Facebook has been around since 2004 and is amongst the first platforms that radically changed and revolutionized social media. You cannot ignore their influence with a massive 2.8 billion monthly users worldwide. Due to their large size and importance, as they influence even political narratives, they are cautious with the security and privacy of their users.
We cannot ignore the importance of Facebook in politics, business, and connecting families and friends.
Since Facebook has such a large user base, there are instances where users get locked out of their Facebook accounts for several reasons. If your Facebook account is locked, unlock it with or without ID proof or phone number, and this guide will help make it an easy experience.
Why was my Facebook account locked?
The simple answer to why was your Facebook account locked is you broke some rules or regulations set by Facebook. While we will help resolve your issue, you need to know why Facebook locked your account in the first place. If you know the reasons, you can avoid these mistakes in the future and won’t have to scour the internet again for ways to unlock your Facebook account. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Here’s a list of all the potential reasons for Facebook locking your account:
- Your account is seen performing any suspicious activity.
- Spreading hate or misinformation on Facebook in posts, stories, comments, etc.
- Sending Friend requests to multiple people and exceeding the daily amount.
- If your Facebook account is logged in on multiple devices simultaneously.
Unlocking your Facebook account when it is locked
Now that you know some of the reasons for Facebook locking you out of your account, let us dive into how you can unlock your account.
One of the easiest methods to recover your temporarily locked Facebook account is submitting an appeal to Facebook with your identity details. However, do note that you can only submit this appeal up to 30 days from the day your account was locked. After 30 days, your account will be permanently disabled.
- Click on this link or copy-paste it to a new tab – https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/260749603972907
- Fill in your Login email address or mobile phone number in the box below.
- In the next box, fill in Your full name. Remember to type your name as listed on your account.
- Now, click on Choose Files and upload your identity proof.
- Once uploaded, scroll down and click Send.
Facebook might store your identity details for around a year to improve their systems that automatically detect fake IDs. If you do not want Facebook to save these details, you can adjust your Identity confirmation settings, and Facebook will delete your ID within 30 days of submission.
Unlocking without ID proof number
If, for whatever reason, you do not want to follow the above procedure to unlock your Facebook account, there are other methods you can try that’ll help unlock your account.
Clear browser cache and cookies
There are instances when Facebook might temporarily suspend or lock your account for a few hours or days. However, you’ll still see your account as locked because you haven’t cleared your cache and cookies for a long time. For reference, I’ve used Google Chrome, and here’s how you can clear browser cache and cookies,
- Open Chrome and click on the three dots at the top right corner of your display.
- Now, select Settings.
- Click Security and Privacy.
- In the Clear browsing data option, checkmark Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
- You can also clear the browsing history if you desire.
Methods to Verify your identity
Another method you can try is to verify yourself. Following the steps mentioned below, you will receive a verification code or link to help you unlock your Facebook account without ID proof.
- Open https://www.facebook.com/ and click on Forgotten Password.
- Enter your Email Address or Mobile Number to search your account.
- The account is linked to the provided email address or mobile number on the next screen. Select your account.
- After selecting your account, provide other requested details like Email ID, Phone number, or both.
- Once done, you will receive a Verification Code or Verification Link on your mobile number or Email Address.
- Click on the link to verify your identity, or enter the Verification Code on the next page in the provided space.
You may Request help from friends.
Your friends are supposed to be with you in good times and bad. And this is one of those times where you can check the true colors of the people you consider friends. Jokes aside, you will need to ask for help from one of your friends to unlock your Facebook account without ID proof. This method will only work if you’ve added trusted contacts to Facebook.
- Open https://www.facebook.com/ and click on Forgotten Password.
- Now, click on Forgotten Account at the top right corner of the screen.
- Enter your Email Address or Mobile Number to search your account.
- Click on No longer have access to these.
- Fill in your friend’s Email Address or Phone number that you can access and click continue.
- Now, select Reveal my trusted contact and fill in their Full name.
- Ask your friend to visit, https://www.facebook.com/recover
- Once they receive the recovery link, ask them to open it.
- Ask your friend to share the login code with you.
- Use this code and log into your account.
Explicit instruction from Toms Gude:
You can find a more straightforward way from these bullet instructions from Toms Guide.
Understandably Facebook is the clear winner regarding the number of users globally of any service. To maintain many user accounts, Facebook implements extreme security measures to control fake IDs, privacy intrusion, and cyberstalking.
If your account is also temporarily locked, you must follow the instructions described below to unlock your profile:
- ■On your favorite browser, open Facebook.com.
- ■On the homepage that opens up, input account details to log in.
- ■On the security page that opens up select Get help from friends.
- ■On the trusted contacts page that opens up, select a few friends who you know in person and who are directly in contact with you.
- ■Once done, click on Continue.
- ■Once you do so, Facebook will send a security code to all the friends you have just selected.
- ■After this, your task will be to contact those friends and request them to send you the code they received from Facebook.
- ■Once you gather all the codes from your friends, you can use the code to unlock your Facebook account.
Apart from the above, many other options can unlock your temporarily locked Facebook account. However, the method you use to unlock your account successfully might also depend on why your Facebook account was locked. Sometimes, you might need to try different ways of opening your Facebook account.
FAQs
How long will my Facebook account be blocked?
A temporary ban usually lasts for 48 to 72 hours. However, there is not a certain amount of time that a Facebook account can be locked for. It all boils down to the severity of why your account was banned. There are instances where an account might be automatically unlocked within a few hours, and there are instances where accounts get permanently banned.
If your account has been permanently banned for a valid reason, we suggest you make a new account and, this time, adhere to the rules and regulations set by Facebook.
Methods to contact Facebook when your account is blocked
If your account has been blocked for no reason and you want to recover your account, listed below are some Facebook support email addresses that will hopefully help resolve your issue.
- support@fb.com
- disabled@fb.com
- appeals@fb.com
- platformcs@support.facebook.com
Let us know in the comments below if any of the steps mentioned above helped you unlock your Facebook account. Also, if your problem is not solved, leave a comment, and we will try and help your solve the issue.
