Instagram's Help Center gives these figures: a review of removed content can take up to 90 days and may be closed before it's reviewed; you have 15 days to take a twice-reviewed decision to the Oversight Board; a deleted account is permanently deleted 30 days after the request, and the deletion itself can take up to 90 days; a video selfie sent to recover an account is deleted within 30 days. In the EU, the Digital Services Act keeps the internal complaint open for at least six months after a decision. There is no single published deadline for appealing a disabled account: go by the notice you received.
Appeals and reviews
| Situation | Official figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Request a review of removed content | Up to 90 days to hear back; a request may be closed before it's reviewed | Instagram Help Center |
| Appeal to the Oversight Board | 15 days from the decision, and only after Instagram has reviewed it twice | Instagram Help Center |
| EU: internal complaint under the Digital Services Act | Open for at least 6 months after the decision, including decisions to suspend or terminate an account | DSA, Article 20(1) |
| Disabled or suspended account | No single published period: follow the date and the button in your own notice | Instagram Help Center |
| US copyright removal: DMCA counter-notification | Content restored within up to 14 business days if the reporter doesn't go to court | Instagram Help Center |
| Account removed as under 13: age appeal | Instagram reviews your birthday in up to 30 days | Instagram Help Center |
Instagram says certain appeals may be prioritised for human review, which is why "up to 90 days" is a ceiling, not a typical waiting time. For a decision about the whole account, the deadline that counts is the one in the notice itself: see what to do when your account is suspended. Meeting the 15-day deadline doesn't mean the Oversight Board will hear your case, because it only selects a certain number of eligible appeals (how review requests and the Board work).
Identity checks and selfies
| Situation | Official figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Video selfie to recover a hacked or locked account | Never shown on Instagram; deleted within 30 days | Instagram Help Center |
| Video selfie for age verification | Result in up to 20 minutes; the image is deleted within 30 days of the estimate | Instagram Help Center |
| Selfie to run ads or for Meta Verified | Stored for up to 180 days; up to 1 year for ads about social issues, elections or politics, or if fraud is suspected | Instagram Help Center |
| Minimum age for an Instagram account | 13 in most countries | Instagram Help Center |
Instagram says it tells you how long a selfie can be stored before you send it. Selfies and ID uploads belong inside Instagram's own flow only: never send them to a person who contacts you. More on this in video selfie verification.
Hacked accounts and support
| Situation | Official figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Checking whether an email really came from Instagram | Recent emails lists what Instagram sent you in the last 14 days | Instagram Help Center |
| Switching a hacked professional account to personal to remove unknown business managers | Insights data is kept for 90 days and comes back if you switch back | Instagram Help Center |
| A Meta Verified support case | Closed automatically if you don't reply to the agent within 7 days; it can't be reopened | Instagram Help Center |
The full recovery sequence is in Instagram account hacked: how to get it back.
Deleted content, deleted accounts and your data
| Situation | Official figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Posts, reels, stories or messages you delete | Kept in Recently Deleted for 30 days (stories that aren't in your archive: up to 24 hours) | Instagram Help Center |
| Account deletion request | Permanently deleted 30 days after the request; logging back in before then cancels it (the period varies by region) | Instagram Help Center |
| Completing the deletion | Up to 90 days after it begins; backup copies can remain longer | Instagram Help Center |
| Export your information | The link can take up to 30 days to arrive; you then have 4 days to download it | Instagram Help Center |
Deactivating is different: it hides the profile until you log back in, and nothing is deleted. The full comparison is in deleted or deactivated Instagram account.
How to read these figures
- They're ceilings or fixed windows, not promises. "Up to 90 days" means Instagram may answer sooner, later than you'd hope, or close the request.
- Your notice comes first. If a message from Instagram gives a different date, follow that date.
- Figures change. We checked every figure on this page against the linked source on 26 October 2026, and we update the page when Instagram changes its Help Center.
- No unofficial numbers. Promises such as "back in 24 hours" or "unbanned in 48 hours" don't come from Instagram. Anyone selling them is a warning sign: see recovery scams.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Instagram take to review an appeal?
For removed content, Instagram says it may take up to 90 days to hear back, and that a request may be closed before it's reviewed. For disabled accounts it doesn't publish a fixed time.
Is there a deadline to appeal a disabled Instagram account?
Instagram's Help Center doesn't publish one fixed period. The notice you see when you log in shows what you can do and by when, so take a screenshot and act before that date.
How long do I have to appeal to the Oversight Board?
15 days from when the decision was made, and only after Instagram has reviewed the content twice. The Board chooses which eligible appeals it takes.
When is a deleted Instagram account gone for good?
30 days after the deletion request, the profile and its information are permanently deleted. You can cancel by logging back in before then. The deletion process itself can take up to 90 days.
How long does Instagram keep my video selfie?
A video selfie sent to recover an account is deleted within 30 days, and an age-check image within 30 days of the estimate. Selfies for ads or Meta Verified can be kept for up to 180 days, or up to a year in some cases.
Not sure which deadline applies to you?
Send us the notice you received. We'll tell you, for free, which official route and deadline apply. We never ask for your password or any code.
Sources
- What to do if you don't think Instagram should have taken down your post (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Appeal Instagram's content decision to the Oversight Board (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), Article 20 (EUR-Lex) eur-lex.europa.eu
- About disabled Instagram accounts (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- How Instagram and Threads process United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) counter-notifications (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Why Instagram is asking for your birthday (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- If you think your Instagram profile has been hacked (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- How does video selfie age verification work on Instagram? (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- What happens to your selfie after you've sent it to Meta (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Review recent emails sent from Instagram (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- I have a professional Instagram account and I'm able to log in, but a hacker is still taking actions on my account (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Contact Meta Verified support for your verified profile (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- What happens to content you delete on Instagram (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Permanently delete or deactivate your Instagram profile (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com
- Review and export a copy of your Instagram information (Instagram Help Center) help.instagram.com