🙅🏻⛔ Banned Instagram Hashtags and how to find them yourself (Updated 2020)

Bots, spammers and trolls - Whether it is a comment from a foreign account saying “very nice photo” for the 67th time or the ever-so-popular, non-convincing sales pitch of “Good content! DM me personally, let’s talk”, bots seem to be taking over Instagram.

Due to a rise in activity that is false and fake accounts, Instagram is fighting back. They are implementing more and more methods to capture bots. Most recently, a few of these changes have included tracking unauthorized program usage, targeting Instagram users who publish duplicate articles and hashtags, and also the most terrifying - shadow banning accounts.

Even though this is a great way to get rid of junk, Instagram’s bot detection approaches are beginning to cause issues for the Users and Accounts.

Yes, we’re talking about hashtags that are prohibited.

Just what are Instagram prohibited hashtags?

Of course, most of us know that using hashtags can increase the reach of your posts on social media. But, what many people don’t understand is that using the erroneous hashtags can hurt engagement. Why? Because Instagram is flagging your accounts for spam.

Simply: Hashtags get banned to lower the reach of non-legit Instagram Accounts.

What happens when I use banned Instagram Hashtags?

Many are permanent, While some hashtags have a ban. If you employed these prohibited hashtags and, what happens? You risk your account viewing a dramatic decrease in participation, getting your account briefly shadow banned or worse.

The hashtag #happythanksgiving was totally overrun with spam - and has been banned. From here on out, if you employ the hashtag #happythanksgiving, not only will your articles not show up for that hashtag, you may also be flagged for spam. The use of hashtags, leading into your account to flags, could lead to the Instagram shadowban or accounts elimination.

How can I know if a Hashtag is banned?

Obviously, to avoid these hashtags, you need to know that tags are prohibited. How is anyone supposed to know #happythanksgiving is viewed as spam?

Essentially, there is absolutely no one source that can address this problem for you. Since the banned hashtags change daily, it’s your responsibility to check all hashtags and do your study before including them in a post.

To determine which tags are prohibited, search for a hashtag in the search bar, on Instagram. Scroll through the images, after clicking the hashtag. If you reach an end-point with a message stating Recent posts from #happythanksgiving are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines. Then it’s banned.

Banned Instagram Hashtags 2020

Onto the vital information. Although there are far too many hashtags to record, we’ll skip the X-rated hashtags and move on to the surprising,
"Why did they ban that one?" hashtags.


Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “A”

  • #adulting
  • #alone
  • #always
  • #americangirl
  • #armparty
  • #asia
  • #attractive

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “B”

  • #babe
  • #bbc
  • #beautyblogger
  • #beautydirectory
  • #besties
  • #beyonce
  • #bikinibody
  • #boho
  • #books
  • #brain

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “C”

  • #costumes
  • #cpr
  • #curvy
  • #curvygirls

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “D”

  • #date
  • #dating
  • #desk
  • #direct
  • #dm
  • #dogsofinstagram

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “E”

  • #easter
  • #edm
  • #eggplant
  • #elevator

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “F”

  • #fishnets
  • #fitnessgirls
  • #followforfollow

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “G”

  • #girlsonly
  • #gloves
  • #goddess
  • #graffitiigers

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “H”

  • #happythanksgiving
  • #hardworkpaysoff
  • #hawks
  • #hotweather
  • #humpday
  • #hustler

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “I”

  • #ig
  • #ilovemyinstagram
  • #instababy
  • #instamood
  • #instasport
  • #iphonegraphy
  • #italiano

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “K”

  • #kansas
  • #kickoff
  • #killingit
  • #kissing

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “L”

  • #141
  • #lean
  • #leaves
  • #like
  • #likeback
  • #likeforlike
  • #lingerie
  • #livinforalivin
  • #loseweight
  • #lulu

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “M”

  • #master
  • #mileycyrus
  • #milf
  • #mirrorphoto
  • #models
  • #mustfollow

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “N”

  • #newyears
  • #newyearsday
  • #nudity

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “O”

  • #overnight

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “P”

  • #parties
  • #popular
  • #pornfood
  • #prettygirl
  • #publicrelations
  • #puppydogmondays
  • #pushups

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “R”

  • #rate
  • #ravens

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “S”

  • #saltwater
  • #samelove
  • #selfharm
  • #single
  • #singlelife
  • #skateboarding
  • #skype
  • #snap
  • #snapchat
  • #snowstorm
  • #sopretty
  • #stranger
  • #streetphoto
  • #stud
  • #sunbathing
  • #swole

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “T”

  • #tag4like
  • #tagsforlikes
  • #tanlines
  • #tgif
  • #todayimwearing
  • #treasurethesemoments

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “U”

  • #undies

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “V”

  • #valentinesday

Banned Instagram Hashtags that start with “W”

  • #woman
  • #womancrushwednesday
  • #women
  • #workflow
  • #wtf
Recap Team

Recap Team