Is your Fiverr account disabled? There are many reasons that this can happen, including violating the platform’s Terms of Service, behaving inappropriately – and Fiverr making a mistake. Here’s what it might be and how you can fight back.
…And because Fiverr runs automated AI detection systems and acts on user reports, there are a lot of false positives and mistakes. ?
Violating Fiverr’s Terms of Service can result in an immediate account suspension. Unfortunately, there is no effective appeals process.
Your case will be investigated by Fiverr’s Trust and Safety team, and it is not possible for Customer Support or a Fiverr Success Manager to communicate with them on your behalf. What you will discover is a brick wall of frustration.
Is it possible to recover a disabled Fiverr account? Yes, absolutely – but it all depends on what you did. So first, let’s look at the most common reasons that sellers get banned.
9 Ways to Get Your Fiverr Account Disabled
Fiverr sends an email when it takes actions against your account. This email should give you details of what the issue is. If it doesn’t, then you will need to try to figure it out. You can also ask Fiverr Customer Support, but they typically aren’t very useful in this situation.
These reasons are listed in no particular order.
Asking for a Positive Review
Have you ever asked a buyer to leave a 5-star review or a positive review? This is against the rules and a fast track to getting your Fiverr account disabled. Fiverr wants buyers to leave honest reviews without sellers influencing the outcome.
Some sellers try to get around this with a delivery message along the lines of:
If there is an issue, please let me know. If you are happy with the work, please leave a review.
Don’t.
Fiverr sends out a lot of reminders to buyers about reviewing you, so it’s not necessary. If you must mention feedback, don’t write anything that might influence a better or more positive review. Fiverr wants positive reviews earned with high quality work, not solicitation.
Copying Other Sellers’ Gigs
It’s OK to be inspired by other people’s gigs, but copy-pasting them isn’t going to get you anywhere. Since most sellers routinely check for copycats (and report them), this is an easy way to get in trouble with Fiverr.
Doing market research is an essential part of your Fiverr success journey, so just remember that inspiration without plagiarizing is the name of the game here. Put your own unique spin on things! This is one violation where you won’t get sympathy from anyone.
Using Copyright or IP That Isn’t Yours
Just like sellers want to protect their own gigs, everyone wants to protect their copyright and IP (Intellectual Property). Using someone else’s stuff without their permission is prohibited by Fiverr, which also automatically checks uploads for violations.
However, this detection system isn’t perfect! If you only used your own work on your Fiverr gig images, then think back: before you used that image on Fiverr, did you post it to Instagram or anywhere else?
Since Fiverr is trying to automatically detect copyright violations, it will detect that your upload wasn’t original and that it may violate TOS. This might not always get your account disabled – sometimes it just means Fiverr won’t publish your gig.
If that’s you, contact Fiverr Customer Support.
Not Verifying Your Identity
If you want to work on Fiverr, then the platform needs your identity. In the past it didn’t, but laws and regulations have changed. If you don’t verify your identity when Fiverr asks you to (and within their time limit) then your account will be disabled.
Fixing this is easy: you just need to verify your identity with Fiverr by providing the ID and documents requested. If your Fiverr account is disabled because you had trouble trying to verify your identity, contact Fiverr Customer Support by email (support@fiverr.com) – but don’t send them any ID! They’ll help you to start the process again.
Misrepresenting Yourself with Fake Images
When I first joined Fiverr, it was surprising to see who sold on there. Many sellers were using obvious stock image photos where the watermark hadn’t been removed. Others were famous pop stars and Hollywood actors.
Was Britney Spears ever selling her article writing services for $5 a pop? Probably not. Either way, Fiverr has cracked down on this now, and your profile picture should only be of you or your brand (i.e. your logo) – and yes, make sure that it’s an original, professional headshot that meets copyright compliance!
Going Off Fiverr for Payments and Communication
Fiverr’s entire business model is transaction-based. If users don’t use the platform to pay, it doesn’t make money. It’s no surprise that Fiverr takes a hard line against users who go off platform to complete orders.
This is one policy violation that Fiverr disables accounts for immediately, and it is constantly scanning for breaches. Don’t share external contact details and don’t discuss going off-platform. One good reason to stay on Fiverr is that there are many scammers who want to take you off the platform. Stay on Fiverr, and you have protection – go off-platform, and you’ll lose any protection and your Fiverr account.
Multiple Accounts
Fiverr’s policy on multiple accounts is a little complex, but essentially boils down to one thing: nobody is allowed to have two seller accounts. Fiverr also considers a new account created to get around a permanently disabled Fiverr account to be a violation of this one-account policy.
Fiverr has a lot of systems watching this one including IP tracking, which can sometimes create false positives when two separate people are selling services on Fiverr but work in the same home or office. Like I said, this one can be complicated, so check out my in-depth guide to multiple accounts on Fiverr.
Buying Fake Reviews
Starting out on Fiverr today can be tough. With no reviews, why should anyone look at your gig when the competition has hundreds or thousands of glowing testimonials? For some new sellers, the solution seems simple enough: fake it until you make it with some reviews.
That’s a bad idea. A very bad idea. If Fiverr detects that you have used fake reviews to boost your seller profile, it’s going to permanently disabled your account – and good luck getting around the multiple accounts rule!
Fiverr takes reviews super-seriously. In January 2023, it suspended the accounts of over 1,000 sellers, many from Bangladesh. In their email to these sellers, it said:
Your profile was flagged for purchasing or selling false services for the purpose of manipulating our rating system
Fiverr email to various sellers, January 2023
We don’t know how many of these sellers were eventually permanently banned from Fiverr, but this does underline a very important point. A few fake reviews in the beginning could destroy your successful Fiverr career years later. Just don’t do it.
Spamming and Scamming
Scamming other Fiverr users will lead to a disabled Fiverr account. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, act with integrity when you deal with people on the platform.
Spamming is a little trickier. Fiverr promotes responsiveness strongly as a part of its Levels system, but its automated systems also discourages being too enthusiastic. The inbox is only ever meant to be used to ask about their gig and other hiring questions – not to beg sellers for a job.
Buyers also need to be careful here. It has some very strict spam filters that mean an innocent copy-paste of one simple question to a small group of sellers could lead to a disabled Fiverr account. But that’s not the only thing to consider when you contact Fiverr sellers!
Sometimes Fiverr Makes Mistakes
If you’ve gone through the list above and still have no idea why you have been banned, then your disabled Fiverr account might just be… a mistake.
It could also be a false and misleading report from another user (which is, incidentally, a TOS violation!)
This can be infuriating, but the only thing you can do is to keep messaging Fiverr Customer Support asking for answers.
- If you have an idea of the mistake, provide an explanation
- Take screenshots and other supporting evidence to back your case
- Argue your case and fight for your account
Fiverr will review your case, even if it never satsifies your burning lust to know what it was that you did wrong, as this TRS seller revealed on r/Fiverr:
UPDATE 2: They actually unbanned my account! Despite saying they absolutely would NOT be able to unban me, I randomly recieved a notification saying I had been unbanned. I have had no further contact with support, after they told me I would absolutely not be unbanned
Always have a backup plan – Top Rated seller account banned out of the blue – r/Fiverr
This lack of communication, even with its top sellers, can make it very difficult to know why your Fiverr account was disabled, much less how to fix it. Going through recent posts on Reddit, it’s clear that the only thing you can do is to keep hammering away.
Of course, it might not work if it wasn’t a mistake, but you’ll never know, because no-one will tell you what the problem is. It’s all very Kafkaesque!
How to Recover a Disabled Fiverr Account
If Fiverr didn’t make a mistake and you know why your Fiverr account was disabled permanently, then you’re pretty much out of luck. Fiverr very rarely changes its mind.
One thing you can try is to contact Fiverr’s Customer Support and ask for permission to start a new account. Take your time here:
- Explain that you understand why Fiverr disabled your old account
- Show that you have learned from the lesson
- Give reasons why you should be allowed to start again
It’s a long shot, but it might work, and it will ensure that you don’t violate Fiverr’s multiple accounts rule.
If this doesn’t work, then you should look at your other options. Upwork, PeoplePerHour, and Freelancer are all good freelance platforms. You can also look at building your own website or finding leads on websites like LinkedIn and Reddit.
How to Avoid Getting Your Fiverr Account Disabled?
I can’t help you with Fiverr’s mistakes! But there are some simple things that you can do to make sure that your Fiverr account maintains a good reputation on the freelance platform:
- Read the Fiverr Terms of Service – don’t violate them!
- Read Fiverr’s Community Standards – these govern behavior and what’s allowed
- Keep everything on Fiverr – always report people who want to go off-platform
- Don’t fake yourself or your services – be authentic to your unique self
It’s also worth mentioning that while Fiverr’s Customer Support is little help when you get into trouble, they are a good resource for checking whether something you want to do is OK or not.
For example, maybe you’re not sure if a gig is allowed. You don’t need to guess – ask Fiverr before you put all your time and effort into making the gig!
Prevention is Always Better Than Cure
It’s not that difficult to avoid getting your Fiverr account disabled or suspended: simply make sure that you’re following the Fiverr Terms of Service. When in doubt, ask Fiverr about something before you do it.
This won’t protect you against mistakes or shady people trying to ruin your business, but it will put your account in good standing with Fiverr (and smooth your way to the top). As with everything else in life, having a good reputation can make all the difference if you find yourself in trouble.
You can also make use of tools like the Fiverr TOS Expert if you can’t face the long wait for Fiverr to get back to you. Ultimately, if you follow the rules, you will be fine – and you can spend more time focusing on your business growth, rather than worrying whether something dodgy you did might come back to bite you in the future.
Quick FAQs
Why was my Fiverr account disabled?
Your Fiverr account may have been disabled due to violations of the platform’s Terms of Service, such as asking for positive reviews, using copyrighted material without permission, or creating multiple accounts. These actions are monitored closely by Fiverr’s automated systems and can lead to immediate suspension.
Can I recover my disabled Fiverr account?
Yes, it is possible to recover a disabled Fiverr account, depending on the reason for the suspension. You should contact Fiverr’s Customer Support with a detailed explanation and any supporting evidence to plead your case.
How can I avoid getting my Fiverr account disabled?
To avoid getting your Fiverr account disabled, strictly adhere to Fiverr’s Terms of Service, verify your identity when asked, and ensure all your content, including gig descriptions and images, is original and not misleading. Always keep communication and transactions within the Fiverr platform to safeguard your account.
What should I do if I believe my Fiverr account was wrongly disabled?
If you believe your Fiverr account was wrongly disabled, reach out to Fiverr’s Customer Support with a calm and detailed explanation of your situation, including any relevant screenshots or evidence. Persistence is key, as it may take multiple attempts to get a review of your case.
Is it against Fiverr’s rules to ask buyers for positive reviews?
Yes, asking buyers for positive reviews or attempting to influence their review in any way is against Fiverr’s rules and can lead to account suspension. Fiverr encourages honest feedback from buyers based on the quality of the work delivered.
What happens if I use copyrighted or intellectual property that isn’t mine on Fiverr?
Using copyrighted or intellectual property (IP) that isn’t yours on Fiverr is prohibited and can lead to your account being disabled. Fiverr uses automated detection systems to identify such violations, and it’s crucial to only use original content or content you have permission to use.
Can I have multiple accounts on Fiverr?
Fiverr’s policy strictly prohibits individuals from having more than one seller account. Creating multiple accounts or attempting to circumvent a permanent ban with a new account can result in all associated accounts being disabled.
