Twitter (X) Shadowban Glossary: 37 Terms Defined (2026)
Twitter (X) shadowban glossary: what a ghost ban, search ban and reply deboosting are, plus Under the Hood and read-only mode. 37 terms in plain words.
A shadowban on Twitter (X) is a hidden limit on account visibility: posts, replies or profiles may reach fewer people without a notice. It takes 4 forms: search suggestion ban, search ban, ghost ban and reply deboosting. This glossary defines 37 terms about visibility on X, sorted by letter, each with a short definition.
To test an account instead of reading about it, run the free Twitter (X) shadowban test on any public handle.
What are the 4 hidden restrictions on X?
The 4 hidden restrictions on X are search suggestion ban, search ban, ghost ban and reply deboosting, and an account can have one without the others.
| Restriction | What it hides | Full page |
|---|---|---|
| Search suggestion ban | The account in the dropdown suggestions of the search box | Search suggestion ban |
| Search ban | The account's posts in X search results | Search ban |
| Ghost ban | The account's replies in the conversation they belong to | Ghost ban |
| Reply deboosting | The account's replies, ranked below other replies | Reply deboosting |
Glossary: terms starting with A
Free, no login, results in seconds.
Account label
An account label is a mark X applies to an account as a whole, and some labels can limit visibility. X's Under the Hood report lists the labels applied to an account in a past month, and shows them only to the account's owner.
Audit
A Twitter (X) shadowban audit is a one-time deep read of a public account that names the most likely cause of its reduced reach, shows the evidence behind that cause, and gives an ordered plan to work through. See the Twitter (X) shadowban audit.
Glossary: terms starting with C
Checker
A shadowban checker is a tool that tests from the outside whether X is limiting an account. Our comparison of shadowban checkers shows what each one covers.
Conversation
A conversation, also called a thread, is a post with the replies under it. Readers can sort it in different ways, and the same reply can sit in a different place depending on the sort.
Glossary: terms starting with D
Deboosting
Deboosting on X means ranking a post lower without removing it. A deboosted post is still published, but fewer people see it. The restriction on replies is called reply deboosting.
Default view
The default view of a conversation is the sort order most people read replies in, before they pick another one. It is where reply deboosting shows.
Glossary: terms starting with E
Engagement
Engagement is what readers do with a post: likes, replies, reposts, quotes and bookmarks. A drop in engagement can follow a drop in reach, but it does not prove a restriction.
Glossary: terms starting with F
Following
The Following tab on X shows posts from the accounts you follow. It is a separate feed from For You.
For You
The For You tab on X is its recommendation feed, with posts from accounts you follow and posts X recommends. X publishes parts of the code behind For You recommendations on GitHub, in the xai-org/x-algorithm repository.
Glossary: terms starting with G
What is a ghost ban?
A ghost ban on Twitter (X), also called a thread ban or reply ban, detaches an account's replies from the conversation they belong to. Everyone else sees the thread as usual, and the reply is simply not there. See the ghost ban page.
Government-required content filtering
Government-required content filtering is the name X gives to one cause of limited visibility in its Under the Hood report. Since September 19, 2026, the report says whether an account or its posts were limited for this reason.
Grok
Grok is the AI assistant available inside X. Grok can search X's public posts for your handle, which tests for a search ban, but in its public replies it says it cannot access private account data or labels.
Glossary: terms starting with H
What is a hidden restriction?
A hidden restriction on X is one X applies without telling the account holder: no message appears in the account's own session. The 4 hidden restrictions are search suggestion ban, search ban, ghost ban and reply deboosting. See the 4 restrictions in one guide.
Glossary: terms starting with I
Inauthentic behavior
Inauthentic behavior is activity that X's rules treat as spam-like or automated. X's automation rules apply to every scheduling or growth tool (see the best X growth tools), so keep replies relevant and auto-DMs to people who expect them.
Glossary: terms starting with L
Latest
The Latest tab of X search shows posts in reverse chronological order. Searching from:yourhandle in Latest is the manual test for a search ban.
Locked account
A locked account is one X has locked after too many failed sign-in attempts, or when it flags suspicious activity. X shows the account holder a message, and a lock tied to failed logins typically clears within about an hour.
Glossary: terms starting with M
Monitoring
Shadowban monitoring re-checks an account automatically and sends an email when a restriction starts or lifts. See X shadowban monitoring.
Glossary: terms starting with N
Notice
A notice is a message X attaches to an individual post, for example to flag it as potentially violating X's rules. The account as a whole is not restricted, and the notice shows on the post itself.
Glossary: terms starting with P
Private account
A private account on X, also called protected, shows its posts only to approved followers. Shadowban Radar tests public accounts.
Glossary: terms starting with Q
Quality filter
The quality filter is a setting in X's notification filters. It changes which notifications a person sees, so it is a viewer-side setting, not a restriction on an account.
Glossary: terms starting with R
Reach
Reach is the number of people who see a post or an account's content. Reach drops for many reasons besides a restriction, so measure first. See why views drop on X.
Read-only mode
Read-only mode lets an account browse and, in some cases, use direct messages, while blocking posting, reposting and liking. It is usually temporary, and the account holder sees it when trying to post.
Recommendation code
X's recommendation code is the part of its software that picks posts for the For You tab. X publishes parts of it on GitHub (xai-org/x-algorithm). It covers For You ranking, visibility filtering and labeling, not search or public reply threads.
What is reply deboosting?
Reply deboosting on Twitter (X) means an account's replies are ranked below other replies in the conversation. It is detected when X serves a reply in the conversation read in chronological order but leaves it out of the default view of that same conversation. See the reply deboosting page.
Glossary: terms starting with S
What is a search ban?
A search ban on Twitter (X) removes an account's posts from X search results entirely, even for people who already follow the account and search for exact wording. See the search ban page.
What is a search suggestion ban?
A search suggestion ban on Twitter (X) hides an account from the dropdown suggestions when someone types its handle or name in the search box, even though the profile and posts still exist. See the search suggestion ban page.
Search suggestions
Search suggestions are the dropdown results X shows while someone types in the search box. An account missing from them while its profile opens normally may have a search suggestion ban.
Sensitive media
Sensitive media is media that X shows behind a warning screen to readers who hide sensitive media. In X's published code, account labels for sensitive content hide an account's posts from people who do not follow it (September 2026).
What is a shadowban?
A shadowban on Twitter (X) is a hidden limit on account visibility: posts, replies or profiles may reach fewer people without a notice. See what a shadowban is and how to test for one.
Shadowban Radar
Shadowban Radar is a web app that tells you whether Twitter (X) is quietly limiting the reach of an account.
Shadowban test
Shadowban Radar runs a free Twitter (X) shadowban test on any public account, with no login or password: 4 checks (search suggestion ban, search ban, ghost ban, reply deboosting), a verdict, and a confidence level for each check. Run the test.
Suspended account
A suspended account is one X has taken offline: its profile and posts are unavailable. Unlike a shadowban, a suspension is announced to the account holder.
Glossary: terms starting with T
Temporarily limited
A temporarily limited account is one where X limits certain account functions after detecting behavior that may violate the X Rules. While limited, only followers may see its posts, likes and reposts, and the account can be filtered out of search results and notifications. X shows a countdown.
What is a thread ban?
A thread ban is another name for a ghost ban: the account's replies are detached from the conversation they belong to, and everyone else sees the thread without them.
Glossary: terms starting with U
What is Under the Hood?
Under the Hood is X's official report of the labels that can affect the visibility of your own posts and account in a past month, shown only to you. A month's report comes out about 10 days after the month ends, and only for accounts at least 1 year old with at least 10 posts that month.
See X's Under the Hood.
Glossary: terms starting with V
Views
Views, also called impressions, count how many times a post was displayed. A falling view count alone does not show which restriction, if any, applies.
Glossary: terms starting with X
X Rules
The X Rules are X's published rules for what is allowed on the platform. Behavior that may violate them can lead X to temporarily limit an account.
How can I check an account now?
The free Twitter (X) shadowban test runs the 4 checks on any public account, with no login. For the manual tests, see am I shadowbanned.
For causes and next steps, see how to fix a shadowban on X. For durations, see how long a shadowban lasts. For figures, see X shadowban statistics for September 2026.
