Links that don’t meet Facebook / Instagram Community Standards

Oh no! Your links have been blocked by Facebook’s spam filters!

This blocks your link being shared on all Facebook platforms including:

  • Facebook
  • Facebook Ads
  • Instagram
  • Whatsapp

Sometimes this happens because of something you did - and sometimes it happens for seemingly no reason at all.

Links not meeting Facebook’s community standards get blocked, including on other FB platforms such as Instagram & Whatsapp.
Links not meeting Facebook’s community standards get blocked, including on other FB platforms such as Instagram & Whatsapp.

Getting Unblocked

Step 1 - The Quickest Solution

Verify your domain using Facebook’s Business Manager.

  1. Visit https://business.facebook.com.

  2. Set up your Business, and then click Business Settings in to the top right corner.

  3. Navigate to Brand Safety in the left hand menu, and click Domains.

  4. Add your Domain.

  5. Follow the instructions for DNS Verification. (HTML File Upload won’t work).

Add your domain under Facebook’s Business Settings to have it unblocked right away.
Add your domain under Facebook’s Business Settings to have it unblocked right away.

If all is well, your domain will become immediately unblocked.

Test it our using Facebook’s Sharing Debugger.

Step 2 - Use a different domain or subdomain

Facebook spam blocks work on three levels:

  • The individual URL.
  • The subdomain, e.g. subdomain.mydomain.com.
  • The domain itself.

Use Facebook’s Sharing Debugger to try and determine which level of blocking you’re encountering.

Facebook also considers all subsequent redirects, so if you’re using an URL shortener (like Linkly), consider if any of these URLs are tripping the spam filter.

Step 3 - Fill out the form

  1. Enter your URL into Facebook’s Sharing Debugger.
  2. When you get the blocked message, click the link to appeal.
  3. Fill in the form.
Fill in the form to request Facebook review your link.
Fill in the form to request Facebook review your link.

This approach can take several months (last time we did this, five months) and may not produce results at all.

As such, a Facebook review really is the last resort.

Avoid Getting Blocked in the First Place

  • Consider how you’re marketing on FB platforms. If you are promoting poor quality content (e.g. gambling, dating etc), you can reasonably expect to trigger FB’s filters again and again.
  • If you’re using a link shortening service like Linkly, use your own domain. That way you have control over your individual URLs, domains and more.
  • If you’re a Linkly user, and you’ve encountered this issue, let us know and we’ll try and get you unblocked.

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