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> All big tech companies have this "trigger happy" approach to closing down accounts. After years, I made my first Instagram post last week. I got instantly ba

> All big tech companies have this "trigger happy" approach to closing down accounts. After years, I made my first Instagram post last week. I got instantly banned (it was a picture of a new bag I bought). Apparently the way to get it back is to jump through some hoops and post a selfie with an OTP. I decided that’s a bit much work and I might as well let them delete my account that only follows a bunch of people I know without ever looking at their pictures.

withinboredom 3y ago
And the funny part is their metrics will count you as a “spammer” so it will positive-feedback-loop into even less stringent signals.
quitit 3y ago
In some circumstances, Facebook's app will randomly block you from certain sub-features and request an ear-to-ear scan of your face to unblock them. It's bonkers, and clear how they go about obtaining their data.
TrackerFF 3y ago
I think the dormant accounts problem is legit though - I've lost count how many "dead" accounts I've seen on both my FB and IG feed, that have suddenly become hi-jacked, and start spamming stuff.
- Semaphor 3y ago
  Yeah, but in that case it would not be a single picture. And apparently their detection system on the FB side is incapable of blocking new accounts that instantly start friending hundreds of completely unrelated people and posting porn, something that should be pretty easy to detect.
unreal37 3y ago
If you attempt to use a credit card that you haven't used in years, the bank will similarly ask you to verify your identity. I don't think it's weird that unused valuable accounts need re-identification when you start to use them again. I don't mind anti-spam measures in cases which are common spam techniques. Hijacking unused accounts is common enough to warrant an approach like this.
- comboy 3y ago
  But instagram is not a bank. I understand not wanting yet another company to have my photo (which nowadays is pretty much knowing who you are) + phone number. Plus it shouldn't require personal identification to post a photo online, especially given how easy it has became to filter out illegal content automatically.
  - tinus_hn 3y ago
    Both sides are reasonable, a common form of spam uses hacked accounts that have grown organically, the normal way, and have then been abandoned. Because they have been used the normal way they are ranked higher than accounts created by bots. So it isn’t that strange that the account is flagged if it suddenly starts posting and the first post is some product. It’s also reasonable not to want to provide Instagram not to have too much information because after all it is Meta, however it’s debatable whether sharing a photo with a photo sharing service is too much information.
    - Beldin 3y ago
      > > I might as well let them delete my account that only follows a bunch of people I know without ever looking at their pictures. > Both sides are reasonable, a common form of spam uses hacked accounts that have grown organically, the normal way, and have then been abandoned. That does not seem to be the case here. When it comes to money, sure, take caution. When it comes to a dozen-or-so followers+followees, abandoned a decade ago with hardly any posts... congratulations, your marketing efforts or network effects were successful and they're back. Now stop trying to steal their personal data under the guise of "security". If you must, feel free to make a password recovery via their emergency mail or something, but don't try to steal personal data.
      - tinus_hn 3y ago
        If you want to complain, complain about Meta abusing recovery mechanisms for spam. The rest just doesn’t work; the accounts get hacked using the recovery mechanism because the email accounts get hacked or expire and they get used for spam.
dcormier 3y ago
Several years ago I created an account there and it was banned before I even logged in. I appealed but never heard anything. I never figured out why was it was banned. I couldn’t find anything offensive in the name. At least, not in English (the only language I know).
throwaway2990 3y ago
I signed up on Instagram just after Facebook bought it. Before the accounts merged. Never posted anything. Never liked anything. Never commented. 5 years later I go to login. Account is banned.
throwaway290 3y ago
Did you use any tags in your post? And which tags if you did? Keep in mind that other users can report. If your bag appears in my timeline by misusing a tag I'm subscribed to it's an insta-report because man you can't imagine how many spammers there are pushing dropshipped goods from China. And even if no one reported you if you don't have 2fa etc I'd say it's reasonable for FB to assume your (IG) account was sold, hacked or swapped.
- Semaphor 3y ago
  Not sure about IG, but my FB account has a yubikey. The only tag was the brand of the bag
  - throwaway290 3y ago
    I see, if IG is linked to FB login then I guess that's bad and/or broken on their part. Because it implies you log in via FB login I suppose? (I don't connect my account)
    - Semaphor 3y ago
      > Because it implies you log in via FB login I suppose? (I don't connect my account) I have no idea, and I can’t check any more :D I have not had to login since I last reinstalled my computer last year, the session simply continued.

withinboredom 3y ago

And the funny part is their metrics will count you as a “spammer” so it will positive-feedback-loop into even less stringent signals.

quitit 3y ago

In some circumstances, Facebook's app will randomly block you from certain sub-features and request an ear-to-ear scan of your face to unblock them. It's bonkers, and clear how they go about obtaining their data.

TrackerFF 3y ago

I think the dormant accounts problem is legit though - I've lost count how many "dead" accounts I've seen on both my FB and IG feed, that have suddenly become hi-jacked, and start spamming stuff.

Semaphor 3y ago
Yeah, but in that case it would not be a single picture. And apparently their detection system on the FB side is incapable of blocking new accounts that instantly start friending hundreds of completely unrelated people and posting porn, something that should be pretty easy to detect.

unreal37 3y ago

If you attempt to use a credit card that you haven't used in years, the bank will similarly ask you to verify your identity. I don't think it's weird that unused valuable accounts need re-identification when you start to use them again. I don't mind anti-spam measures in cases which are common spam techniques. Hijacking unused accounts is common enough to warrant an approach like this.

comboy 3y ago
But instagram is not a bank. I understand not wanting yet another company to have my photo (which nowadays is pretty much knowing who you are) + phone number. Plus it shouldn't require personal identification to post a photo online, especially given how easy it has became to filter out illegal content automatically.
- tinus_hn 3y ago
  Both sides are reasonable, a common form of spam uses hacked accounts that have grown organically, the normal way, and have then been abandoned. Because they have been used the normal way they are ranked higher than accounts created by bots. So it isn’t that strange that the account is flagged if it suddenly starts posting and the first post is some product. It’s also reasonable not to want to provide Instagram not to have too much information because after all it is Meta, however it’s debatable whether sharing a photo with a photo sharing service is too much information.
  - Beldin 3y ago
    > > I might as well let them delete my account that only follows a bunch of people I know without ever looking at their pictures. > Both sides are reasonable, a common form of spam uses hacked accounts that have grown organically, the normal way, and have then been abandoned. That does not seem to be the case here. When it comes to money, sure, take caution. When it comes to a dozen-or-so followers+followees, abandoned a decade ago with hardly any posts... congratulations, your marketing efforts or network effects were successful and they're back. Now stop trying to steal their personal data under the guise of "security". If you must, feel free to make a password recovery via their emergency mail or something, but don't try to steal personal data.
    - tinus_hn 3y ago
      If you want to complain, complain about Meta abusing recovery mechanisms for spam. The rest just doesn’t work; the accounts get hacked using the recovery mechanism because the email accounts get hacked or expire and they get used for spam.

dcormier 3y ago

Several years ago I created an account there and it was banned before I even logged in. I appealed but never heard anything. I never figured out why was it was banned. I couldn’t find anything offensive in the name. At least, not in English (the only language I know).

throwaway2990 3y ago

I signed up on Instagram just after Facebook bought it. Before the accounts merged. Never posted anything. Never liked anything. Never commented. 5 years later I go to login. Account is banned.

throwaway290 3y ago

Did you use any tags in your post? And which tags if you did? Keep in mind that other users can report. If your bag appears in my timeline by misusing a tag I'm subscribed to it's an insta-report because man you can't imagine how many spammers there are pushing dropshipped goods from China. And even if no one reported you if you don't have 2fa etc I'd say it's reasonable for FB to assume your (IG) account was sold, hacked or swapped.

Semaphor 3y ago
Not sure about IG, but my FB account has a yubikey. The only tag was the brand of the bag
- throwaway290 3y ago
  I see, if IG is linked to FB login then I guess that's bad and/or broken on their part. Because it implies you log in via FB login I suppose? (I don't connect my account)
  - Semaphor 3y ago
    > Because it implies you log in via FB login I suppose? (I don't connect my account) I have no idea, and I can’t check any more :D I have not had to login since I last reinstalled my computer last year, the session simply continued.