Why networks limit accounts#
Every network decides how often an account may post, and doesn't publish all its rules. Each network's own limits apply on every Heropost plan. When a network decides an account is posting too much, it starts refusing posts, and an account that keeps pushing can be locked or blocked by the network.
So when a network pushes back, Heropost holds back too. It never affects your other accounts: only the one account the network is limiting.
Facebook, Instagram and Threads: a temporary pause#
When Facebook, Instagram or Threads refuses a post because the account is posting too often, Heropost stops publishing to that account for a while. Posts due during the pause fail with this reason on Content → Posting Errors:
"Facebook is temporarily limiting how often this account can post. Heropost paused publishing to it until {date and time} UTC to protect the account. This post was not published to it — schedule it again later."
The same message names Instagram or Threads when it's one of those.
- Only that account pauses. Your other accounts and networks keep publishing.
- The message shows when it ends, in UTC. Convert it to your time zone.
- If the network limits the account again soon after, the next pause is longer.
- Posts aren't kept for later. Posts due during the pause fail and need sending again.
What to do:
- Wait until the time in the message.
- Open each affected post from Posting Errors and send it again with Duplicate Failed, spread over the day rather than all at once.
- Space out future posts to this account, and avoid sending many posts to it at the same minute.
Reconnecting doesn't lift a pause. The limit comes from the network, not from the connection. Wait for the time shown.
Facebook: a daily hold after recent limits#
If Facebook has limited or blocked a Page recently, Heropost also caps how many posts it sends to that Page in one day, counted in your workspace's time zone. Posts over the cap fail with:
"Facebook has been limiting this page recently, and pages that keep posting after that are often blocked or locked by Facebook. To protect it, Heropost held this post back after {N} posts today. Reschedule it for tomorrow, or space posts out to lower the risk."
Reschedule the held posts for the next day, and spread posts through the day.
Messages from the networks themselves#
You may also see the network's own wording on Posting Errors:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "We limit how often you can post, comment or do other things in a given amount of time in order to help protect the community from spam" (Facebook) | Wait, then space posts out. |
| "We restrict certain activity to protect our community" (Instagram) | Too many posts reached the account at once. Space them minutes apart; for automations, set Check for New Posts to Every Hour. |
| "You cannot access the app till you log in to www.facebook.com and follow the instructions given." (Facebook) | Facebook put a security check on the profile that connected your Pages. Log in at facebook.com and complete it. Instagram accounts connected through it stop too. |
X: the daily limit#
Each X account can publish up to 50 posts a day through Heropost, counted by UTC day. After that:
"This X account reached its daily posting limit. The post can be published again tomorrow."
Reschedule the rest for the next day. Posting to X also uses X credits: see X credits.
Paused accounts#
If an account fails five times in a row for a reason it can't recover from on its own, Heropost pauses it so it stops collecting failures. This happens with X accounts that X has suspended or locked, that aren't permitted to post, or whose connection expired.
- You get a notification: Social account paused — "{account} was paused after repeated failed posts. Reconnect it to resume posting."
- On the Accounts page, the account shows a pause marker. Hover it to see "This account is paused — {reason}".
- When Hero_Agent lists your accounts, it marks the account "needs attention" with a Reconnect button. On a phone, the workspace screen shows Needs reconnecting.
- Posts to the account fail with "This account is paused after repeated failed posts. Reconnect it to resume posting." In the editor: "{account} is paused, so this post was not published to it. Reconnect or contact support to resume posting."
- Hero_Agent and connected AI tools won't schedule to a paused account.
To unpause:
- Fix the cause on the network first, for example unlock the account on x.com.
- Click your workspace name at the top of Heropost, then Accounts.
- Open the ⋮ menu on the account and choose Reconnect. Sign in to the network. Reconnecting removes the pause.
- Send the failed posts again from Posting Errors with Duplicate Failed.
See Reconnect an account and What the account markers mean.
Questions#
Will Heropost send my held posts once the pause ends?
No. Posts due during a pause fail and stay on Posting Errors. Send them again after the time shown.
How do I avoid it?
Spread posts out instead of sending many to one account at the same time, avoid posting the same text to many accounts at once, and keep automations from releasing bursts. If a network asks you to confirm your identity or accept something, do it on the network as soon as you can.
Why does the time say UTC?
Heropost writes the time in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). Convert it to your local time to see when publishing resumes.