If you think about it, Facebook is nothing more than a reflection of a real-life community, with a functioning social fabric made up of electronic versions of people’s selves. That’s why it makes sense for Facebook to create features that also imitate reality. The Marketplace section, for example, makes commercial transactions easily accessible and better-regulated. And Facebook Jail, as its name implies, is the place where all rulebreakers are sent to. Indeed, there will always be lawbreaking in any online community, but Facebook’s responsibility is to regulate the gray areas and make sure no one abuses Facebook systems, therefore making the experience as good as possible for everyone. In today’s article, we’ll define what is Facebook Jail and how to get out of it in case you find yourself trapped there.
What Is Facebook Jail?
Facebook Jail is a term that is used to refer to Facebook’s ability to block or ban users from the site who violate its rules. Suppose you are found to be breaking any of Facebook’s community guidelines, such as engaging in spam activities. There’s a chance that Facebook might suspend your account and block you from accessing the platform. This applies to all accounts, be it personal accounts, work accounts, or even business accounts. There are two kinds of Facebook Jail: temporary and permanent. It doesn’t matter if you’re using your browser, the Facebook app, or the Facebook Messenger Lite app. As long as you commit something that’s against the rules, you can get penalized immediately.
Temporary Suspension
This is the kind of Facebook Jail wherein you are prevented access to your account. Depending on your specific infraction, you might be restricted access to just certain features of your account. Most of the time, temporary blocks happen because of minor offenses that the Facebook system deemed worthy of punishing. This includes posting spam posts or even just sending multiple messages to different people within a short time interval. Moreover, the specific block is typically connected to the activity you were doing. For instance, let’s say that Facebook notices that you are sending a lot of spam messages to random people. You might be blocked from using Messenger chat for two to three days. If you’ve been flagged for posting unnecessary things in a group, you might get temporarily blocked from group activities. And if you’ve been sending a lot of friend requests to strangers, you might be temporarily banned from sending friend requests. That’s right – true to its name, temporary Facebook Jail will only last for a certain period of time. After the time has been served, so to speak, your account will start functioning as it usually does. Take note, though, getting out of this type of Facebook Jail doesn’t mean you’ve been forgiven entirely. You’ll be placed on probation, which means you’ll still be under the system’s strict supervision. More importantly, multiple instances of temporary FB jail time may lead to permanent account deletion. The chance of this becomes higher if you repeat the same mistakes again and again. So, even if it’s only a temporary account or features block, it’s still best to be wary of your actions on the platform.
Permanent Ban
On the other hand, a permanent trip to Facebook Jail means that you are never getting out. This restriction could apply to either your whole account or just specific features. Some people have experienced getting permanently blocked from sending friend requests, even though they can still access the rest of the website. Sadly, when your entire account is permanently blocked, you will never be able to recover your account. In other words, you’ll be banned forever from the site, never able to access your account – ever again. Before you start panicking, though, do keep in mind that this is only reserved for people who commit the most serious offenses, such as engaging in illegal activities, like selling or advertising contraband or hacking into other people’s accounts. For example, suppose you are reported and are found to be posting multiple inappropriate posts to several groups at the same time. In this case, Facebook may slam you with a permanent ban, as you are endangering the experience of others on the platform. Unfortunately, it’s also important to note that since Facebook spam detection is usually automatic, there’s no way for you to contact anyone and appeal for your account to be restored. This means that once you are given this penalty, the punishment is swift and absolute. Again, this decision is irreversible and forever, so unless you want to be banned from your Facebook account forever, it’s always better to stay on the safe side of things.
Why Do People Get Stuck In Facebook Jail?
Facebook has a strict set of community guidelines that can be used to figure out which types of posts are restricted. According to the Facebook Community Standards page, these are the kinds of activities which can put you to Facebook Jail:
Violent and graphic contentDangerous individuals and organizationsAdult nudity and sexual activityCoordinating harm and publicizing crimeSexual solicitationSelling/advertising regulated goodsCruel and insensitive contentFraud and deceptionMisrepresentationSuicide and self-injurySpamChild sexual exploitation, abuse and nudityCybersecuritySexual exploitation of adultsInauthentic behaviorBullying and harassmentFalse newsHuman exploitationManipulated mediaPrivacy violations and image privacy rightsContent violating intellectual property rightsHate speech
Aside from these things, there are other things that could get your account blocked from Facebook. For instance, Facebook usually complies with requests to remove a user’s own account, a family member or executor’s request to delete a deceased person’s account, or a legal representative’s request to remove an incapacitated person’s account. Using any of these accounts without consent, or taking advantage of their online presence, can immediately put you in Facebook Jail. Legal guardians can also opt to have their minor charges removed from the platform. And in some cases, the government can request the removal of imagery depicting child abuse, like images that portray children being beaten, as these are illegal, as well. Offenses are determined not only by Facebook’s automated system, but also by human screeners. Depending on the severity of your offense, you might be sanctioned with either a temporary or permanent ban, as explained above.
How To Get Out Of Facebook Jail
If you are currently in Facebook Jail, we’re sorry to say, but you’re entirely at the mercy of an automated system. Simply put, there’s really nothing you can do but to wait for your punishment to end.
For Temporary Blocks
If you can’t access your account, but you believe that you did not commit a major infraction, then feel free to play the waiting game. Don’t worry, if you’re sure that you did not commit any huge offenses, you will safely get your account back in a few days to a week. You can also try to message Facebook Support to make an appeal, but it typically takes them so long to respond that the block will be over at the same time you get the issue resolved.
For Permanent Blocks
If you’ve been permanently banned, you might as well just give up now. You’ll never be able to recover your account if you’re thrown into permanent Facebook Jail. It’s best to move on and just create another account that doesn’t have any identifying information, like the same mobile number you used on your previous account.
For Partial Blocks
If you’ve only received a partial block, good for you. You’ve managed to avoid being completely in jail. While some features of your account may be temporarily disabled, you’ll still be able to access the rest of your account. Again, you can also try to email Support about this, but it’s usually less of a hassle to just wait it out.
Tips For Waiting It Out
It’s best to behave for now and evenly space out your activities on the platform. Don’t post, comment, or share anything multiple times within a short amount of time. Don’t mass-message the people who are not on your contact list, and don’t send out a large number of friend requests. Most of all, be careful not to ever repeat the same mistake that put you into partial jail. Doing so may end up with you having a fully blocked account.
Once You’re Out Of Facebook Jail
Regardless if you’re temporarily blocked or if only certain features are restricted, the moment you are released from jail, don’t become trigger happy and skirt the boundaries of what is legal again. Being out of jail is like being on probation in real life. On Facebook, if you are just released from jail, your account may be closely monitored by Facebook – your virtual probationary officer – for about a week. And even when you’re fully out of jail, it’s best to err on the side of caution from now on. Just like in the real world, making the same violation over and over could get you slapped with higher and higher penalties. Worse, it may lead to the deletion of your account altogether.
Tips For Staying Out Of Facebook Jail
Just like in real life, you must religiously follow the rules if you want to stay out of prison. On Facebook, this generally means that you avoid doing restricted activities or posting any kind of questionable content that could be flagged as one of the criteria mentioned above. Specifically, though, here are some things that you can do to ensure that you will never even be considered for Facebook Jail.
Post Only Original Content
Copying others or the work of others without attribution or reference leads to several account penalties. If you need to post material that is not yours, give credit to the original owner of the content. This includes using photos for your publications – so make sure to post free royalty-free images from legitimate websites. The same rule applies to other files sent over the platform, such as mp3s, videos, and even links, so it’s better to be constantly wary.
Don’t Fake Your Identity
If you plan on using a fake identity on FB – be warned, the system considers this a serious offense. If you’re a regular user, make sure to use your own photo and include truthful information in your bio. This will help other people open up to you and avoid them tagging you as a potential fake account or even blocking you. Getting blocked by too many people can flag the system and get you thrown in Facebook Jail.
Avoid Unnecessary Tagging
If you tag people, make sure the material is relevant to them. Additionally, avoid adding people to groups without their consent. They might report you for being a spammer. This behavior is considered a serious offense by Facebook standards.
Don’t Do Spammy Activities
Posting a lot of content in a short time period may get you flagged and sent to Jail. In general, you should avoid doing any kind of activity too much within a specific time period. Even sending too many messages to too many people at once can make the system see you as a spammer. Plus, as mentioned above, you can be flagged as a spammer if you send a lot of friend requests to a lot of people. Make sure to add only the people you actually know and space it out to prevent getting thrown into Facebook Jail.
Use A Different Account For Business
Avoid using your personal accounts to do business. If enough people report it, you might be put in FB prison, as this is technically against community guidelines. Reporting something as spam is as easy as several clicks of the mouse on Facebook. Although being reported does not automatically mean Facebook Jail, it does raise your chances if you have a host of accounts sabotaging your every post by continually reporting you to the system. If enough of these accumulate, you can have a problem on your hands.
Use A URL Shortener For Links
Since the Facebook system is fully automatic when detecting spam, the URL you posted may be automatically tagged as spam. Be safe and use a third party shortener service, like bit.ly, to avoid this from happening.
Disable Any Third-Party Apps You’re Not Using
The system may detect unusual activity from your account because of an attached app that is doing things that Facebook disapproves of, like copyright infringement or endangering user privacy. In the early 2010s, for instance, the music-streaming app Grooveshark was banned on Facebook, as well as many other platforms, for allowing its users to illegally stream music. It’s always better be safe than sorry, so disconnect any apps that you don’t trust completely or are no longer actively using.
Understand The Facebook System
Read up on the guidelines and terms and policies, linked above. You never know what common thing you’re doing that is actually forbidden. For example, did you know that it’s not allowed to do any business or business promotions through a personal Facebook account? Or that it’s not allowed to have multiple accounts with identical personal information at the same time? If you didn’t know this, you probably need to take a look at the guidelines.
Now You Know What Facebook Jail Is And How To Stay Out
In this day and age, when our social media presence is an extension of ourselves, being thrown into Facebook Jail is a scary concept to think about. Not only can we potentially lose our account, we may also lose the connections and relationships we have built over the years.
Sadly, hundreds, if not thousands, of people, are thrown into Facebook Jail every day. It’s safe to say that many of them simply didn’t know what they were doing wrong, although, as the saying goes, ignorance of the law excuses no one.
You’re not exempted just because you didn’t know the rules. As a Facebook user, it’s your responsibility to keep yourself informed and up to date on the regulations and policies that you should be following.
Now that we have helped you know just exactly what is Facebook Jail, we hope to never see you in there!
Did you like our article? Don’t forget to share with us your thoughts in the comments below!
I was given a 24 hour temporary suspension for STANDING UP TO A BULLY! Apparently victims are just supposed to take it, and hope the algorithm works to stop them! It clearly doesn’t, seeing as I was forced into a situation that compelled me to stand my ground. And apparently for standing MY ground, I get punished, while the bully gets to go on and torment me AND OTHERS unscathed! It’s sickening! So, now I get a black mark on MY record for defending myself.
A viable competitor needs to be made, or the Facebook monopoly needs broken up, and regulated.
I am now convinced that FB is jailing so many millions of users as a tactic for promoting self-censorship. This is just the beginning.
I was recently in FB jail twice for commenting — ironically and comically — that “men are dumb.” FB called it “hate speech.”
A senior friend of mine who is isolated and relies on FB for her social life was just given a 30-day sentence — her very first “offense” for posting a cute Easter greeting showing tiny toddlers with their rear ends brightly colored like Easter eggs.
I cannot help but see FB as a nefarious actor on the world stage.
Self-censorship starts small. Like the boiling frog. I saw this in my four visits to the old Soviet Union.
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