SOLVED: ‘This Request Looks Automated’ Twitter

If you got a Twitter in-app notification that says “This request looks like it might be automated. To protect our users from spam and other malicious activity, we can’t complete this action right now. Please try again later.” or its variations, you are not alone.

After recent updates to the Twitter algorithm, many Twitter users started to experience in-app “This Request Looks Like It Might Be Automated” Twitter message, whether they indeed participated in automated activities or not.

Another similar error is the “ Something went wrong” error on Twitter.

Why am I seeing “Request Looks Automated” Twitter Message?

Over years, Twitter has been cracking down on fake follower networks and “inauthentic” activity happening on their platform.

Twitter has been taking down fake accounts since at least 2014 but only recently has been publicly stating about removing fake likes and follows.

The main reason? Money.

Twitter is under pressure from investors - registering low growth and poor revenue in every quarter.

On top of that, they are trying to protect their ad revenue - in simple words, if you want to grow followers on Twitter, they want you to spend money on their ads, not on bots and automated solutions.

This comes as no surprise as in the last few years Twitter has been investing heavily their resources into building their advertising platform.

However, many users are not happy with Twitter’s activity restrictions and a new emphasis on ads because they are now forced to pay more for advertising to make up for the loss of organic reach, which is dwindling every year.

What is “automated request” on Twitter?

Twitter mentions on its website that any form of automation is strictly prohibited. But what exactly “automated request” is?

• like and follow actions that were posted via a bot
• tweets that were automatically made or posted via a bot
• re-tweets that were automatically made or posted via a bot
• Twitter direct messages that were automatically made or posted via a bot

What is not considered as “automated request”?

• like and follow actions done manually and selectively (by you or someone in charge of your account: social media manager, agency, etc.)
• non-automated, manually written & sent Twitter direct messages
• non-automated, manually re-tweeted content

Do I risk my account getting suspended?

NO, you don’t risk your account getting banned if you:

• do all the activity manually and just overdose with the follow or like actions
• use organic Twitter growth service or social media manager to grow your account manually

Twitter might still temporarily limit some of the functions on your Twitter account like follow or like actions. These blocks usually don’t last long.

YES, there is a moderate to high risk of getting your account banned if:

• you purchased bulk followers
• you use bots and software solutions that promise follower growth
• you use mobile games and apps that promise follower growth

Will I lose the followers I’ve earned?

If you did not purchase your followers, you won’t lose any. Twitter is only after FAKE followers, not real ones.

How to solve it?

The most important is: if you participate in purchasing followers or using bots, immediately stop those activities.

Here are known ways to get rid of the “Request Looks Automated” Twitter message:

• if you do, stop running bot/software solutions
• give yourself a break from follow, like or direct message activities for at least 72 hours
• link your Twitter account with your mobile phone number
• switch to mobile data

Let’s go into more details for each method:

1. Stop bots

If you been running any bot/software to automate your Twitter - stop it. Twitter is aware of the bot activity which, after many Twitter updates, is easy to detect these days.

Either invest time to grow your account manually or delegate it to a dedicated Twitter growth service that does not rely on software solutions.

2. Take a break

Since overdoing activity on your Twitter will be the most common reason why you received the “Request Looks Automated” notification, it’s a common sense that taking a break from following, liking, tweeting, re-tweeting, and sending direct messages is a good way to get rid of the issue.

We recommend stopping all activities at least for 72 hours although in some cases, the block might last longer, up to 5-7 days.

3. Link Twitter with Your Mobile Phone Number

If you haven’t done so yet, try to connect your personal or business Twitter account with your mobile phone number.

This way, you are showing Twitter more credibility that indeed you are a real person using an account and not a bot.

Often, Twitter accounts that were machine-made or are machine-maintained are not associated with any mobile phone number, and Twitter might see it as a trust issue.

Pro tip: You will likely need a real phone number. Burner phone numbers won’t work as Twitter is well aware spammers were abusing them heavily in the past.

4. Switch to Mobile Data

No matter whether or not you are accessing your Twitter profile via a Twitter app on your phone or Twitter website on your computer, if you connect to the Internet via WiFi at home or your work, switch to your mobile network. So:

• If you are on mobile, switch to your 4G/5G.
• If you are on a computer, enable hotspot on your phone and connect your computer to this hotspot network.

It could be that Twitter flagged or banned your home or work IP, so switching to mobile data might help.

How to Prevent “Request Looks Automated” Message

As Twitter’s algorithm constantly changes, with each update, both the causes why you are getting blocked and the ways to avoid might change.

As of today, these are confirmed ways to prevent getting blocked:

1. Use only Organic Growth Service

If you have been using 3rd party service, make sure you don’t use bots and software solutions and instead, use only organic Twitter service or social media agency where the actions are completed manually, not automatically.

This way, it will look just like you would do it yourself.

2. Don’t Try to Follow or like Too Fast

If you are on a follow spree, slow down. Although it might be tempting to follow many users at once and then forget about it, this way you are more likely to get your actions blocked on Twitter.

Final Thoughts on “Request Looks Automated” Message

We know how frustrating it can be to run into issues with your social media profile you poured so much time and energy into.

However, with a bit of planning and careful selection of activities, you can enjoy the steady and safe growth of your Twitter account without this or similar issues.