--- title: Shadowbanning Members for Content Moderation shortDescription: Use shadowbans to quietly hide disruptive member comments without notifying the member or removing their access to your membership. articleType: Tutorial primaryTopic: shadowban-member-moderation categories: - Memberships - Fan Engagement tags: - shadowban - member-moderation - comment-moderation - content-moderation - membership-management - member-comments - community-management - disruptive-members tasks: - Shadowban a member from the member profile page - Remove a shadowban from a member - Moderate disruptive comments without notifying the member - Choose between shadowbanning and canceling a subscription - Check whether a member is currently shadowbanned terms: - shadowban - shadow ban - shadow banned - hide comments - block member - mute member - moderate comments - ban member comments - disruptive member - invisible ban - silent ban - content moderation memberships labels: - memberships - moderation - community-management contextString: Available on all plans with memberships enabled. Requires at least one member with comment activity. breadcrumbPath: "Memberships > Getting Started with Memberships > Shadowbanning Members for Content Moderation" relatedModules: - name: memberships-overview route: /admin/dashboard/memberships/overview last_updated: '2023-05-29' path: memberships/getting-started-with-memberships/shadowbanning-members-for-content-moderation --- # Shadowbanning Members for Content Moderation Shadowbanning lets you hide a disruptive member's comments from everyone else while the member continues to see their own comments as normal. The member receives no notification and keeps full access to your membership content. This is the right tool when you want to reduce disruption without ending a paying member's subscription. ## How shadowbanning works A shadowban hides a member's comments from you and all other members. The shadowbanned member can still post comments, but those comments are only visible to them. From the member's perspective, everything looks normal. What changes when you shadowban a member: - **Comments become invisible to others.** All comments the member posts after the shadowban are hidden from you and every other member. - **The member is not notified.** Fourthwall does not send any alert, email, or in-app message about the shadowban. - **Membership access stays the same.** The member keeps full access to posts, perks, direct messages, and all other membership content. - **Existing comments are also hidden.** Previously posted comments from the shadowbanned member are hidden from other members. Shadowbanning only affects comment visibility. It does not restrict the member from viewing posts, accessing perks, or sending direct messages. ## When to use a shadowban vs. canceling a subscription Choosing the right moderation action depends on how disruptive the behavior is. - **Shadowban** when a member posts low-quality, spammy, or mildly disruptive comments but you want to keep them as a paying member. The member won't realize their comments are hidden, which avoids confrontation. - **Cancel the subscription** when the behavior is severe enough that you no longer want the member in your community. For details on canceling, see [Cancel or refund a member's subscription](/memberships/getting-started-with-memberships/cancel-or-refund-subscription). You can always remove a shadowban later if the situation changes. ## How to apply a shadowban To shadowban a member from their profile page: 1. Go to [**Memberships**](https://my-shop.fourthwall.com/admin/dashboard/memberships/overview/?redirect) in your dashboard. 2. Click **Members** to open your members list. 3. Click the member you want to shadowban. 4. On the member profile page, click the **three-dot menu** (top right). 5. Select **Shadowban**. 6. In the confirmation dialog, click **Shadowban member**. The member profile page displays a **Shadowbanned** label to confirm the ban is active. You can also shadowban a member directly from any comment: click the three-dot menu next to the comment on a membership post and select the shadowban option. This is available to creators and partner managers. ## How to remove a shadowban To remove an active shadowban: 1. Go to [**Memberships**](https://my-shop.fourthwall.com/admin/dashboard/memberships/overview/?redirect) in your dashboard. 2. Click **Members** and select the shadowbanned member. 3. On the member profile page, click **remove ban** next to the **Shadowbanned** label, or open the **three-dot menu** and select **Remove shadowban**. 4. In the confirmation dialog, click **Remove shadowban**. Once removed, all of the member's comments become visible to you and other members again, including comments posted while the ban was active. ## What the shadowbanned member sees A shadowbanned member has no way to tell they've been shadowbanned. From their perspective: - They can still post comments on any membership post. - Their own comments appear normally in the comment thread. - They can still like, reply, and interact with visible comments from other members. - All membership content, perks, and direct messages remain accessible. The only difference is that no one else can see the shadowbanned member's comments. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does a shadowban affect direct messages? No. Shadowbanning only hides comments on membership posts. The member can still send and receive direct messages. ### Can I shadowban a member directly from a comment? Yes. Creators and partner managers can shadowban a member directly from the comment dropdown menu on any membership post comment. Click the three-dot menu next to the comment and select the shadowban option. ### Will the member's old comments reappear if I remove the shadowban? Yes. Removing the shadowban makes all of the member's comments visible to everyone again, including comments posted while the ban was active. ### Can a shadowbanned member tell they've been banned? No. The member's experience is unchanged. Their comments still appear in the thread from their own perspective, and they receive no notification about the ban.