Please read first. This article explains a type of suspension and how a written appeal works. The case we describe comes from a client in Japan, and we have changed the details so that no one can be identified. Many disabled accounts are never restored, and when an account is not restored Meta usually does not reply at all. Nothing here guarantees a result. We are a Gyoseishoshi office in Japan, not attorneys or solicitors.
Your company runs several Instagram accounts, perhaps one per brand, shop or location. One after another they are suspended with the same reason: the account appears to be linked to another account that doesn’t follow Instagram’s rules, which goes against the Community Standards on account integrity. Some come back after an appeal. Others are permanently disabled, even though, as far as you can tell, the same person sent the same ID.
This article explains why business accounts get caught by this rule, how to decide whose name an appeal should be in, and what to think about before you mention other accounts in writing.
What “linked to another account” means
The notice usually does not say which other account it means. It refers to Meta’s Community Standards on account integrity. Meta does not publish how it decides that accounts are linked, but our guess is that shared phone numbers, email addresses, devices, networks or a shared Business Portfolio (formerly Business Manager) are the kind of overlap that could connect them.
For a company, those overlaps are normal. Staff log in from the same office network, accounts use the company phone number, and several accounts sit in one Business Portfolio. If any one account is flagged, the others can look linked to it.
Same reason, different results
A company can find that some accounts were restored after an in-app appeal while others suspended for the same reason were not. In the case below, the restored and the disabled accounts were run by the same company, suspended for the same reason in the same period, and as far as the company could recall, the same person sent ID for both. Meta did not explain why the results differed. That difference is itself worth putting in an appeal, because it may suggest the decisions were not based on any real difference between the accounts.
What to do first
- Use the official route for each account. Check Account Status and any appeal or ID request in the app, and note any deadline.
- Take screenshots of each suspension screen, the reason, ID requests and every email, for every account.
- Don’t create replacement accounts. New accounts made to replace disabled ones can look like evasion and be linked to the same case.
- Make a list of the accounts and the details below before anyone writes an appeal.
Whose name should the appeal be in?
Companies often ask whether to appeal as the company or as an individual. Our answer is: match the people who actually run the accounts. Meta can compare your appeal with the email addresses and phone numbers registered to each account and with any ID sent during in-app appeals. An appeal in a name that doesn’t fit those records may be harder for Meta to match.
Before you write, check for each account:
- who created it and who runs it now
- which email address and phone number are registered, and whether they belong to the company or to a member of staff
- whether it is connected to a Business Portfolio
- who sent ID during the in-app appeal
If the accounts are run for the business, an appeal in the company’s name, with the name of its owner or an authorized officer alongside it, usually fits best.
Will an appeal put our other accounts at risk?
This is a fair worry. In the cases we have handled, no client has told us that sending a letter led to their other accounts being suspended. But we cannot predict or guarantee Meta’s decisions, and we cannot say there is no risk at all.
One way to limit what you disclose is to name only the accounts that are already known to Meta in this context: the disabled ones, and any that were suspended at the same time for the same reason and then restored. You do not need to list every other account the company runs. If you prefer, you can describe the restored accounts without giving their usernames. That is the company’s decision to make. Whatever you choose, don’t state anything untrue.
What a written appeal should cover
- That the accounts are run by the business, so shared phone numbers, emails and networks are a natural result of how the company works, not a sign of fake or evasive accounts.
- The accounts suspended for the same reason and restored after Meta’s own review, and, if so, that the same person sent ID.
- Signs that no person reviewed the case, such as a permanent decision on the same day as the appeal, or a screen saying that technology took the action.
- A table of the accounts, with username, registered email and phone number, and Business Portfolio connection for each.
- What you are asking for: a review by a person and reinstatement of every disabled account in the same letter.
Meta’s terms name Meta Platforms, Inc. in the United States as the company that provides Instagram to users in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Where will Meta reply?
You cannot choose where Meta replies. In our experience, emails go to the email address registered to each account, and letters to the address given in the letter. For company accounts, check before you send anything that someone at the company can read each registered email address. If one is a former employee’s personal address, ask them to watch it or set up forwarding.
A case from our office in Japan
A company in Japan ran several Instagram accounts for its business. Over a few months, a number of them were suspended for being linked to another account that broke the rules. Some were restored after in-app appeals. Others were permanently disabled after the ID sent during the appeal was not accepted.
We prepared one letter in the company’s name, with its representative director’s name alongside, covering all the disabled accounts. It explained the business use, named only the accounts that had been suspended and restored in the same period, and listed each account’s registration details. It was translated into English and mailed inside the United States by USPS Certified Mail to Meta Platforms, Inc.
About four weeks after it was sent, all the disabled accounts were restored on the same evening. The email from Instagram said its review had found the account activity followed the account integrity standards, and apologized for the mistake. No further ID was requested.
This is one case, and we cannot know what part the letter played. We chose this case because it ended in reinstatement; it is not a typical result. Other accounts have taken longer, and many letters lead to no change and no reply.
What to expect
- No one can guarantee reinstatement. Meta decides, and no letter can force it to act.
- Results and timing differ. In our Instagram cases, when Meta responds it has usually been one to two months after delivery. When accounts are not restored, there is usually no reply.
- Most of our cases so far have been for clients in Japan. We can’t give you odds for accounts in the United States or the United Kingdom.
Frequently asked questions
The notice doesn’t say which account ours is linked to. What should we write?
You usually can’t find out. Explain instead why the overlaps exist: the accounts are run by one business, so shared phone numbers, emails and networks are expected. Say clearly that you don’t know which account Meta means.
Our ID was rejected several times in the app. Can a letter still help?
It did in the case above: the accounts were restored after a letter even though the ID had not been accepted in the app. That does not mean a letter will work for every account.
Can several accounts go in one letter?
Yes. Accounts suspended for the same reason in the same period can be listed together, which also shows Meta that they share one explanation.
Are you lawyers?
No. We are a Gyoseishoshi office in Japan, a licensed legal profession in Japan that is separate from attorneys. We prepare and send documents. We do not give legal advice on US or UK law, negotiate with Meta for you or represent you in court.
Sources: Meta Transparency Center, Account Integrity and Disabling accounts. Links checked November 2026.