36 Comments

WOWOWOW!!! My “permanently” disabled account was suddenly reinstated today on Instagram! Thank you for helping me raise awareness. Someone on here commented they’d ask around at Meta and now I have no way to thank you but THANK YOU, if it was indeed you. And thank you to all who expressed the nicest condolences.

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I don’t know if it was the calls I made but I’m very glad to hear!

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Thank you for ANY gesture toward remedying this. It’s so appreciated! Grateful you advocated and thankful it’s restored! 😮‍💨

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August 21, 2023
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That must have been so scary. I am so sorry, stay safe.

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August 21, 2023
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I am so sorry you were laid off. :(

Appreciate your kindness, hope you are on the path to a better situation.

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Im sorry Janie! That sucks! I would be beside myself if all my posts went away and I’m NOT a public figure 🥲 lol. I hope you can appeal it/resolve!!

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Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for you - just wanted to say that I had an Instagram account that I never posted to (I just used it to follow a couple of organizations that use Instagram as their primary social media), and it suddenly got disabled in the same way yours was. If I recall correctly, they asked me to privately send a selfie holding up a piece of paper with my username for verification... and same as you, it got permanently disabled fairly quickly after I sent that. Obviously, I didn't see anything in the Community Guidelines that applied to someone who never posted! (I did end up just starting a new account, since I didn't really have anything to save.)

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I tagged some people on Threads to at least ask why you were taken down.

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Let me know if you get an answer! Would ALSO love to know!!!!

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Will do 🤞

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Been doing a tiny bit of research on my lunch break and while I haven't found any reputable solutions, I have found that a lot of people who were banned suddenly for seemingly no reason also had other apps and even bank accounts "hacked" around the same time so make sure you're keeping an eye on those too ❤️

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Ugh. This sucks! I am so sorry, Janie!

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That’s fucking infuriating. I’m sorry this happened to you and there’s no further appeal process. I’ve seen too many stories of people losing their content on Facebook/Insta/YouTube by an automated filter with no actual human review as an option. I have no advice, sadly.

I also wonder if I’ve been flagged on some level because when I go to comment on Instagram sometimes I get a message before I even comment that says something like “reminder: be respectful to others”

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I get that too. 🤨

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This just makes me so mad. Both that someone out there would target Janie, and that FB\meta still doesn't give reasons or options for appeal even after years of complaints about this dum policy. My heart goes out to you, Janie.

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I know I can be not no help but to offer emotional support via this comment. Your saga makes me angry. And adds to my growing sadness of the future of humanity.

We now know what drives nostalgia -- a desire for simpler times when we felt more in control. In our case it is 3 channel broadcast television, answering machines and foto-mats.

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I'm so sorry that you've had to deal with this, Janie! I always love your posts and your vacation photos DID NOT VIOLATE ANY STANDARDS, unless they mean having fun with family and friends! I hope you can restore your account.

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Try emailing disabled@fb.com to see if you can at least recover the data- it's a Facebook support email, but it's all connected anyway.

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Thank you I just emailed.

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I hope they'll choose to help!!

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I had a similarly frustrating experience last year when I was trying to update friends and family that I was out of surgery & able to post. Unfortunately, I did get hacked and the lack of support did mess with my mental health as I was also recovering from a serious surgical procedure. Ultimately, I created a new profile and reported my old one as impersonating me. I lost all my content - mostly just pictures of my family - but luckily it’s all backed up other places. TBH, the whole idea that your social media accounts can be taken away from you without any recourse seems to be something a monopoly would do & someone should regulate the industry or something. Hang in there!

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That must have felt terrible, I’m so sorry.

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I was just thinking that maybe you can request all your info, if not restore the actual account. I know you can on the FB side. It takes a couple days and then you get this giant packet of info. I think it might even be a legal requirement?? I really don’t know for sure, but good luck. 🩵

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I know there is the California Consumer Privacy Act, https://www.oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa#sectionc

(note: I am not an expert on the subject, so sorry if I flub something) CCPA requires them to respond to data requests (within 45 days) . Exactly what data they are required to give may be limited, and the timeframe is only required to be the last 12 months worth. Instagram may have additional policies that give a broader scope, not sure though.

Might be other laws too, but I think the CCPA is the strongest that applies (GDPR is stronger, but only is required in the EU)

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Don't know if it is any different than what you already did, and it won't fix the suspension, but possibly requesting via this may help you get data back.

https://help.instagram.com/contact/505535973176353

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Also a bunch of links listed https://www.reddit.com/r/Instagram/comments/n3adoz/for_everyone_who_got_disabled/

May be helpful for lifting suspension. Seems persistence and luck is the key.

Sorry this happened to you

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Thank you ✌️

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Thank you!!

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Just a constant loop of - “This decision is permanent” 😕

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