Explaining X (formerly Twitter) Locks and Freezes: What Are the Ways to Avoid Account Restrictions?

X, now with more than 60 million domestic active accounts, has become more than a social networking service and is evolving into a major platform. Corporate accounts are also active, using X for corporate branding, product promotion, and other purposes. However, if you cannot log in to X, or if you can log in but can only view content, that is inconvenient for individuals and can become a serious issue for companies. This article explains the reasons for account restrictions, including “locks” and “freezes,” and how to avoid them.

However, if you cannot log in to X, or if you can log in but can only view content, that is inconvenient for individuals and can become a serious issue for companies. This article explains the reasons for account restrictions, including “locks” and “freezes,” and how to avoid them.

Account Lock or Restriction

X may lock your account or temporarily restrict some account functions if it suspects an account takeover or detects a violation of X rules. This is the type of restriction signaled by a message stating that your account is locked, or that some account functions are restricted, when you log in or open the app.

As a result, you cannot log in, and you also cannot follow, post, repost, like, or view your timeline. In addition, when other users search for or view your account, they may see the message, “This account does not exist.”

A lock may be lifted automatically, and in that case the restriction period is set anywhere from 12 hours to 7 days, depending on the nature of the violation.

In Case of Suspected Account Takeover

If the message says, “Your account has been locked for security purposes,” it means suspicious activity has been detected on the account, and there may have been a takeover. This can be serious, so prompt action is necessary.

X should have sent instructions to the email address registered to the account. Follow those instructions to change your password and protect the account.

If X detects automated activity on the account that violates its rules, it may lock the account and ask you to confirm that you are the rightful owner. In that case, too, X should have sent instructions by email, so follow them to change your password and protect the account. You will also need to enter a phone number.

If You May Be Violating X Rules

If your account is restricted because X believes it may be violating the rules discussed below, you can still use X, but only to send direct messages to followers. You will not be able to post,　repost, or like, and only followers will be able to view your past posts.

To remove the restriction, X may require email verification, adding a mobile phone number to the account, and deleting posts that violate X rules.

If you repeatedly violate X rules, your account may be permanently locked. If you believe the restriction was imposed by mistake, you can contact support and file an objection.

If Suspicious Activity Is Detected

Some account functions may be restricted if suspicious activity is detected.

For example, if X detects excessive following or similar conduct, including excessive likes, reposts, and quote reposts, it may treat the behavior as spam and a violation of X rules, and it will display a message that account functions are restricted for a certain period.

In this case, there are two options:

•  continue using X in a temporarily restricted state until the stated period ends
• complete the verification process for the provided phone number or email address

If X determines that you repeatedly violate its rules, or that you are excessively interfering with other accounts, it may not offer phone-number verification. In that situation, X use remains restricted until the stated period ends.

You should remain careful about excessive following and similar conduct that could be treated as spam.

Account Suspension

When an account is suspended, you can still log in, but your following and follower counts drop to zero and you can only view content. A message stating that the account is suspended appears, and other users can see that message as well.

For an individual, that may be merely embarrassing, but for a company it can lead others to wonder what happened, which can damage trust and harm the corporate image.

If an account is suspended repeatedly, there is a risk of permanent suspension. Permanent suspension is the harshest measure: it prevents use of the suspended accounts, other accounts owned by the user, and even the creation of new accounts. It is something that must be avoided.

Reasons for Account Suspension

According to the official Twitter website, the reasons for account suspension include:

1. Spam
2. Account security at risk
3. Aggressive posts or behavior

1.“Spam” refers to cases in which spam activity or obvious impersonation is judged to create a security risk for X and for all accounts using X. Most account suspensions fall into this category.

2. “Account security at risk” refers to cases in which an account is suspected of having been taken over or hacked. To reduce the risk of harmful conduct resulting from that takeover, the account may be suspended until its security is secured and control returns to the owner.

3.“Aggressive posts or behavior” refers to cases in which an account is suspended after reports that it has violated X rules on harassment. Accounts involved in harassment, including threats against others or impersonation of other accounts, may be suspended temporarily or, in some cases, permanently.

Suspension may be lifted by following the prescribed procedure, but if that is not possible, you may file an objection. You do so by entering the required information on a dedicated platform and submitting it.

X Rules

Locks and suspensions are mainly imposed for violations of X rules, which are divided into four categories: Safety, Privacy, Authenticity, Third-party advertising in video content.

Security

The Security category includes the following:

1. Violent Content
2. Violent & Hateful Entities
3. Child Safety
4. Hateful conduct
5. Perpetrators of Violent Attacks
6. Suicide
7. Adult Content
8. Illegal or Certain Regulated Goods or Services

All of these are prohibited.

“Violent Content” means explicitly threatening, inciting, glorifying, or expressing desire for violence. “Violent & Hateful Entities” means affiliating with or promoting the activities of violent and hateful entities. “Child Safety” means child sexual exploitation and physical child abuse. “Hateful conduct” means attacking other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease. “Perpetrators of Violent Attacks” means any accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks, and posts disseminating manifestos or other content produced by perpetrators. “Suicide” means promoting or encouraging suicide or self-harm. “Adult Content” means any consensually produced and distributed material depicting adult nudity or sexual behavior that is pornographic or intended to cause sexual arousal. This also applies to AI-generated, photographic or animated content such as cartoons, hentai, or anime. You may share “Adult Content” if it’s properly labeled and not prominently displayed. “Illegal or Certain Regulated Goods or Services” means using X for any unlawful purpose or in furtherance of illegal activities. This includes selling, buying, or facilitating transactions in illegal goods or services, as well as certain types of regulated goods or services.

Privacy

The Privacy category includes the following:

1. Private information
2. Non-consensual nudity
3. Account Compromise

All of these are prohibited.

“Private information” means publishing or posting other people’s private information (such as home phone number and address) without their express authorization and permission. It is prohibited not only to disclose such information, but also to threaten disclosure or encourage others to disclose it. “Non-consensual nudity” means the posting or sharing of intimate photos or videos of someone that were produced or distributed without their consent. “Account Compromise” means using or attempting to use credentials, passwords, tokens, keys, cookies or other data to log into or otherwise access, add, delete or modify the private information or account features of any X account other than your own (or those you have been directly authorized to do so via X’s Teams authorization, OAuth authorization or similar mechanism).

Authenticity

The Authenticity category includes the following:

1. Platform manipulation and spam
2. Civic integrity
3. Misleading and Deceptive Identities
4. Synthetic and manipulated media
5. Copyright and Trademark

All of these are prohibited.

“Platform manipulation and spam” means using X’s services in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience on X. “Civic integrity” refers to actions intended to manipulate or interfere in elections or other civic processes. This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process. “Misleading and Deceptive Identities” means impersonating not only individuals, but also groups and organizations. “Misleading and Deceptive Identities” means impersonating individuals, groups, or organizations to mislead, confuse, or deceive others, or using a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on X. “Synthetic and Manipulated Media” means deceptively sharing synthetic or manipulated media that are likely to cause harm. In addition, X may label posts containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context. “Copyright and trademark” means violating others’ intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark.

Third-party advertising

You may not submit, post, or display any video content on or through our services that include third-party advertising, such as pre-roll video ads or sponsorship graphics, without X’s prior consent.

Limits

X sets daily limits on direct messages, posts, and following to reduce system load and prevent downtime and error pages. For companies in particular, it is important to understand these limits to avoid temporary functional restrictions.

• DMs: up to 500 messages sent per day.

• Posts: up to 2,400 per day. The daily update limit is further broken down into smaller limits for semi-hourly intervals. Reposts are counted as posts.
• Changing the email address registered to the account: up to 4 times per hour.
• Following(daily): up to 400 per day (this is a technical account limit only, and there are additional rules prohibiting aggressive following behavior.).
• Following(account-based): once an account is following 5,000 other accounts, additional follow attempts are limited by account-specific ratios.

If you reach a limit, an error message appears and you can no longer perform the same operation. For daily or hourly limits, the operation becomes available again after 1 day or 1 hour. For post limits, because there is also a 30-minute limit, if you reach the limit and cannot tweet, you are told to try again after 2 to 3 hours.

Summary

It is said that Twitter is enhancing machine detection to detect violations at an early stage. Use this article as a reference to avoid locks, restrictions, and suspensions, and if such a situation occurs, respond calmly.

It is important to identify the cause of the suspension or lock, respond promptly, and not repeat the same actions. If a company’s account is permanently suspended, it cannot be recovered.

Introduction to Our Firm’s Measures

X is said to be strengthening machine detection to identify violations at an early stage. Use this article as a reference to avoid locks, restrictions, and suspensions, and respond calmly if such a situation occurs.

You should identify the cause of the lock or suspension, respond promptly, and avoid repeating the same conduct. If a company account is permanently suspended, recovery is difficult.