You type out your perfect caption with hashtags and hit post, but your video gets zero views… what the actual fuck is happening?!
Turns out, TikTok has a secret list of banned and restricted hashtags that they don’t tell you about (:
You can use these tags in your captions, but your video just disappears into the void! No For You Page, no hashtag searches, nothing. This invisible ban list is one of the most frustrating parts of TikTok, not gonna lie. You’re following all the rules you know about, using popular hashtags, and your content still gets buried because you accidentally used a banned tag… And the worst part? TikTok doesn’t warn you or send notifications when you use restricted hashtags. Your video just quietly dies, and you have no idea why!
THE HASHTAGS TIKTOK SECRETLY BANS
TikTok doesn’t publish an official list of banned hashtags, which is complete bullshit if you ask me! They expect creators to just somehow know which tags will destroy their reach. But here’s what we’ve figured out through trial and error:
Completely Banned Hashtags (Permanent)
Some hashtags are banned forever because they’re associated with dangerous content, hate speech, illegal activity, or got completely overrun by spam bots. When you search these tags, you’ll see either zero results or a message saying “no results found” even though people have definitely used them, you know what I mean?
Tags related to drugs, self-harm, violence, adult content, and certain controversial topics are permanently banned. TikTok won’t let these show up in searches at all, and using them will absolutely tank your video’s reach!
Temporarily Restricted Hashtags (The Probation List)
These tags aren’t permanently banned but they’re currently restricted because of recent misuse, spam, or sensitive events. They might’ve been safe last month, but now they’re flagged. The problem is TikTok doesn’t tell you when tags move to the restricted list!
Hashtags can get temporarily banned during trending challenges that go wrong, political controversies, or when spammers flood them with garbage content. Once things calm down, some of these tags get unbanned – but you never know when…
Spam-Associated Hashtags
Tags like #followme, #likeforlike, #follow4follow and similar engagement-bait hashtags are heavily restricted. TikTok hates this shit because it’s manipulative and spammy! Using these tags makes you look like a bot trying to game the system. Even innocent-looking tags can be spam-associated if they get overused by fake accounts or in unrelated content.
Hashtags That Seem Fine But Aren’t
This is where it gets really annoying! Sometimes normal, everyday hashtags get flagged for weird reasons. Maybe they accidentally match something inappropriate, or they’re similar to banned tags, or TikTok’s AI just makes a mistake. Either way, your content suffers…
Popular hashtags can also get temporarily restricted if a ton of guideline-violating content uses them at once. Your video might be perfectly fine, but if 1000 other people used the same tag for bad content, you all get punished together. That’s some extra bullshit right there!
How to Check if a Hashtag is Banned
Since TikTok won’t tell you which hashtags are banned, you gotta do detective work yourself. Here’s how to figure out if a tag is safe:
SEARCH THE HASHTAG BEFORE USING IT – Open TikTok and type the hashtag into the search bar. If it shows zero results or says “no results found” even though it’s a common tag, it’s probably banned! If you see very few recent videos (like under 100 when it should have thousands), it’s likely restricted.
LOOK FOR WARNING MESSAGES – Some banned hashtags trigger a specific warning that says something like “This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines.” That’s TikTok’s way of saying “don’t use this shit” without actually banning it from searches. If you see that warning, steer clear of the tag even if you can technically still type it!
CHECK THE VIEW COUNT – Hashtags should have view counts next to them. If a seemingly popular tag shows 0 views or suspiciously low numbers, it’s been flagged. Compare it to similar hashtags to see if the numbers make sense.
TEST WITH A SECONDARY ACCOUNT – If you’re not sure about a hashtag, post a test video using it from a secondary account or a friend’s account. Check if the video appears under that hashtag when you search from a different device or account that doesn’t follow you! If your test video doesn’t show up in hashtag searches, you know that tag is killing your visibility.
MONITOR YOUR ANALYTICS – After posting, check your video analytics. Look at “traffic source types” – if your For You Page impressions are near zero and hashtag views are non-existent, one of your tags probably got flagged! Go back and figure out which one by process of elimination.
Categories of Problematic Hashtags (AVOID THESE)
Let me break down the types of hashtags that will absolutely wreck your reach:
- Drug and substance-related tags – Anything related to illegal drugs, prescription medication misuse, or substances is banned. Even slang terms and coded language get caught!
- Self-harm and suicide-related hashtags – Tags referencing self-injury, eating disorders, suicide, or mental health crises are restricted or banned. TikTok redirects these searches to crisis resources instead of showing content!
- Sexual and adult content tags – Obviously anything explicitly sexual or pornographic is banned. But even milder tags that could be interpreted as suggestive get restricted.
- Hate speech and extremism – Hashtags promoting racism, violence, terrorism, or hate groups are permanently banned. This includes coded language and dog whistles that extremist groups use.
- Dangerous challenges and trends – When viral challenges involve risky behavior or have caused injuries, TikTok bans the associated hashtags. Remember the Tide Pod challenge? Yeah, those tags are gone forever.
- Spam and engagement bait – Tags like #followforfollow, #likeforlike, #follow4follow, #f4f, #l4l, #gainparty, #followtrain – all this garbage is restricted!
- Misleading health and medical tags – Hashtags promoting fake cures, anti-vaccine content, dangerous dieting advice, or medical misinformation get banned fast.
What Happens When You Use Banned Hashtags
Using restricted or banned hashtags doesn’t get you banned from TikTok entirely (usually), but it absolutely destroys your content’s reach:
YOUR VIDEO GETS SHADOWBANNED – The most common result is a shadowban where your content stops appearing on the For You Page and in hashtag searches. Your followers can still see it on your profile, but discovery is dead. New people won’t find your content, which kills growth! Shadowbans from banned hashtags typically last 24-48 hours for minor offenses, but repeated violations can extend it to weeks or even become permanent…
ZERO HASHTAG IMPRESSIONS – Even if your video gets some For You Page views, the hashtag traffic will be zero. When you check analytics, you’ll see that nobody found your video through the hashtags you used! That’s because TikTok blocked your video from appearing under those tags.
REDUCED OVERALL REACH – Using banned tags signals to TikTok’s algorithm that you might be posting guideline-violating content or trying to manipulate engagement. This can reduce your entire account’s reach, not just that one video. Future videos might also get less distribution because your account is now flagged as suspicious!
CONTENT GETS STUCK “UNDER REVIEW” – Sometimes videos with banned hashtags get flagged for manual review. They’ll show as “processing” or “under review” for hours or days while TikTok’s moderation team checks them. By the time they approve it (if they do), the algorithm window has closed and your video is dead on arrival…
ACCOUNT REPUTATION DAMAGE – Repeatedly using banned hashtags builds up a bad reputation with TikTok’s algorithm. Even after your current shadowban lifts, your account might continue getting less reach because the system remembers your violations! It’s like having a criminal record that follows you around.
How to Fix Hashtag-Related Shadowbans
If you already got shadowbanned because of bad hashtags, here’s how to recover:
1. Delete or Edit the Flagged Videos
Go through your recent posts and remove any videos that used banned or restricted hashtags. You can either delete them entirely or edit the captions to remove the problematic tags. Editing is better because deleting everything looks suspicious to TikTok!
2. Stop Posting for 48-72 Hours
Take a break from posting new content. This gives TikTok’s algorithm time to reassess your account and lift the shadowban! I know it sucks to pause when you’re trying to grow, but posting more content during a shadowban just wastes your efforts. And if you’re dealing with other issues like drafts disappearing, fix those problems during this break too…
3. Clear Your Cache
Go to Settings → Free up space → Clear cache. This removes old data that might be holding flags against your account. It won’t fix everything instantly, but it helps reset things on your end!
4. Post Clean Content with Safe Hashtags
When you start posting again, use only verified safe hashtags. Stick to broad, popular tags that definitely aren’t banned. Build your account’s reputation back up with consistently good content that doesn’t trigger any flags.
5. Engage Authentically
Spend time watching full videos, leaving genuine comments, and interacting naturally with other creators. This authentic engagement tells TikTok you’re a real person, not a spam bot. It helps rebuild trust with the algorithm faster!
6. Check External Links
Sometimes shadowbans aren’t just from hashtags – suspicious external links can also trigger restrictions. Remove any sketchy links from your bio or videos. And if you’re having trouble with two-factor authentication not sending codes, that could also be related to account flags…
Best Practices for Safe Hashtag Use
Research before using trending hashtags – Just because a hashtag is trending doesn’t mean it’s safe! Check what kind of content is using that tag before you jump on it. If the trend involves risky behavior or controversial topics, stay away even if it’s popular.
Use 3-5 relevant hashtags max – Don’t spam 30 hashtags on every video. TikTok’s algorithm prefers quality over quantity! Use 3-5 highly relevant tags that accurately describe your content. This looks more organic and reduces the chance of accidentally using a banned tag.
Avoid generic spam hashtags – Never use tags like #followme, #likeforlike, #viral, #fyp (yes, even #fyp can be problematic sometimes), #foryou, or any engagement-bait variations. These scream “I’m trying to manipulate the algorithm” and TikTok hates that shit!
Create niche-specific hashtag lists – Build a collection of safe hashtags in your niche that you’ve tested and verified. Keep this list updated and rotate through different combinations. This way you’re not constantly risking new, potentially banned tags.
Monitor your hashtag performance – Check your analytics after every post to see which hashtags drove traffic. If a tag consistently gives you zero impressions, stop using it – it’s probably restricted. Learn which tags work for your content and stick with those!
Stay updated on TikTok’s guidelines – TikTok updates their banned hashtag list regularly, especially during major events or when new dangerous trends emerge. Check their Community Guidelines every month or so to stay current.
Common Myths About Banned Hashtags
MYTH: TikTok tells you when hashtags are banned.
WRONG! TikTok almost never warns you about banned hashtags. They just let your content die silently. The only time you might get a heads up is that vague “may be associated with violating content” message, and even that doesn’t appear for all restricted tags.
MYTH: Using banned hashtags gets your account deleted.
Not usually. Banned hashtags mostly cause shadowbans or reduced reach. Your account won’t get terminated unless you’re repeatedly violating serious guidelines like posting illegal content or hate speech! But your growth will absolutely suffer from hashtag bans…
MYTH: You can appeal banned hashtag restrictions.
There’s no appeal process for hashtag-related shadowbans. You can’t message TikTok support and say “hey, I used #followme by accident, please lift my shadowban.” You just have to wait it out and post better content going forward!
MYTH: Banned hashtags are the same across all regions.
Actually, some hashtags are banned or restricted in specific countries but allowed in others. TikTok adjusts its moderation based on local laws and cultural sensitivities. What’s fine in the US might be banned in other regions and vice versa.
MYTH: Hiding hashtags in comments avoids detection.
Some creators think putting hashtags in the first comment instead of the caption tricks TikTok. NOPE! TikTok scans comments too. Banned hashtags in comments will still hurt your reach. There’s no sneaky workaround here, motherfuckers…
What You Need to Do Right Now
TikTok’s invisible banned hashtag list is one of the platform’s most frustrating features. They punish you for using restricted tags but don’t tell you which tags are restricted – it’s complete bullshit!
The only way to protect yourself is by researching hashtags before using them, monitoring your analytics closely, and staying updated on TikTok’s ever-changing rules. Test tags in searches, check for warning messages, and pay attention to view counts. Avoid obvious spam tags like #followme and engagement bait, stay away from controversial topics unless that’s genuinely your niche, and never assume a trending hashtag is automatically safe.
If you get shadowbanned from banned hashtags, stop posting immediatly, clean up your recent content, and give TikTok’s algorithm time to forgive you. Then come back with safe, verified hashtags and rebuild your reach slowly. The hashtag game on TikTok is annoying as hell, but understanding how it works gives you a huge advantage over creators who keep getting shadowbanned without knowing why.
Now go audit your hashtags and stop accidentally killing your own reach 🙂
Share this with every TikTok creator you know who’s confused about why their videos suddenly stopped getting views!