Why is My Twitter Account Suspended and How To Unlock It
Well, Twitter is quite fond of suspending accounts. Since you’re here, you’ve likely fallen victim to this because you supposedly broke one of those rules you’ve probably never read since signing up. That’s the situation for most people but sometimes Twitter messes up and hammers down accounts that are totally within their laid down regulations. Whatever the case, you can always make your case and possibly get your account back.
That’s what we’ll be looking at in this article. But before that, here are some reasons why Twitter suspends accounts.
Contents
- Possible Reasons Why Your Twitter Account Is Suspended
- 1. Spamming
- 2. Security Reasons
- 3. Abusive Conduct
- How Can I Recover my Suspended Twitter Account?
- How Long Does it Take for Twitter to Respond to an Account Suspension Appeal?
- Can I Use My Suspended Username as My Twitter Handle?
- In Conclusion
Possible Reasons Why Your Twitter Account Is Suspended
1. Spamming
Spamming can take a wide definition on Twitter – and it’s not always limited to incessantly tweeting the same content. It also includes:
- Following many people within a short period, like say in a single day.
- Tweeting links only
- Using unrelated hashtags in the same tweets
- Replying to a lot of tweets, sending a ton of direct messages, and mentions.
You may want to check your Twitter activity if it’s against any of the above.
2. Security Reasons
Occasionally, Twitter may note some “unusual activity” in your account – like a possible hacking or something like that. So to keep your account from being hijacked, they decide to suspend it until you provide the required verification details.
A suspension isn’t so bad after all.
3. Abusive Conduct
Abuses are generally frowned upon online just as they are offline. Out there, you might get punched in the face but on Twitter, you’ll lose your account as soon as you’re deemed abusive. This will usually be after multiple reports from other users and a closer look at your account by Twitter themselves.
Also, issuing threats will get you the same treatment.
How Can I Recover my Suspended Twitter Account?
Thankfully, a suspension doesn’t always mean your account is doomed. You’ll still have a chance to salvage the situation. Now, while Twitter might be strict on the rules, sometimes all they need from you are a few details. That’s especially true if the reason for the suspension was suspicious activity.
In that case, that’s all you’ll need to get the suspension lifted. You can follow the below steps to unsuspend your Twitter account.
1. Log into your account as you’d usually do. You’ll see a message about your account being suspended.
2. Tap on “verify” to start the process of submitting your details.
3. On the next page, enter your phone number or email address associated with your Twitter account. Twitter will send you a confirmation code after you submit the contact information.
4. Check either your email or phone number for a verification code from Twitter. Enter the code in the required field and click “Submit”.
5. The suspension will be lifted. Since there was a security risk, be sure to change your password just in case.
If you’ve been suspended due to a violation of Twitter’s rules, you can still access your account but its functionality will be limited. You’ll still be able to view your profile information and tweets but you can’t post new tweets nor send replies or direct messages.
The best you can do here is deleting some of your tweets and retweets that might violate any of Twitter’s rules. If you can’t figure out which rules you’ve gone against, then appealing your suspension is the only way to go. And it’s as easy as heading over to https://help.twitter.com/forms/general?subtopic=suspended and filling in the various fields as you deem fit.
The page is in two parts.
The first part is about the problem with the first field asking you where you’re experiencing an issue –you can select the various options from the drop-down menu. The second field offers you a bit more space to explicitly describe your problem and is dubbed “Description of problem”.
The second part of the twitter appeal page is all about your personal info – full name, email address, and phone number.
After you’ve filled the fields, hit submit at the bottom of the page, and wait for a response from Twitter. Any step you take after this point will be dependent on how Twitter responds to your appeal.
How Long Does it Take for Twitter to Respond to an Account Suspension Appeal?
That’ll vary from one user to another. There’s no specific time limit that Twitter adheres to while responding to these types of requests. The best thing you can do is to wait until they get back to you.
Can I Use My Suspended Username as My Twitter Handle?
That’ll depend on whether the suspension is temporary or permanent. If temporary, it’ll obviously be impossible since all the details will still be tied to the account. For permanent suspension, you’ll have to wait for some time before the previous account details clear from Twitter servers.
In Conclusion
So that’s about lifting the suspension on your account. It involves either verifying your identity by providing the required details or filing an appeal. Ultimately, the final decision rests with Twitter.
Faqs
Usually, Twitter will respond in a few hours or a few days, at worst. However, during the current COVID-19 situation, they can take up to a few weeks or even months to unlock the account.07-May-2020
Suspended and deactivated usernames are not immediately available for use, so you’ll need to select a different username.
However, we can say that, on average, the Twitter suspension lasts for around 48 hours in the case of a minor violation of Twitter policies. That’s the time it takes for Twitter to review your account, the phone number you provided, or any other piece of information you use for verification.
“The duration of this enforcement action can range from 12 hours to 7 days, depending on the nature of the violation,” according to the support page. Sometimes Twitter will ask for owners to verify the account to ensure that violators “do not abuse anonymity” on the platform to harass others.11-May-2021
Permanent suspension: This is our most severe enforcement action. Permanently suspending an account will remove it from global view, and the violator will not be allowed to create new accounts.
Conclusion
Twitter is arbitrary in suspending accounts, but they usually do so after a suspicious activity or after someone has reported an account as spamming. The suspension process takes 15 minutes to respond, and appeals are most likely granted if you can provide the required verification information.
