What Happens When Your TikTok Account Gets Banned
TikTok may ban accounts if they identify violations of their Community Guidelines and Terms of Service (https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/content-violations-and-bans). Some reasons an account can get banned include sharing inappropriate or illegal content, spamming others, pretending to be someone else, and harassing other users.
Banned accounts can receive either a temporary ban or a permanent ban. Temporary banned accounts are disabled for a set period of time before being automatically reinstated. Permanently banned accounts are prohibited indefinitely.
Once an account is banned, TikTok takes immediate action to disable the profile and remove the content. The owner can no longer access or post from the account. A permanent ban is irreversible in most cases.
You Are Notified of the Ban
When TikTok permanently bans an account, the user is notified through a banner that appears when trying to log in. According to TikTok’s Help Center, the notification banner will say the account has been banned for multiple violations of TikTok’s Community Guidelines.
The banner provides no details on the specific violations that led to the permanent ban. It simply states “Your account has been permanently banned due to multiple violations of our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.”
This notification banner will appear on the log in screen every time the user tries to access their banned account. There is no way to bypass it or log in once an account has been permanently banned by TikTok.
Your Profile and Content Disappears
Once your TikTok account is permanently banned, your profile and all the content you have posted will no longer be accessible to anyone. When someone tries to access your profile or videos, they will see an error message that the account has been banned for violating community guidelines (https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/content-violations-and-bans).
All the videos, captions, hashtags, likes, comments, and other data associated with your account will be completely removed from TikTok. Your follower and following counts will be erased. Essentially, it will be as if your account never existed as all traces of it disappear after a permanent ban (https://megadigital.ai/en/blog/unbanned-tiktok-account/).
You will not be able to retrieve anything from your old account. The only record that may remain is TikTok’s internal logs of violations that led to the permanent ban.
You Cannot Log In Anymore
Once your TikTok account is permanently banned, you will no longer be able to log in to access your account. According to TikTok’s Help Center, “If your account is banned, you can log in to the account to submit an appeal and download your personal data.”1 However, this only applies to temporary account suspensions, not permanent bans.
When your account is permanently banned by TikTok, any attempt to log in will fail. The app will display an error message saying your account has been banned due to multiple Community Guidelines violations. Your username and password will be rejected by TikTok’s systems and you will be unable to gain access to your profile, videos, messages, or followers.
TikTok states that if you believe your account was banned incorrectly, you can submit an appeal. However, there is no guarantee that a permanently banned account will be reinstated. The ban is intended to be irreversible in most cases, so logging in will remain impossible unless TikTok decides to overturn the ban after review.
Your Username Becomes Unavailable
When your TikTok account is permanently banned, your username eventually becomes available for someone else to claim. According to TikTok’s inactive account policy, if an account is inactive for 180 days or more, the username associated with that account may become available to register again. This applies to banned accounts as well.
After a permanent ban, you will lose access to your username. However, it will not become available right away. TikTok waits 180 days before releasing an inactive username, even for banned accounts. This waiting period allows banned users a chance to appeal the ban if it was applied incorrectly. It also prevents immediate username squatting.
After 180 days pass, your old username enters TikTok’s username recycling pool. At this point, anyone can attempt to take the username for their own account. According to users on Reddit, the username does indeed get freed up around 6 months after a permanent ban.
So if your account gets permanently banned, you can expect to lose access to your username for good after about 180 days. There is no way to recover or reclaim it once TikTok releases it from your banned account. The username will be up for grabs to any eligible user after that point.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tiktokhelp/comments/z9feq2/will_the_username_get_freed_after_a_ban/
You Cannot Create a New Account
Once your account is permanently banned on TikTok, you will not be able to simply create a new account to start over. TikTok has methods in place to prevent banned users from opening new accounts.
Specifically, when your account is banned, TikTok associates your device ID with the ban. So even if you try to create a new account from the same mobile device or computer you used for your old account, TikTok will detect your device ID and prevent you from making the new account.
According to TikTok’s support page, “We may restrict you from creating new accounts if we find that you are repeatedly violating our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.”1 This restriction applies to both the mobile app and desktop site.
There are some methods people try to get around this, like using a new mobile device or clearing their cookies/data on desktop. But TikTok often still detects the ban evasion attempts and blocks any new accounts.
The only surefire way to create a new TikTok account after a permanent ban is to obtain an entirely new mobile device or computer. Even then, TikTok may be able to identify other markers and prevent additional accounts.
Your Device May Be Blocked
In some cases, TikTok may ban not just your account but also the device you used to access TikTok. This is known as a device ban and prevents you from accessing TikTok from that specific device.
According to this Reddit post, TikTok can implement a device ban if you repeatedly violate community guidelines or terms of service. The device ban restricts you from viewing the For You feed on that device.
As explained in this guide, the only way to lift a device ban is to either get a new device ID or wait 6 months for the ban to expire. However, even after the ban is lifted, any new accounts created on that device may be more prone to getting banned again.
You Lose Your Followers/Following
One of the most noticeable effects of receiving a permanent ban on TikTok is that your follower and following lists are immediately wiped clean. When your account is banned, TikTok completely removes the associations between your account and all other accounts you previously followed or had following you.
According to discussions on Reddit (source), users who are banned report seeing their follower count rapidly decrease to zero as TikTok removes all followers from their account. The accounts that used to follow you no longer show any connection to your banned profile.
Similarly, your following list is erased as your account no longer follows any other users on TikTok after a permanent ban. You essentially have no network on TikTok anymore, with no way to find or contact those you previously connected with.
Losing all of your TikTok followers and following overnight can feel devastating, especially for creators who relied on their audience and connections. However, there is unfortunately no way to recover or contest these losses once your account is permanently banned by TikTok.
You Cannot Contest the Ban
Once your TikTok account is permanently banned, there is no formal appeal process to contest the ban. According to TikTok’s support page, if you believe your account was banned incorrectly, you can submit an appeal by tapping the ‘Appeal’ button in the ban notification. However, for permanent bans, this option is typically unavailable.
TikTok does not provide an email address, web form, or other channel to reach its moderation team to appeal a permanent ban. Without a way to directly contact TikTok support, users have no recourse if they feel their account was banned unfairly or incorrectly. This lack of a proper appeals process is frustrating for users who have invested significant time and effort building up their account only to have it permanently deleted without explanation.
Some users have attempted reaching out on social media or contacting TikTok investors to contest their ban, but these efforts are rarely successful. Overall, once your account is permanently banned on TikTok, there is little you can do to recover it or get the ban reversed.
Options After a Permanent Ban
If your TikTok account is permanently banned, there are limited options available. However, you may be able to restore access in certain cases by contacting TikTok support.
On the ban notification screen, look for the option to “Appeal.” This will open a form where you can provide additional information and context about why you believe the ban was a mistake.
TikTok reviews ban appeals on a case-by-case basis. They take into account factors like whether it was a first offense, if you have multiple accounts, the severity of the violation, and your overall TikTok usage history. However, appeals are not always successful, especially for severe or repeat violations.
You can also try reaching out to TikTok directly via their support contact form. Explain your situation in detail and request they reconsider the ban. However, keep in mind direct appeals rarely overturn permanent bans.
Unfortunately, if the appeal and direct contact efforts fail, there are not many other options. Once an account is permanently banned, TikTok typically will not allow that user to open a new account either.
The best way to avoid a permanent ban is to carefully follow TikTok’s community guidelines. Also make sure any content you produce, share, or interact with on the platform abides by their rules. This will minimize the risk of any violations leading to a banned account.
