Tech Tips: Facebook Jail - The Basics

Headline as it appeared in the Sheridan County Journal Star, April 2, 2024

So many questions

You’ve either been in it, heard of it, or had friends in it. That’s right, I’m talking about Facebook jail. If you’ve been in it, you know how frustrating it can be. What are the rules? How did you violate them? And most importantly, how can you get out of it so that everything about this social media platform goes back to normal? 

Go here for answers

There’s a great YouTube video called Facebook Jail Explained [Latest Update On Facebook Account Restrictions]. The date of the video is August 6, 2023 but it does seem to offer the latest information. Spoiler alert though: he is going to try to sell you something during the last 45 seconds. I’m not even sure what it is, but here’s what I learned. 

The reason for the handcuffs

Facebook is cracking down on people who are “spammers” (a person that sends irrelevant or unsolicited messages over the internet, according to New Oxford American Dictionary) or helping to create a bad experience on the site. Facebook jail simply means your account has been restricted. Facebook has noticed some kind of activity on your account that they think is suspicious and therefore, you lose some of the ability to do things. You may be restricted from commenting, sending messages, tagging people, or reacting to things, but this is only for a certain period of time. 

How can you tell?

There are ways to tell if you’ve been put in Facebook jail. The easiest is to find the three dots on your profile. By clicking on the dots, you’ll find your Account Status. Here’s where you’ll see if there are any restrictions on your account. If you are in Facebook jail, it will tell you what your offense was and what your restrictions are. You also may receive a notification that tells you that something you’ve done goes against Facebook’s community standards. It usually allows you to agree or disagree with it. You’ll see Disagree with Decision and you can follow the steps to explain what you were doing. In the best scenario, an actual person will review this and let you out of jail. 

Don’t do this though

If you send links in Messenger, you’re more likely to be flagged for spamming and get sent to jail. But, Facebook does recognize that there are many times when they make the wrong decision about putting someone in Facebook jail and therefore, they’ll allow you to disagree with them. 

How long is my sentence?

Most of the time your Facebook restrictions will last 24 to 48 hours. Facebook won’t notify you when you’re free, so checking your Account Status is a great idea. 

This will get you flagged

One of the things that makes Facebook suspicious of you is when you do the same things over and over. Posting the same link to numerous people or sending multiple friend requests are good examples of this.

First offense?

Facebook is notified of these repetitive actions by an algorithm or a person may manually report you. By the way, the amount of time you spend in Facebook jail tends to increase with multiple offenses. If you know why you’ve been sent there, you have to show them you’ve learned your lesson by not repeating that action. If you go to Facebook jail ten times, your restriction time increases each time, up to 30 days, and then your account can be suspended indefinitely. 

Friends don’t let friends go to Facebook jail - if you know of someone who gets sent to jail repeatedly, share the above video or this article with them.