// Q08 / 14
What is a ghost ban or hidden reply?
Your reply stays visible on your own profile but is hidden or collapsed for other people viewing the thread.
A reply can be pushed behind Show more replies or hidden from non-followers. It looks normal to you, which is why this is the most commonly missed restriction. X Shadow Ban inspects a sample of recent public conversations and compares the replies visible in the thread with the account's replies.
A single buried reply is ordinary ranking, not a penalty. The check needs enough public conversations to measure; with too few, the honest result is untestable rather than a pass.
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These answers describe public observations, not X enforcement decisions. X does not publish an official shadowban status.