Did Instagram deactivate you business account? Are you incredibly frustrated that NOTHING has worked to get it back? Here is How I Got My Instagram Business Account Unlocked. It worked instantly!
These tips worked for me in November 2020 and include information on ALL kinds of Instagram lockouts, deactivation, and action blocks!
If Instagram deactivated your business account and you have submitted the requested documents and are STILL locked out, these tips could help.
How I Got My Instagram Business Account Unlocked
There are TWO main ways Instagram can lock you out of your account:
#1 Did Instagram Action Block Your account?
If Instagram Action Blocks you, it means you can access your account but not use all the features, like posting, liking posts, and following.
The good news: if Instagram Action Blocks your account, it is probably a temporary restriction.
You can log in but can’t post or follow people. Instagram is slapping you on the hand for something you did. Maybe you violated an Instagram rule you didn’t even know about. Sometimes the message above says when Instagram will give you back access to your account. If this is the case, it’s probably easier just to wait out your jail sentence.
Some things you can try to get back into your Action Blocked Instagram account:
- Delete and re-install the Instagram app.
- Try logging in on a different device.
- Try logging in using a VPN (I used Opera browser).
- Wait 1-2 days and see if you can get back in.
- Try connecting your Instagram to a Facebook account.
If none of that works, try clicking on “Report Problem” and fill out the form. Hopefully that will work.
But it didn’t work for me. If that doesn’t work for you, scroll down and see the solution that worked for me.
#2 Did Instagram Deactivate Your Account?
Oh, the many ways Instagram can torture you.
A disabled or deactivated Instagram account is more serious than just an activity block. It means you are completely locked out.
So, how do you get back into your account?
This was the lovely message I got when I tried to log in. My Instagram account was now DISABLED and I MIGHT be able to get back in.
Why I Got Locked Out:
I hadn’t been posting on Instagram at that time so I KNEW I hadn’t broken any rules. Long story short, I’d had a family emergency and had been traveling cross-country and using Instagram from several different cities and WiFi networks. Instagram thought I’d been hacked. Fair enough. They emailed me a code and asked me to enter it to re-access my account. Then I entered the code and … nothing.
My account was still locked.
The next day, I tried to log in again and got the same message above. This time I clicked Learn More which took me to a form to fill out:
Remember, I have a Business Instagram Account. So the form asked for my name, username, and email address. It also asked me to upload a document that would prove that I was the business owner: a tax filing, utility bill, etc.
Note: if you have a personal Instagram account, you will probably get an email like the one below asking you to upload a photo of yourself holding a piece of paper with your name, username and a secret code on it.
I have an Instagram business account, and I have a registered business. I dutifully uploaded my Certificate of Formation. NOTHING.
I did it again. NOTHING.
I decided to try my Income Tax filing, with the business name showing but the financial information blacked out. NOTHING.
I don’t have utilities, but I tried a copy of my website domain renewal. NOTHING.
I kept filling out the form and emailing my business document to Instagram every few days but … NOTHING.
A month went by and I was still locked out of my Instagram and feeing increasingly frustrated. I KNEW I’d done nothing wrong. I wrote a heartfelt letter to Instagram telling them how hard I’d worked to build up my 3,000 followers (Yes. Just 3000.
Given the Instagram algorithm, getting those followers took me forever. Seriously, if I was breaking Instagram rules and using bots or buying likes or followers I’d have a LOT more likes and followers.)
Here’s How I Got My Instagram Business Account Unlocked:
I was doing some research and found out something interesting, but not surprising:
Instagram’s new in-app appeal process uses AI, or Artificial Intelligence. This means a computer, not a person, is reading the information you send.
There was no person reading my heartfelt letter. Everything I sent to Instagram was being read … by a computer.
A lightbulb went off. A few years back, I had terrible problems when my health insurer suddenly started using AI to process claims. One day, ALL my medical insurance claims started being denied. They’d send them back to me with a preprinted letter saying my claim forms were “illegible.” Reader, they were NOT.
But this made me realize that in order to get my business Instagram account unlocked, I needed to send Instagram the requested information in a way that a computer could “read” it.
With my health insurance, that meant the insurance receipts that many of my doctors were giving me were unreadable to a computer. They had creative fonts, weird formatting, even (gasp!) handwritten procedure codes.
The computer was scanning the documents for readable information and finding NOTHING. Rejected!
In order for Artificial Intelligence to “read” a document, the information you send has to be in the clearest and most readable form possible.
- The information requested needs to be clear and easily readable.
- The less text the better.
- The information on the document needs to match the wording the computer is looking for.
What Did I Do to Make Sure Instagram AI could read my submitted document?
I sent Instagram a mocked-up “business license.” Ironically, as I mentioned above, I had actually sent Instagram my REAL business documents, but their AI scanner rejected them. This is what happens when computers run the world. Don’t get me started. But we are smarter than computers!
Also, maybe you have an Instagram business account but don’t have business documents. Maybe you have a side hustle or a home business and don’t have articles of incorporation or a tax filing. As far as I know, Instagram doesn’t require those to have a business account.
If you DO have a domain name registration that is the EXACT domain on your Instagram business account, you could use that. BUT be sure to follow the advice below and make the information you send is READABLE and contains the correct wording.
How did I make a business document that Instagram AI could read?
I went on the internet, searched “business license” and found a picture of a business license that said BUSINESS LICENSE in huge capital letters across the top. Nice and readable, meaning it was perfect for AI.
Then I:
- Uploaded this image to Canva and used “add text” put my business name (my Instagram account name) in huge typewritten letters on it. I made sure my business name exactly matched the account name Instagram had, which is what I figured the computer would be scanning for.
- Uploaded that to the Instagram form and was back in my account almost instantly.
Literally minutes later I got the BEST EMAIL:
If you are using proof of domain name registration, you might have an email from your domain registration that is in tiny print. Mine just says “domain registration.”
Therefore, I’d take that email and use the wording to mock up a large, readable “DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION” certificate. To be clear, the information you send should be CORRECT and LEGITIMATE. I am NOT suggesting sending falsified information.
But the NUMBER ONE RULE: whatever you send has to be READABLE by a computer. The NUMBER TWO RULE: make sure the wording matches exactly what Instagram has asked for. For instance, make sure it says DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION in large, readable type.
If you have a personal instagram and are sending the photo described above, still remember the AI. Make sure you the sign you are holding in the photo has all the information requested printed in large, clear letters so the computer can read it. I have no proof of this, but I think the sign matters WAY more than the photo.
Thanks Instagram, for FINALLY letting me back in. But honestly, that was way too stressful. If AI is the way of the future for customer service, I won’t be happy. But at least I’ll be ready.
Thanks for reading How I Got My Instagram Business Account Unlocked!
I hope this is helpful information to you! If you have questions or want to share an experience, let me know in comments.