“Banned hashtags” in the Profile Analysis section will show you the summary of all the harmful hashtags you have used in your posts so far.

Banned hashtags are the hashtags that Instagram had to put out of action, because posts with them go against Instagram’s guideline too often. Content with these hashtags isn’t displayed normally, and as a result – it has a very limited reach and engagement.

Hashtags may get banned due to different reasons: let’s elaborate on them a bit.

1st group of banned hashtags – hashtags that are clearly against Instagram’s guidelines (they promote violence, nudity, pornography, hate speech)

Hashtags from this group are most often banned permanently – many times even the whole hashtag explore page is out of use. These hashtags will stay banned, no matter what.

2nd group – hashtags that are overrun with SPAM content ( for example: #beautyblogger, #boho)

In this case, the ban isn’t always permanent – sometimes it’s temporary, so these hashtags go back to life, and then… Get banned again. Why? Posts with them are being flagged as ‘spam’ just too often.

3rd group – hashtags that have been reported as inappropriate by other users

Instagram also bans hashtags basing on reports from different users. When the community is reporting that content with particular hashtags infringes the regulations, they see into it, and come to a decision whether they need to ban it or not.

Using banned hashtags can completely ruin your profile’s visibility – so it’s better to scan the safety of your choices (as a quick check right before posting new content, as well as a scan of the posts from your past), and eliminate the bad ones!