How Long Do Strikes Last? Strikes on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat

A strike is an app's record that something you posted broke its rules. Each app keeps that record its own way: how long a strike lasts, how many it takes to lose the account, and what you can't do in the meantime. This guide sticks to what YouTube, TikTok, Meta (Instagram and Facebook) and Snapchat say on their own pages, as read in October 2026, and notes where they say nothing. It is general information, not legal advice.

The short answer

YouTube: a warning, then three strikes in 90 days

The warning. YouTube says "the first violation is typically only a warning." If you take the optional policy training, the warning expires 90 days later, and "The 90-day period starts from when the training is completed, not when the warning is issued." Breaking the same policy again inside that window can turn it into a strike. Not every warning comes with a training (Strike basics).

Strike 1 freezes your channel for one week. You can't upload videos or live streams, start a scheduled live stream, schedule a video to go public, create a Premiere, "Create custom thumbnails or posts," or create and edit playlists. Anything you had scheduled to go public is set to private for that week, and you have to reschedule it. "After the 1-week period, we restore full privileges automatically, but the strike remains on your channel for 90 days."

Strike 2 in the same 90 days: "you will not be allowed to post content for 2 weeks."

Strike 3: "3 strikes in the same 90-day period may result in your channel being permanently removed from YouTube." Each strike runs for 90 days from the day it was issued.

The same page adds:

• "Deleting your content doesn't remove a strike. We may also issue a Community Guidelines strike on deleted content."
• "Sometimes a single case of severe abuse will result in channel termination without warning."
• A second channel is no way around a restriction: "you're prohibited from using, creating, or acquiring another channel to get around these restrictions."
• Not every removal is a strike. YouTube names "a first-party privacy complaint or a court order" and says "In these cases, your channel won't get a strike."

Appeals. In YouTube Studio, go to your Dashboard, open the Channel violations card and select Appeal. "For warnings and strikes, you can appeal for 6 months after the warning or strike was issued." "You may appeal each strike only once." If YouTube agrees, it puts the content back and removes the strike. If it doesn't, "There's no additional penalty for appeals that are rejected." Don't delete the video first: "If you delete your video, the strike will remain on your channel and you won't be able to appeal again" (Appeals).

Monetization. To join the YouTube Partner Program, a channel must "Have no active Community Guidelines strikes on your channel." Channels already in it stay: "Current members of the program won't be removed when receiving Community Guidelines strikes" (YouTube Partner Program).

Copyright strikes are counted separately

A copyright strike "means your content was removed due to a legal copyright removal request." It has its own count, apart from Community Guidelines strikes, and a Content ID claim "typically doesn't result in a copyright strike." "Channels that get 3 copyright strikes in 90 days are subject to termination" (Copyright strikes).

A copyright strike expires after 90 days if you've completed Copyright School (four questions, taken once) and the channel has fewer than 3 copyright strikes. You can also clear one with a retraction from the person who filed the request, or with a valid counter notification. Some removal requests are scheduled, which gives you 7 days to delete the video and avoid the strike; the email from YouTube tells you when that's the case. Otherwise, "deleting a video doesn't resolve a copyright strike." Active ones show on your Dashboard under Active copyright strikes. Claims, muted audio and music: the music copyright guide.

TikTok: strikes per policy and per feature, for 90 days

TikTok's Moderation and Appeals article puts it simply: "If you post content that violates our policies, we remove the content and your account accrues a strike." TikTok's Help Center adds that the first removal brings a warning strike, unless that first violation is severe (Help Center).

TikTok counts strikes within each policy and each feature: "If your account meets the strike threshold within a product feature (like Comments or LIVE) or a policy (like Harassment and Bullying), it will be permanently banned." It doesn't publish the thresholds. They "vary, because some violations carry greater risk than others." A high number of strikes across policies can also end an account, and "For zero-tolerance areas such as threatening violence or showing torture, we issue a permanent ban on the first strike." TikTok says it will notify you "if you're on the verge of a permanent ban."

How long: "strikes expire from your account record after 90 days." After that, they "will no longer be taken into consideration for a permanent account ban." In some cases TikTok offers optional policy training "to restore full access to the platform."

Where to check: in your Inbox, "consequences appear in Account Updates, and your full record is in Account Status." Videos that were taken down carry a "Community Guidelines violation" tag on your profile.

Deleting doesn't help here either: "Deleting your content does not remove strikes, and we may still issue strikes after you delete violative content."

Appeals: tap Appeal on the notification about the decision. "If your appeal is successful, we'll restore your content and remove the penalty from your account." You can follow it in the in-app Safety Center. TikTok's pages give no deadline for an appeal. The common reasons for removals: Why was my TikTok taken down?

Instagram and Facebook: strikes last a year

Meta counts strikes the same way on both apps (Counting strikes):

• Not every removal adds one. "Whether we apply a strike depends on the severity of the content, the context in which it was shared and when it was posted."
• Old posts mostly don't count. Meta won't count strikes "on violating content posted over 90 days ago for most violations or over 4 years ago for more severe violations."
• Several posts removed at once, without a notice for each, may count as a single strike.
• "All strikes on Facebook or Instagram expire after one year."
• The most severe violations, such as child sexual exploitation content, can get an account disabled "after one occurrence."

Facebook's ladder. "For most violations, your first strike will result in a warning with no further restrictions." After that (Restricting accounts):

• Two to six strikes: limits on specific features, like posting in groups, for a limited time.
• Seven strikes: a one-day restriction from creating content, which includes posting, commenting and creating a Page.
• Eight strikes: 3 days. Nine strikes: 7 days.
• "Ten or more strikes: You’ll get a 30-day restriction from creating content."

If you keep posting content that breaks the rules after repeated warnings and restrictions, Meta "will disable your account." Its more severe policies can add longer limits from the first strike, for example on creating ads and using Facebook Live.

Instagram strikes are counted the same way, but Meta says those restrictions "only apply to Facebook accounts," and it doesn't publish a number for Instagram. Instagram's Help Center says repeated removals can cost you the account, and "In most cases, you'll get a warning before losing access to your account" (Account Status). If it's your first removal in the past year, you may be offered a way to remove the strike. The post isn't restored, and "You won't have another chance to remove a strike for a year" (Remove a strike).

Where to look and how to disagree. "You can see your history of violations, some restrictions your account might have and how long they'll last in your Account Status on Facebook and Instagram." On Instagram, open Account Status, then Removed content, then Request a review. A reply "may take up to 90 days" (Request a review). On Facebook, select your profile picture, then Help & support, then Account Status (Account Status). If Meta finds it got it wrong, "We'll also remove the strike and restriction so that it won't count against you in the future." A suspended Facebook account can be appealed "within 180 days," a period that "varies by region" (Suspended accounts). Pages and groups have their own record under Page Quality and Group Quality. Account Status and reach limits on Instagram: the account status guide.

Snapchat: strikes can cut your public reach

For violations short of severe harms, Snapchat removes the content, sends you a notice and records a strike: "A strike creates a record of violations by a particular Snapchatter." "If a Snapchatter accrues too many strikes over a defined period of time, their account will typically be disabled." Snapchat doesn't say how many strikes that is, or how long the period is (Moderation, enforcement and appeals).

Strikes can cost you reach well before that: "We may also limit the public distribution of a Snapchatter's content when they accrue one or more strikes." Severe harms, such as the sexual exploitation of children, get an account disabled promptly. Appeals "are typically conducted by a human reviewer." Sending many unfounded ones can get your appeals put on hold "for up to one year."

What doesn't make a strike go away

• Deleting the video. YouTube and TikTok both say so, and both may give a strike for content you've already deleted. On YouTube, deleting a video also ends your chance to appeal its strike.
• Starting over on a new channel. YouTube forbids using another channel to get around a restriction.

What the official pages don't say

• TikTok doesn't publish its strike thresholds or a deadline for appeals.
• Meta doesn't publish how many strikes disable an Instagram account, or an Instagram version of Facebook's ladder.
• Snapchat doesn't say how long a strike lasts or how many is too many.
• YouTube's page says a third strike "may" remove a channel. It doesn't say it always does.

Check it before it goes live

FYProof checks your video, caption and hashtags against the published rules of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and four other platforms before you post, then tells you what could get the video removed or restricted, where it happens, and how to fix it. Start free, no card needed, at fyproof.com. Results are estimates, not guarantees.

If you just got a strike

• Read the notice: which policy, and is it a warning or a strike?
• Don't delete the video until you've decided whether to appeal (on YouTube, deleting ends the appeal)
• Appeal in time: 6 months for a YouTube warning or strike, and one appeal per strike
• Offered YouTube's policy training for a warning? Take it: the 90 days start when you finish
• YouTube copyright strike: Copyright School, a retraction or a counter notification
• First Instagram strike in a year? Look for the option to remove it
• Note when each strike expires: 90 days on YouTube and TikTok, one year on Instagram and Facebook
• Before the next post, check it against the rule you broke