Does X Shadowban Accounts? What X's Own Rules Say (October 2026)
X's Help Center, read October 16, 2026: X calls it restricting reach, lists 5 ways to do it, shows a notice only sometimes, and allows 10 accounts per person.
X does limit the reach of some accounts and posts, and says so in its own rules. It does not call it a shadowban. X's Authenticity policy (April 2025) calls it "Restricting Reach", and X's page on enforcement options calls it "Limiting post visibility". Both list the same 5 ways X can make a post "less discoverable on X".
This guide quotes X's Help Center as read on October 16, 2026, and X's open-source code at commit 92f0918, published October 15, 2026.
Does X admit to limiting reach?
Yes. X's page "Our range of enforcement options" says: "Where appropriate, we will restrict the reach of posts that violate our policies and create a negative experience for other users by making the post less discoverable on X."
X's Authenticity policy puts it in the list of enforcement options for inauthentic behavior, next to suspension. X's open-source README describes the system behind it: "Visibility filtering decides whether a post can be shown at all", separately from ranking.
What is X's official definition of restricting reach?
Free, no login, results in seconds.
X's Authenticity policy gives the full definition:
"Restricting Reach: This may include excluding posts from search results, trends, and recommended notifications, removing posts from the For You and Following timelines, restricting a post's discoverability to the author's profile, restricting likes, replies, reposts, quote posts, bookmarks, share, pin to profile, or edit post, and downranking the post in replies."
That is the most complete description X publishes of what a restriction can do. The page on enforcement options gives the same 5 items as a list.
How do X's words match the restrictions people call a shadowban?
The names people use are not X's. This table is our reading of X's list next to the 4 restrictions Shadowban Radar tests:
| X's words | Name people use |
|---|---|
| "excluding posts from search results" | Search ban |
| "restricting a post's discoverability to the author's profile" | Ghost ban, for replies |
| "downranking the post in replies" | Reply deboosting |
| Not named in X's list | Search suggestion ban |
X's list does not mention the suggestions shown while someone types a name in search. A search suggestion ban is what people observe when an account stops appearing there.
Does X tell you when it limits your reach?
Sometimes. X's page on enforcement options says that "starting in April 2023, posts identified as violating our Rules will begin to receive labels informing both post authors and viewers that we limited the post's visibility." Authors can appeal that label.
X's code shows the other side. Its Under the Hood tool explains 12 account labels in the published code. For 8 of them, the only effect described is: "The account's posts are hidden from recommendations to non-followers." No notice is mentioned. The other 4 involve something the owner notices: a read-only lock, a password reset, a security challenge or a content warning.
Five post labels for rule violations do say "All users can see a label explaining that the post has limited visibility." The labels on accounts that hide posts from non-followers do not.
Why do people call it a shadowban?
Because the account owner usually cannot see it. X shows you your own posts and replies as usual, while other people stop getting them in search, recommendations or conversations. A restriction you cannot see from your own account is what people mean by a shadowban.
X's Under the Hood tool, a pilot, now lists some of the labels applied to your account and posts over the past month. It summarizes the past and does not test what other people see today.
How many accounts can you have on X?
Up to 10. X's Authenticity policy says: "X allows users to create and/or operate up to ten (10) accounts for different, non-duplicative purposes."
The same policy forbids using several accounts to "inflate or manipulate the prominence of content and/or accounts", for example to boost hashtags, and forbids accounts that "post substantially similar or identical content to one another". When a violation centers on multiple accounts, X says: "you may be asked to choose one account to keep. The remaining accounts will be suspended."
Opening a new account to get around a restriction is ban evasion, which the policy also forbids.
How long does X say a restriction lasts?
X does not give a number. Its help page on limited accounts says an account is limited "for a specified time, which varies based on the nature of the violation". Our guide to shadowban durations gives the durations we measure on real accounts.
How do you know whether X restricts your account?
You need to see your account the way other people see it. A free check on Shadowban Radar does that for any public handle, with no login. It tests the 4 restrictions people call a shadowban: search suggestion ban, search ban, ghost ban and reply deboosting. Our glossary defines each term.
Sources
Read on October 16, 2026, on X's Help Center and in the xai-org/x-algorithm repository at commit 92f0918, published October 15, 2026.
- X Help Center, Authenticity policy (April 2025): restricting reach, the 10-account limit, multiple accounts and ban evasion.
- X Help Center, our range of enforcement options: limiting post visibility, labels since April 2023 and appeals.
- X Help Center, locked and limited accounts: the specified time of a limit.
- README.md: ranking and visibility filtering are separate.
- underTheHoodLabels.strato: post labels that show a notice to all users.
- underTheHoodLabels.strato: the 12 account labels and their effects.
Shadowban Radar is not affiliated with X Corp. For the rules that shape reach on every account, see what X's code says about reach.
