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Threads disabled for a rule violation: what to do in the United Kingdom

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.

Get your free plan and letters

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 United Kingdom

  1. 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. 2. UK GDPR access request (Article 15)

    Cost: Free · Time: 1 month · Deadline: 30 days from the ban

    • Proof of identity if Meta asks for it
    • The date you send it (the one-month clock starts then)

  3. 3. UK GDPR human review (Articles 22A to 22D)

    Cost: Free · Time: 1 month · Deadline: 30 days from the ban

    • The date and wording of the decision
    • Your own account of what happened

  4. 4. ICO complaint if ignored

    Cost: Free · Time: Months

    • A copy of your UK GDPR requests and the dates you sent them
    • Any reply from Meta

  5. 5. Online Safety Act complaint

    Cost: Free · Time: Months

    • Copies of your appeals to Meta and any replies

Deadlines

  • GDPR 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.