Instagram has been acting kind of glitchy these days. And while minor issues are tolerable, if reports are to be believed, it’s restricting accounts left, right, and center in 2025. On forums, I have found several reports of the We added a restriction to your account Instagram issue.
Upon further research, it seems that most of the affected users hadn’t performed any actions that violated Instagram’s guidelines, at least the common ones. So, why is Instagram restricting your account and what’s the way forward? Let’s find out!
Why did Instagram restrict my account?
- Instagram detected suspicious activity, say following a ton of accounts within a short span or repeatedly editing the bio.
- Your followers increased exponentially in a short period.
- You liked or commented on too many posts in a small interval.
- You allowed a follower-tracking app access to your Instagram account. Data scraping, if detected, can lead to account restrictions on Instagram.
- Your action violated Instagram’s guidelines.
- Instagram inadvertently restricted your account.
Table of Contents
How can I recover from the “We added a restriction to your account” Instagram issue?
1. Log out and then sign back into Instagram
As surprising as it may sound, the quickest solution to getting rid of the We added a restriction to your account Instagram message is to simply log out of your account and then sign back in after a few minutes. This trick has reportedly worked for a lot of users, as confirmed in this Reddit thread.
To sign out of Instagram, open the app, tap on the hamburger icon (☰) near the top right corner > scroll down to the bottom > tap on Log out > proceed with it > terminate Instagram > relaunch the app > sign back into your account > check for improvements.
2. Remove embedded links from new accounts
Another surprising solution for “We added a restriction to your account” on Instagram: Remove all links from the bio, especially any created using Linktree, if yours is a new account.
This has been confirmed in several forums and helps get rid of the “Try again later: We restrict certain activity to protect our community” Instagram dialog box. So, you must give it a try!
On the other hand, on AIRespondsBlog’s Instagram page, I have had links since day one and never faced any issues. Perhaps it’s because I verified the account post-registration, as Instagram suspended my account right after sign-up for no apparent reason.
3. Change your profile picture or account password
Changing the account password or profile picture is another trick that worked out for a lot of users who had restrictions placed on their Instagram accounts.
This, I believe, works when Instagram detects security issues or unauthorized access to your account. And when you change the password, the root cause is eliminated, forcing Instagram to lift the restrictions. The same also helps when Instagram says Your request is pending while following accounts.
4. Don’t allow third-party apps to access Instagram
If you recently installed an app to track follower count or activity, it may lead to Instagram restricting your account, applying a shadow ban, or even suspending it.
Here, there’s nothing you can do except wait for the restrictions to be auto-lifted after the mentioned period. Instagram account restrictions usually last 24 hours to a month. However, in rare cases, I have seen restrictions being applied for as long as a year.
So, be cautious about which apps or websites you allow access to your Instagram data. This is termed as data scraping and is clearly a violation of policies, as outlined on Instagram’s official website.
Don’t forget to unlink your profile from the app that triggered the Instagram account restriction in the first place. Doing so will prevent any future restrictions. Otherwise, your account stands the chance of being suspended forever. Linking third-party apps may also lead you to a situation where your Instagram account automatically follows random profiles!
5. Raise an appeal against the restriction
If the previous solutions didn’t work, you can appeal against the restrictions to Instagram and hope for a quick resolution. For some mobile phones, shaking the phone when you see the “We added a restriction to your account” Instagram issue takes you to the page where you can lodge a complaint.
If that doesn’t work, appeal against Instagram restriction via the app’s interface. To do that, open Instagram > go to your profile > tap the hamburger icon ((☰)) > scroll down and select Account Status > choose Features that you can’t use > select the feature that’s restricted on your account > appeal against it.
6. Contact Instagram/Meta support
When nothing else works, the last option is to contact Instagram/Meta support. While I wouldn’t call their support team the most responsive, it’s your last chance to recover the Instagram account from restrictions after exhausting other solutions.
Now that I have listed all possible solutions, both from personal experience and that of other users, it shouldn’t be a challenge to unrestrict your Instagram account.
It’s also vital to mention that restrictions can be placed on any user activity or action, say liking or commenting on other posts, going live, or even advertising.
In the last case, you will get this message: “We added some restrictions to your account. Your Instagram account is restricted from advertising.” And you will not be able to boost Instagram posts. Speaking of it, don’t boost Instagram posts via the iOS app and save 30%.
If you are an active Instagram user, read my review of AI Chats/Characters on Instagram. It covers every aspect of the feature, including some valid criticism and future predictions.
Before you leave, share what helped you unrestrict the Instagram account in the comments section below.
