Instagram's New Account Disable Policy Is No Joke, So Watch What You Post

Instagram is taking serious steps to make sure its online community is safe, and its latest update is important. If you're currently a member of the epic photo-sharing platform, then you're probably familiar with its rules for disabling accounts. In short, the company has always had the power to remove accounts that contained a certain amount of "violating content" (more about that later, though). However, Instagram's new account disable policy takes its OG precautions to a whole new level.

Let's take it from the top. In case you missed it, Instagram has the ability to remove accounts that include a "certain percentage of violating content," per the company. That "violating content" could be photos or videos that interfere with Instagram's Community Guidelines or Terms of Use. For reference, the Community Guidelines insist that users avoid posts that include topics like nudity, drug sales, bullying, and more. The Terms of Use, on the other hand, involve certain rules that members must follow in order to own an Instagram account. Got it? Good.

Now, Instagram is taking its disabling policy one step further. According to a July 18 blog post by the company, IG will disable accounts that include a "certain number of violations" within a select time frame. The social media platform is keeping hush about how long that time frame is, to prevent people from "gaming the system," but tells Elite Daily by email that users can appeal the move, and will be given the opportunity when they're notified that their account has been disabled.

With that being said, it's probably a good idea to reread those Community Guidelines and Terms of Use before you start posting again.

If you're worried about your account being disabled on the fly, don't fret. Thanks to a new update by the platform, Instagram will send notifications to users whose accounts are at risk of being removed. Therefore, if you get a notification that says "Your Account May Be Deleted," it's probably a good time to rethink your posting habits. But if you're following the Community Guidelines and Terms of Use, you probably don't have anything to worry about.

If your account is at risk of being removed, the notifications that you'll receive will look like this:

As you can see, there are two types of notifications that you might receive. One of them alerts you when one of your posts has been deleted after violating the company's guidelines, and the other warns against sharing another troublesome post. It says that if you do, your account might be removed.

However, there is another way to appeal a disabled account if you think IG made a mistake, and you can find out how to do it on the company's Help Center webpage. According to Instagram, you'll have to open the app and try to sign in like you usually would. Then you'll be able to to follow the instructions that'll appear on your screen. Apparently, you can also appeal posts that've been deleted from your account. If Instagram agrees with you, it'll bring them back onto your page.

To avoid these worries, go ahead and refresh yourselves on Instagram's Community Guidelines and Terms of Use. Then, you'll know exactly what kind of content you shouldn't be sharing on your grid.