from it, such as favoriting too many tweets. Thanks for your insights!
My pleasure. Favoriting tweets was definitely something that shocked me when I first saw it. This usually applies to the people who are favoriting dozens of tweets every day. My recommendation is to only favorite 3-5 tweets every day because if you force yourself to not favorite tweets, you are also going to force yourself to have more conversations with your followers (which is a good thing).
Very interesting. I am surprised that they dont mention suspending the accounts of people who insult, threaten and curse. Ive had to block many nutcases because of this. Also many tweets never give you a comment or a reply no matter what you say…just wondering if these REAL James Woods accounts for example are manned by robots.
They are either done by bots or people who wish they were James Woods. Accounts like these exist for all celebrities and famous people.
Very handy advice there, and concisely structured, thanks for posting it. Personally, I’ve found that consistently following up to 2,000 people (rather than 1,000) to try and attract my own followers has so far attracted no attention from Twitter. (Fingers crossed!)
Also, a genuine careers organisation I know in the UK had their account suspended because they went beyond a limit of 100 tweets / hour for a short period. The reason was entirely genuine, since it was the start of National Careers Week, of which they were the driving organisation, and they were drumming up support and hype at the start of the week. They did appeal and were successful, otherwise I think they’d have been suicidal!
HTH, thanks again, keep up the great work!