Twitter Shadowban Checker
Is @username included in the TwitterShadowban test?
Search Ban
Search Ban
Search Ban completely hides your tweets from Twitter search results, regardless of quality filter settings. This includes hashtag searches, making your content invisible to anyone not already following you. Your tweets won't appear in search results even if someone searches for your exact username or specific keywords from your posts. This severe restriction limits your reach and engagement potential, typically triggered by algorithmic flagging for spam-like behavior or violations of Twitter's terms. Search bans are often temporary for active accounts but can become permanent if flagged behavior continues, effectively silencing your content from broader discovery on the platform.
Search Suggestion Ban
Search Suggestion Ban
Search Suggestion Ban prevents your account from appearing in Twitter's dropdown search suggestions and people search results when users search while logged out. Your account won't be recommended to users typing similar names, though direct username searches may still work. The algorithm considers tie strength, so your account might appear to users with strong connections but remain invisible to others. This subtly limits your growth and discoverability without completely blocking searches. Typically applied to accounts exhibiting bot-like behavior or flagged for potential spam activities, this restriction hinders organic network expansion through Twitter's recommendation system.
Ghost Ban
Ghost Ban
Ghost Ban combines search restrictions with complete invisibility of your reply tweets to other users. Your Twitter experience appears normal - you see your tweets and notifications - but others, especially non-followers, cannot see your replies in conversations. This creates a false sense of engagement where your contributions exist in a parallel Twitter universe visible only to you and close connections. Triggered by excessive tweeting, aggressive following patterns, or spam-like behavior, this isolation severely damages engagement and community building as your conversational contributions reach only a fraction of their intended audience, making you effectively invisible in discussions.
Reply Deboosting
Reply Deboosting
Reply Deboosting hides your replies behind 'Show more replies' barriers when Twitter's algorithms flag potentially harmful behavior. This filtering is personalized and often doesn't affect followers, creating inconsistent visibility. Your replies may require extra clicks to view or be hidden completely from non-followers. The algorithm uses signals like tweet frequency, reply patterns, and user reports to determine restrictions. In severe cases, accounts may be classified as 'offensive,' triggering even stricter visibility limits. This particularly damages accounts relying on reply engagement, as it effectively removes your voice from conversations and limits your ability to interact with the broader Twitter community.
Quality Filter Discrimination (QFD)
QFD—short for Quality Filter Discrimination—is a critical concept tied to Twitter's Quality Filter, a feature that once restricted content visibility on the platform. When enabled, the Quality filter made tweets invisible in the 'Latest' search section—including hashtag results—for accounts affected by QFD. Launched on May 15, 2018, as part of Twitter's 'healthy conversation' project, QFD is often grouped with similar content restrictions like Shadowban, Shadowbanned status, Ban, and Block. Today, the Quality Filter appears to have no practical effect, but users may still be categorized by the underlying algorithm.
Does turning off the quality filter within my notification settings help with Twitter visibility issues?
The Quality Filter in your Twitter notification settings solely controls the notifications you receive, not the visibility of your own tweets. Disabling it is recommended because it lets you access more notifications that would otherwise be hidden—but it won't lift a Shadowban, QFD (Quality Filter Detection) restriction, or make your tweets more visible to others. If you suspect you've been Shadowbanned or hit with QFD, turning off this filter won't resolve the core issue of limited reach.
How do I get into the QFD ban or become Shadowbanned on Twitter?
Engaging heavily with accounts already affected by QFD (Quality Filter Detection) or Shadowban is a key trigger—your account may soon be flagged too, even without personal rule violations. Twitter's algorithm often uses 'guilt by association,' so interacting with Shadowbanned users can lead to your own account being Shadowbanned or placed under QFD restrictions. Unlike a full Ban or Block, these limitations are subtle, but the risk of being categorized with restricted accounts remains high if you interact with them regularly. To avoid this, consider running a Twitter Shadowban test periodically to check your account status.
How do I get out of the QFD ban or remove a Shadowban on Twitter?
German Twitter users affected by QFD tested a method involving an Arabic follow-back botnet: following specific accounts from the botnet generated a surge of new followers unaffected by QFD or Shadowban. By accumulating these legitimate followers, over 30 accounts successfully escaped the QFD restriction—proving 'guilt by association' drives Twitter's classification algorithm. This approach works because it breaks the link to Shadowbanned or QFD-hit accounts, signaling to Twitter your content aligns with its visibility standards. Remember, this isn't a guaranteed fix, but it's a proven strategy for overcoming QFD-related limitations.
Is there a political bias in Twitter's Shadowban, QFD, or Quality Filter practices?
The Quality Filter, QFD, and Shadowban systems appear to disproportionately target conservative and right-wing accounts. Testing over 2,000 contacts of two German left-wing extremist accounts found no QFD-affected accounts that weren't politically right-leaning. Among 509 Twitter accounts of German Parliament members, 14 were Shadowbanned or under QFD—all belonging to the AfD, a German right-wing party. This data suggests bias in how Twitter applies Shadowban and QFD restrictions, using tools like the Quality Filter to limit the reach of specific political viewpoints.
Does QFD or Shadowban only affect hashtags and search? Why is it so harmful?
We can't confirm if QFD (Quality Filter Detection) or Shadowban is limited to hashtags and search—these are just the most visible symptoms of the restriction. Unlike a direct Ban or Block, which are explicit, Shadowbanned accounts face hidden limitations: Twitter may reduce the share of your followers who see your tweets, or exclude your content from trending feeds. This makes Shadowban far more unethical than a transparent Ban—it silences users without notice. The harm lies in Twitter's willingness to use QFD and Shadowban to discriminate against accounts with certain opinions, with potential for even more subtle censorship that only followers can collectively detect. For anyone concerned, a Twitter Shadowban test can help identify if your account is being restricted.