Instagram Appeal System Update - July 2020 🔧

Instagram is adding more measures to combat shitty Appeal Bots - and breaks things in the process.

In May 2020, we reported on how Instagram added more security measures to combat the rise of cash-grab Appeal Bots and other low-end services, promising a quick recovery. Now, Instagram is back to tweaking the hoops people have to go through to shut down automated appeal once and for all.

The new Update (let's call it the Verify-to-Appeal Update 😏) surfaced first at the end of June 2020. At first, it affected mostly users from a few selected Regions (such as Australia) but has now gained traction into the more significant markets such as India, the US, or Europe. Affected users will receive the following message when they try to appeal the account via the official Help Page:

Confirm your account to request a review
Go to Instagram and confirm that it's you before requesting a review

Affected users will not be able to progress beyond that point. If you open the Instagram app on your phone, it greets you with the usual

Your account has been disabled for not following our terms.

And clicking the Learn More button will redirect you to the Appeal Form.

And therein lies the problem, as this semi-locks the account in a limbo state. An endless loop of trying to fill out the Appeal Form and switching to the App to verify you are a human.

Currently, there is no fix for this - Instagram either needs to roll back it's Update or updates it's system and the App accordingly.

Even if you are in a region that has not yet received the Verify-to-Appeal Update, you will not be able to appeal accounts that are in this state. While you can fill out the Appeal form, will receive the code email and can send in your selfie, Instagram will reply you with the following email:

Hi,

If you think your account was disabled by mistake, you can let us know from within the App. Open Instagram, enter your username and password, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Thanks

What's next? ❓

Currently, only waiting on Instagram to either revert the Update or fix what's needed to make it work is what you can do.

If Instagram pulls through with this Update, Appeal Bots will have it a lot harder to function properly (which most of them already don't) as it would

a) require Users to submit their Login Details

b) Access to undocumented features and API of the APP, which has hidden limits that few have mastered to use without Instagram's knowledge. Using these in the wrong way could lead to issues where accounts get perma-banned or deleted if they found to use tools that violate the Terms of Use of the platform.

If you have an account in this state, we would love to chat with you about what we can do in the future. As we are doing all appeals 100% manually, we can also appeal accounts that require the use of the App (once Instagram fixes this ❤) or need any other kind of special treatment.

As always: Stay safe and healthy in these crazy times. 🍷