Instagram disabled for a rule violation: what to do in Canada
What you see: "We disabled your account" with a Disagree button. Can you log in? No. The clock: 180 days to appeal.
First move
Send one appeal in the app. If Meta asks for a video selfie, do it from your usual phone.
Free, no sign-up. It fills in your dates and drafts a letter for each route.
The first hour
Do
- Screenshot the ban screen, Meta's email and any reference number.
- Write down the date and time. The 180-day clock starts there.
- Submit exactly one appeal through one channel.
- Do the ID or video-selfie check from your usual phone and network.
- Check your inbox for Meta security emails and use "revert this change" or "secure my account" if they're there.
- If you can still log in, request Download Your Information right away.
- Tell your audience where to find you: email, other platforms, your website.
Don’t
- Don't open a new account. After a violation ban it breaks Meta's terms, and it usually gets banned too.
- Don't appeal through several forms at once. Duplicate appeals get pushed down the queue.
- Don't use a VPN, a new device or someone else's network.
- Don't file a policy ban as "hacked", or a hack as a policy ban.
- Don't pay anyone who promises recovery or asks for your password or login codes.
- Don't delete linked accounts or Pages in a panic.
Every route open to you in Canada
1. In-app appeal, prepared for you
Cost: Free · Time: Hours to weeks · Deadline: 180 days from the ban
- Your username and the email or phone number on the account
- Screenshots of the ban notice
- If asked, a video selfie taken on the phone you normally use
2. PIPEDA access request
Cost: Free · Time: 30 days · Deadline: 30 days from the ban
- Proof of identity if Meta asks for it
- The date you send it (the 30-day clock starts then)
3. Privacy Commissioner of Canada complaint if ignored
Cost: Free · Time: Months
- A copy of your access request and the date you sent it
- Any reply from Meta
4. Consumer protection office or Competition Bureau complaint
Cost: Free · Time: No set timeline
- Dates of the ban and every appeal
- Records of what the account earns
5. Demand letter to Meta's legal team
Cost: Free, plus postage · Time: Weeks
- Your account's history: how long you've had it and what it earns
- Records of losses since the ban: invoices, cancelled deals, platform payouts
- Copies of every appeal you've sent, with dates
6. Small claims court
Cost: Court fees · Time: Weeks to months
- Your demand letter and proof it was delivered
- Records of every loss you're claiming
- The filing fee for your court
Deadlines
- Privacy access reply dueday 30
- Account can be deletedday 180
Before you do anything
Nobody can buy your account back
Ignore anyone who messages you offering to recover the account, even if they say they work at Meta. Meta never charges to restore an account and never asks for your password or a login code.
In the first hours
Take screenshots of the ban screen and any emails. Don't delete the app, don't log in from new phones, computers or a VPN, and don't change your recovery email or phone.
One appeal per route
Send each appeal once. Repeating it can be treated as spam and doesn't make anyone look sooner. Keep a copy of everything you send, with the date.
Don't open a new account
A new account to get around the ban can be disabled too, and it can count against your appeal. Wait for the outcome of this case.
Only Meta can restore an account, and we can't guarantee it will. Minarva is independent and not affiliated with Meta. This is general information and templates, not legal advice.