Fix Instagram "We limit how often you can do certain things" error

Instagram often limits users who exhibit spammy behaviors. If you’re a victim of this, then you must have come across the We limit how often Instagram error which reads like the message below. In this article, you’ll find the reason behind this error and how to fix it.

“Try again later. We limit how often you can do certain things on Instagram, like following people, to protect our community. Tell us if you think we made a mistake.”

Instagram is a popular social media beloved by many of its users for its photo and video sharing features. However, with those features come restrictions. When users go against the platform’s guidelines, they may face certain restrictions such as the “Your account has been disabled for violating our terms” or the limitation error mentioned earlier.

Instagram displays the “We limit how often” error when you break one or more of the platform’s terms. Their rules are much, but we will discuss the most prominent ones later in this post.

One thing you should know is that when you get the notification of “we limit how often you can do certain things” on Instagram, your account may be restricted for up to 72 hours or more.

Of course, there are instances when people report their accounts being unrestricted sooner, but you don’t have to worry much about it. So, without further ado, let’s examine why Instagram shows the error.

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Why does Instagram show the “We limit how often you can do certain things” error?

Instagram displays the “We limit how often you can do certain things” error when your account violates the platform’s Terms of Use or when you show spammy behavior such as following many accounts or commenting too much in a short period of time.

Instagram does not like bots and restricts accounts that show bot-like tendencies especially when they exceed the Instagram limits. Knowing that, here are some of the limitations on the platform which could get your account restricted if not followed.

1. Following or unfollowing too many people

When you have just created your Instagram account, you may be excited to follow all your favorite celebrities and content creators. However, you have to pace yourself.

Instagram does not allow you to follow more than 200 accounts in a day. If you exceed this number, the algorithm may believe you are a bot and displays the “we restrict certain activity” Instagram error.

The tricky thing about this follow limit is that the algorithm reads follow and unfollow similarly. Therefore, unfollowing someone will also be counted as part of this daily limit. To make it understandable, if you follow someone, then unfollow them; both actions will be counted independently. Once you exceed 200 of either or both actions, Instagram may limit your account.

2. Liking a lot of posts

Another reason you can receive the “We limit how often” error on Instagram is when you exceed the daily likes limit. This is very rare as the Instagram likes limit is pegged at 1000. It means that you cannot like more than 1000 posts in a day, but you rarely reach this number no matter the hours you spend on the platform.

3. Overcommenting

Similar to the others explained above, there is also a limit to how many comments you can make on Instagram within a single day. The limit is 200 comments, but it is well over the average for many Instagram users. So, although it almost seems impossible at first, one may be mistaken to make that much comment in a day.

The few instances in which people can make this error are when they enter for a giveaway and make several comments to win. If you are doing this, you should stylishly be counting how many more comments you have that day before you are restricted from the platform.

4. Posting forbidden comment

Instagram is quick in taking action when accounts post content that goes against their platform’s guidelines, such as hate speech, graphic videos and images, pornography, bullying, spam, and more.

5. Direct Messages limit

There is also a limit to the number of direct messages you can send on Instagram per day. The figure is pegged at 80, but there is almost no chance of you hitting that mark. It simply looks impossible to send Instagram messages to over 80 people in a single day. This is because it does not count your messages to a single user but your general chats that day.

6. Hashtag and tag limits

People often use hashtags to drive visibility to their posts. Unfortunately, this positive feature of Instagram can turn negative real quick if you do not restrain yourself. Instagram does not allow you to use more than 30 hashtags on a post and if you exceed this limit, your account may be restricted. The same thing goes for tagging people. The maximum number of people you can tag in a post is 20.

7. Post and story limits

Posting on Instagram is quite enjoyable, especially if you have many followers to like the post and leave cool comments. However, you cannot upload a caption longer than 2200 characters. The same thing goes for stories that have a limit of 100. So once you post your 100th story of the day, you should wait for the earliest ones to pass 24 hours and get removed before uploading more.

How to fix the “We limit how often” Instagram error?

Now that you know the likely causes of the problem, it is time to explore some of the best ways to fix it.

1. Delete the offending post or story

Many Instagrammers are stumped when they receive the notification that reads “We limit how often you can do certain things on Instagram”. You don’t have to.

The first thing to do is deduce if the warning came after uploading a particular post or story. If so, delete the offending post or story and wait a few hours to see if the issue is resolved.

2. Wait it out and stop posting, liking, and commentnig

The most simple solution to this issue is to just wait it out and wait for Instagram to remove the restrictions from your account.

It may take anywhere between 24 hours up to 72 hours or more for Instagram to lift the limitations. During this time, you should avoid posting, liking, commenting, or taking any other action on the platform until things are back to normal.

3. Change your password

As we stated earlier, the error will only restrict your account for a maximum of 48 hours, but if you don’t want to wait that long, you can go to your account settings and change your password. Many people reported that this method has proven to be successful so it’s worth giving it a short.

Here’s how to change your Instagram password.

Go to your Instagram profile.
Tap on the menu icon in the top left corner and select Settings.
Go to Security.
Tap on Password.
Instagram will send an email to reset your password. Go to the link in the email and change your password.
Next, sign out and log in back into your account to check if the issue gets fixed.

4. Contact Instagram Support

If all else fails, you should reach out to the Instagram support team to report the issue and hope that they would lift the limitation on your account.

When Instagram displays the limitation error, tap on the Tell us button, explain your circumstances and why you think your account has been limited mistakenly, and submit the complaint.

Alternatively, go to Settings in Instagram and tap on the Help option. Next, go to Report a Problem > Something isn’t working, then write a description of your problem and submit it.

Instagram should respond to your request within 24 hours.

How long does the Instagram limit last?

The Instagram limit usually lasts between 24 to 72 hours, but in some cases, users have reported waiting for more than a week for the limitations to get removed from their account.

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