Being in Facebook Jail might be a very daunting situation that anyone can ever experience on this platform.
It is terrible for those who have put a lot of effort into building their profile or page with marketing. For everyone who makes a living out of social media activities, it can also be very challenging.
That is why it’s so important to follow the platform’s rules. For those who wonder “what is Facebook Jail,” this guide may be a handy tool. Here’s what to do to avoid being banned by FB in 2023 and be free.
Table of Contents
What Is Facebook Jail?
Since 2017 everyone is talking about this, but what is Facebook Jail anyway? This term didn’t come from Facebook itself. It denotes a block for having improper behavior in the community.
Sometimes, anyone can break its rules without even knowing, whether they bought followers or posted content too quickly for marketing purposes, or even if they participated in hate speech. What’s interesting about this penalty is that those who created their account or page a long time ago don’t usually experience this type of restriction.
What Is the Purpose of Facebook Jail?
Facebook started implementing this restriction to encourage everyone to combat hate speech. No other social media channel has done it this way. Besides, it also had the intention of reducing spammy activity. Facebook Jail began in 2017, intending to validate authenticity, provide everyone with more security, and enhance a healthy community.
This platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify this type of behavior. Although its AI engines aren’t perfect yet, the community is working to improve them.
id=”block_2″What To Expect When Put in Jail?
Those who are banned cannot post, add friends, or chat with others in the app. This is usually momentary, and after a couple of hours or days, they could get back to normal. However, there’s an exception. Here are the types of penalties:
Temporary Restriction
This is one of the most common types of restrictions. The account gets banned, so they can’t do any kind of activity on the platform. This could last for a couple of days or up to 21 days. After this period, they can interact with their accounts as usual without any limitations.
Permanent Restriction
In this case, the platform closes the account permanently. Those permanently restricted would lose all their effort put into this account, and they would have to create a new one. When this happens, anyone that tries to reach that particular account, Facebook would take them to the main site. Some even will receive a 404 error.
How Long Does It Last?
Everyone usually gets anxious and asks, “how long does Facebook jail last.” It’s easy to tell when it has restricted someone because it sends a notification once the person has logged in. It usually indicates why they’re being blocked and lets them know the number of days to know how long is Facebook jail. The platform has several reasons to block anyone:
Permanent Removal
There’s not much to say about this. Anyone can get restricted for things like adding too many friends and unintentionally or intentionally saying something rude to someone. But when they continue to have this behavior after several blocks, they might get permanently deleted.
Medium Level
The medium level doesn’t make it any less daunting. This means that those who were restricted get to keep their accounts, but Facebook can permanently block some features. For example, they’re able to continue posting content, but they can’t interact with others. It will all depend on the circumstances and how grave the failure was.
Less Severe Actions
Just as in the medium level, some features will be restricted, but this time is temporary. Once the banned period is over, they can continue using their accounts as regular.
How to Avoid Being on Facebook Jail
It is frustrating when getting banned from Facebook for no reason. Anyone can fall into this restriction because they don’t follow Facebook’s behavior guidelines. Most of them don’t even know how it works, even when they manipulate the platform daily. However, there’s always a good time to learn. Consider these tips to avoid being restricted by FB and being free:
Account Creation Tips
When creating the account, it’s important to be careful not to violate Facebook’s rules. Keep in mind that this step is crucial to avoid falling into FB jail. There are a couple of things to consider when creating a FB account:
Understand Facebook’s Nature
Before joining the community, think about how it works so there are no issues from the beginning of the account’s creation. This platform is a community, and just like any other, it has rules. One of the main reasons users get banned is because they don’t know these guidelines. Everyone ignores them until they’re already banned.
Validate the Account With Mobile Number
Facebook’s safety policy is critical. Those who violate this rule can be permanently banned from using their accounts. That’s why it’s so essential to verify the account with the email and even phone number. This is proof to Facebook that the person is real.
Complete the Bio
Many users may find this unnecessary as they don’t feel there’s any rush to fill up their profile info. However, it is indispensable to complete their bios to prove that they’re real persons or real businesses and not some kind of bot.
Be Careful With the Daily Interaction
Once the account sign-in is completed and validated, it’s time to interact with friends. However, precaution doesn’t stop there. Users have to be careful with their daily activities to avoid being blocked by the platform. Here are some things to consider.
Don’t Send Friend Requests to Any Unknown Person
Remember when parents tell their kids not to speak to strangers? Well, it makes sense now as well. When Facebook notices that someone is adding friends randomly, it starts getting suspicious about that account. It’s okay to meet new friends, but don’t add any random person as it may seem spammy or malicious.
Switch from Profile to Business
Although it may seem inoffensive, this is something that could raise red flags to the platform. When running a business and marketing activities, it’s essential to create a Facebook page.
Facebook pages provide more credibility and security to their followers. Many users have continued using their profile to run their business because they didn’t know about this rule, and they get surprised when the app blocks them.
It is even more severe when they utilize a company’s name and logo instead of using their real name on their profile. Therefore, it’s better to avoid any issues and create a FB page.
Don’t Send an Excessive Number of Messages
Sending an excessive number of messages can appear to the app as unwanted or spammy behavior. When pages are running marketing campaigns and send numerous messages, some of their recipients might mark them as spammy. If the account receives too many of these marks, they’ll be temporarily blocked.
Another thing that could make someone get into Facebook Jail is when they send many messages quickly. The tricky part about this is that Facebook doesn’t publicly say how many of them are too much or the estimated timeframe to send a certain number of messages.
Don’t Act Like a Spambot
This is a golden rule to remember always: don’t perform a spambot-like activity. Spambots are AI-driven engines that were created to operate by simulating human behavior. These bots are usually one-purpose programs; they perform only one task, like sending messages or commenting posts. Everyone could make this mistake when doing marketing strategies if they’re not careful.
Let Some Time Pass Between Posts
Sometimes influencers get too involved with their social channels that they start publishing too many posts simultaneously. It can happen to anyone.
However, Facebook perceives this behavior as spammy or malicious. This occurs mostly if users publish the same type of content on several channels simultaneously, such as groups or profile timelines.
That’s why it is crucial to leave some period of time between each publication to avoid getting restricted. Besides, people shouldn’t utilize the same content in different posts.
Keep it Real
Facebook’s best way to validate profiles or pages is when these users utilize their accounts naturally. They interact only with those they know or have common friends with, they don’t utilize different names than their own, and they don’t even tag them on spammy content.
Questionable Tagging
Most people hate it when others tag them on pictures where they don’t even appear. This is annoying for almost anyone, and they could even report the profile for inappropriate or spammy behavior.
Instead of doing this, it is better to send them a link with the post if they might be interested in that content. This will keep them out of Facebook Jail for a while.
Stick to Genuine Content
Most digital marketers out there know the importance of creating authentic content because they’ve experienced that restriction themselves. They understand how vital it is to respect the copy-right. However, regular people don’t know about this.
Try not to post pictures from Google because some may have even been denounced in the past, and Facebook estimates that it will receive the same complaints. Therefore, it is always better to stick to authentic content. It indeed takes more effort, but it’ll be worth it as the account will be out of Facebook jail.
Mind the Saboteurs
Unfortunately, there are always people who want to hurt others, so it’s essential to keep an eye on them to avoid getting blocked. Reporting someone is as easy as pressing a button. Although that feature was intended to protect users, it can also be used for malicious purposes.
If this ever happens, the right thing to do is block that particular person and report them. Once it’s done, contact Facebook and tell the support service about the situation.
Shorten Links
Most people shorten links on Twitter because they can save space. But what’s the point of shortening them on FB since this platform doesn’t have a character limit as Twitter does?
Well, it’s actually because FB detects spammy activity when someone posts the same link several times. Apps like TinyURL or BL.INK will create a different link every time it is shortened.
Avoid Posting Invaluable Content
This is another crucial point to mention. When someone regularly posts content without value, the platform perceives them as spambots. It’s ok to post memes now and then or nonsense things that make people laugh, but keep in mind that doing it regularly could cause FB to block the account.
Don’t Post Publicity on Others’ Groups Without Permission
There’s nothing more annoying and spammy than seeing a random business promotion in a non-related group chat. It’s very likely that if someone does this, they’ll get reported by others, and that will raise a red flag for FB, so don’t do it.
Don’t Post Dollar Signs or Decimal Points
To avoid Facebook’s restrictions, don’t write any dollar signs in the posts. Instead, it would be better to utilize a dollar emoji. Besides, it is also essential to write round numbers instead of decimal points.
Avoid Suspicious Payments
This is very delicate as it also involves legal actions related to fraud. Don’t utilize anyone else’s credit card or payment information since the platform could ban the account, and the consequences might be terrible.
Be sure that all information is valid and legit. Remember, Facebook will penalize that stolen cards or malicious payment activity.
Post in the 9:1:1 Code
Although it may sound irrelevant, it is part of Facebook’s guidelines to avoid getting blocked, so stick to the 9:1:1 ratio to avoid any kind of penalty inside the app. This means that one should distribute each post in this manner:
- Publish 9 non-marketing posts.
- 1 promotional post.
- 1 personal one.
Facebook Jail Myths
There’s much to say about FB jail, so much that people have even come up with fake info. These myths have concerned many users. However, it is time to reveal the truth. Here are some of the most relevant myths and the truth behind them.
Using Third-Party Apps Is Prohibited
Numerous people use third-party apps to run their business on social media, and FB isn’t the exception. Using these tools isn’t going to get anyone blocked.
This rumor started when Facebook began to restrict some third-party apps that were violating users’ privacy rights. However, they haven’t limited other apps.
The Use of Auto-Schedulers
Many people have said they’ve been blocked because they use auto-schedulers. However, they’re not the actual problem. This myth came up because of the frequency of posts. When posting too quickly on different channels without leaving some time-space, it looks spammy for FB, and the platform indeed penalizes it.
Automated Chats Can Be Penalized
Many people believe that automated messages could get them blocked by the app. However, they’re not against FB’s policies. Many great companies use it to optimize their customer service process.
What is undoubtedly penalized is mass messaging or spam. This is very delicate, and the account could be restricted for a couple of days. So it’s better to do it carefully.
It’s Okay That Others Post on My Behalf
Many tend to do this because they believe it’s not going to cause any trouble. However, it is something that violates FB’s privacy policies. No one should share their account information with others. If it’s for business purposes, it is better to assign each member a role inside the page to coordinate copywriting, promoting, or scheduling.
People Can’t Promote Outside Links
This is a myth that spread out across the internet, and many people stopped promoting outside links. However, there’s nothing further from reality.
Facebook does allow its users to promote them. The problem is when they use several identical links in different posts. That’s why it’s important to shorten them because they automatically create a different link every time.
The Word “sold” Can Take You to a Jail
Sellers that use Facebook to promote their products are usually the ones that get blocked the most. But it’s definitely not because they use the word “sold.” It is often related to the product they are selling. FB has some strict guidelines on what products not to sell on the platform.
Some of them are:
- Unreal products
- Services and not physical items
- Products that don’t match their description
- Healthcare products
- Products or services with before and after photos
- Animal-made products
How to Find Out If You Are in Facebook Jail?
“Am I in Facebook Jail?”. That’s usually the first question that pops up when we’re unable to post anything. Facebook usually notifies users when they’re being restricted, right after they logged in. However, there’s also the situation when they haven’t received the notification yet. For those who are going through this, some signs warn them they’ve been sent to the FB Jail:
- The platform doesn’t allow them to like someone else’s posts.
- They’re unable to post anything on their timeline or another person’s profile.
- They can’t comment on any pictures or posts.
- They can’t access their account.
Why Am I On Facebook Jail?
There are many reasons why someone could get banned by the platform, from using fake personal data to promoting hate speech and even posting non-original content. The app usually lets them know about their mistake. However, everybody gets worried when this happens, and they start looking for ways on how to get around a Facebook block.
However, it’s hard to know what actually caused the restriction when they didn’t receive the notification.
Here are some possible reasons why someone could get blocked:
- Posting nudity or inappropriate content.
- Hate speech or aggression towards others.
- Spammy activity.
- Fraud or using fake personal data.
Get Out of Facebook Jail With an Appeal
When getting into a low level of the Facebook ban, anyone could contact support service and ask for a revision of the case. This way, they’ll explain their reasons and see if they can get their account restored and get out of Facebook Jail. Some of them win these cases, and others don’t. It’ll depend on the person’s failure.
Here’s how to appeal a Facebook ban in 2023:
- Visit the “My Facebook account has been disabled page.”
- Click on “Submit an appeal.”
- Fill in the appeal.
- Provide identity proof by sending pictures and files related to the case.
- Press the “Send” button.
This is for the lowest level restriction. However, for those with the second and third-degree penalty, there’s not much to do. They usually try to find ways on how to get a Facebook ban lifted. However, It’s better not to spend time and energy on that battle and create a new account.
The Awaiting Process
When someone has a low-degree penalty, and they’ve already filed their case, it’s only a matter of waiting. It usually takes a couple of days, and the maximum number is 21 days. If they’re running a business, they could let their audience know other social channels about the situation until they get restored.
What to Do After Getting Out?
Once users find out how to get out of Facebook Jail and the account’s functionality is restored, it’s crucial to maintain good behavior inside the platform. Don’t commit the same mistake one more time and try to stay away from FB-related activity for a while. Remember that once the account is back to normal, Facebook will still have an eye on it, especially at the beginning, so be careful.
Facebook Jail Meme
The Facebook jail meme started as a way to protest against FB’s restriction policies. Soon, it became a fun and entertaining way to cope with the situation. Many people have created several different ways to express how they feel about the block in a fun manner. The most popular one was the get out of Facebook jail free card. They even share it on other social media channels like Instagram or Twitter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Words Get You Banned on Facebook?
Many people have complained about FB blocking their account for using some particular words. The reason for this is because Facebook identifies those words as hate speech, depression-related, child endangerment, or spammy.
In a recent document released by the platform, users can see more than 5,000 words banned by the app.
Can You Still Use Messenger If You Are in Facebook Jail?
It depends on why the user is blocked. Those who are banned from posting non-original content or any other penalty can still use the messenger. However, those who were blocked for sending spam messages can’t use the chat app.
How Do You Find Out Who Reported You on Facebook?
Nobody can see who reported them on FB. Once the report is submitted, the support team will validate the information and keep all personal information private.
How Many Reports Does it Take to Close a Facebook Account?
It’s actually not a matter of the number of reports. It’s a matter of time. It may take up to 10 reports to close a FB account. However, they have to wait until those reports are processed.
Will You Escape the Penalty?
Nobody wants to get into the Facebook Jail in 2023, especially if they’ve put too much effort and time into optimizing their account. The best way to avoid it and be free is by following Facebook’s terms and conditions and knowing how the platform works. Remember always to create original content, not post too many things at one given time, and avoid excessive messaging.
Leave some comments below with your opinions about this FB restriction!
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