What gets a Instagram video taken down, age-restricted or shown to fewer people
68 rules from Instagram's own policy and help pages, in plain words: what triggers each one, what Instagram says, and a link to the page.
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Instagram
At a glance
What happens to a video that breaks one of these Instagram rules, and how many rules lead there.
30 rules:Taken downMostly about nudity and sexual content; hate and harassment; dangerous stunts and challenges.
11 rules:Age-restrictedMostly about drugs, alcohol and tobacco; health claims; dangerous stunts and challenges.
19 rules:Shown to fewer peopleMostly about reposted or unoriginal videos; health claims; low quality and video format.
1 rule:Muted or blockedMostly about copyrighted music.
4 rules:Labeled or needs a disclosureMostly about AI-generated or altered media; animal welfare; sponsored posts and ads.
3 rules:OtherMostly about sponsored posts and ads.
By topic
Nudity and sexual content6
Health claims4
Sponsored posts and ads4
Violence and gore4
Dangerous stunts and challenges3
Drugs, alcohol and tobacco3
Hate and harassment3
Minors' safety3
Regulated goods3
Reposted or unoriginal videos3
Self-harm and eating disorders3
AI-generated or altered media2
Animal welfare2
Engagement bait2
Low quality and video format2
Misinformation2
Politics and elections2
Privacy2
Scams and fraud2
Spam and misleading tricks2
Copyrighted music1
Gambling1
Impersonation1
Links to other sites1
Other apps' watermarks1
Other copyrighted material1
Swearing and crude language1
Violent extremism1
Weapons1
Other2
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The 20 rules that matter most
20 of the 68, the ones that hurt a creator most first, with a few of each kind.
What gets a video taken down
01RemovalNudity and sexual content
Nudity or sexual activity (incl. AI or drawn)
What triggers it: Visible genitals, anus or close-up buttocks, uncovered female nipples, or explicit, implicit or impending sexual activity (intercourse or oral sex even when the contact is hidden, stimulation, erections, sex toys in use). Applies to real footage, AI/CGI and digital imagery whether or not it looks photorealistic, and to extended audio of sexual activity.
“Visible genitalia (including when obscured by pubic hair or digital overlays)”
What triggers it: Footage that focuses on someone's crotch, breasts or buttocks recorded without their awareness (creepshots, upskirts, hidden-camera clips of strangers).
“Photorealistic/ digital videos that focus on crotch, female breasts, or buttocks recorded without the awareness of the person(s) depicted in them”
What triggers it: Any child nudity (incl. toddlers, bath-time and beach clips; a child with no clothes from neck to knee even if nothing explicit shows) and any content that sexualizes real or non-real children (incl. AI, dolls, drawings, sexualized costumes or poses).
“No clothes from neck to knee - even if no genitalia or female nipples are showing”
What triggers it: Video or photos of real or non-real non-sexual child abuse (hitting, kicking, abusive punishment), even when shared to condemn it or raise awareness.
“Videos or photos that depict real or non-real non-sexual child abuse regardless of sharing intent, unless the imagery is from real-world art, cartoons, movies or video games”
What triggers it: Coordinating, supporting or admitting to physically harming animals; staged animal fights; videos of fake animal rescues (an animal put in danger so it can be 'saved' on camera).
“Fictional or staged settings EXCEPT where it depicts staged animal fights or fake animal rescues”
What triggers it: Buying, selling, trading or gifting high-risk drugs (cocaine, fentanyl, heroin) or non-medical drugs, admitting to personal use without a recovery context, speaking positively about or giving instructions for them, drug paraphernalia sales, private sales of prescription drugs or cannabis.
“Attempts to buy, sell, trade, co-ordinate the trade of, donate, gift or ask for high-risk drugs.”
What triggers it: Private individuals buying, selling, trading or gifting firearms, parts, ammunition or explosives; any sharing or praise of 3D-printing or CAM files for guns; machine-gun conversion devices.
“Attempts to buy, sell, gift, exchange, transfer, coordinate, speaks positively about, encourages the use of or provides access to 3D printing or computer-aided manufacturing instructions for firearms or firearms parts regardless of...”
What triggers it: Individuals (not legitimate businesses) selling or asking for alcohol, tobacco or vapes; selling prescription drugs, live animals outside allowed contexts, endangered species, historic artifacts, hazardous materials, human body parts, recalled goods; fake or stolen documents, fake reviews for discounts, unauthorized streaming devices or exam-cheating products.
“Fake reviews, implicitly or explicitly incentivising users to provide reviews in exchange for discounts, refunds or free items.”
What triggers it: Attacks on people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religion, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, serious disease (and immigration status for the worst attacks): dehumanizing comparisons (animals, pathogens, filth), slurs, harmful stereotypes, serious insults, calls for exclusion, targeted cursing.
“Content that describes or negatively targets people with slurs.”
What triggers it: Glorifying, supporting or representing designated terrorist, hate or criminal organizations, their leaders, violent events (terror attacks, mass shootings, hate crimes) or perpetrators; showing their symbols, flags or propaganda without clear neutral or condemning context.
“If a user's intention is ambiguous or unclear, we default to removing content.”
What triggers it: Threats that could lead to death or serious injury, calls for violence, offers of violence-for-hire, threats with weapons, or threats tied to elections; against private people and minors even low-severity threats count.
“Threats of violence that could lead to death (or other forms of high-severity violence)”
What triggers it: Visible or spoken national ID/passport/SSN numbers, immigration documents, others' full home addresses or phone numbers, bank details with security or PIN codes, card numbers with dates or CVV, others' medical records, hacked information; footage of a private home's exterior that identifies its location and resident.
“Content sharing full private residential addresses of others, including building name or pins on a map identifying the address (even if the information is in an off-platform link)”
What triggers it: Near nudity (nudity covered only by an overlay, opaque object or see-through clothing), shots where crotch, buttocks or breasts are the focus, sexual activity shown only as shapes or silhouettes, recognized fictional implicit sex scenes, kissing with visible tongue, erotic or sexual dancing, simulated sex, sex-act hand gestures, porn-site logos/screenshots/clips, any audio of sexual activity, and sexually suggestive language or sexual metaphors (incl. in jokes).
“Logos, screenshots or video clips of known pornographic websites”
What triggers it: Uncovered dead bodies without visible violence, needles piercing skin outside vaccination/tattoo/piercing/acupuncture, injured patients in visible pain, burning or exploding vehicles and violent crash aftermath, non-sport physical fights, human waste or bodily fluids (feces, vomit, pus, pimple-popping and other dermal extractions, blood), and fictional or photorealistic-fictional gore and violent deaths.
“Imagery depicting human waste and bodily fluids (e.g., feces, urine, vomit, earwax, mucus, byproduct of dermal extractions, or blood).”
What triggers it: An account that repeatedly posts content prominently featuring a photorealistic AI-generated person without the 'AI-generated profile' label turned on.
“Repeatedly and recently shared content that prominently features a photorealistic AI-generated person, unless the account has disclosed this by adding the AI-generated profile label.”
What triggers it: Content that discusses self-harm, suicide or eating disorders, or depicts or trivialises death or depression (e.g. 'kms' jokes, depression memes), even when allowed.
“Content that discusses self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders, as well as content that depicts or trivialises themes around death or depression.”
What triggers it: Recorded music you do not have rights to, especially dense use of music or full-length tracks, music over a static image (a 'music listening experience'), or commercial/business use of music without licenses.
“The greater the density of music in content, the more likely it may be limited (e.g., blocked, muted or ineligible for Music Revenue Share)”
What triggers it: Medical-context video of dismemberment, innards, burns or throat-slitting; still images of those; a person's violent death or life-threatening event (hit by car, fall); brutality against restrained people; objects piercing skin; broken bleeding teeth; deceased babies or fetuses.
“Imagery depicting acts of brutality (e.g., acts of violence or lethal threats on forcibly restrained subjects) committed against a person or group of people.”