Recovery Playbook: Support / Appeal

This document is based on GitHub’s official documentation and community experience. No guarantee of applicability to all situations.

Step 1: Confirm Your Status

Before starting the appeal process, first confirm that you are indeed flagged:

1. Log out of GitHub, visit your own profile in an incognito window → Is it 404?
2. Check your email for any account status notifications from GitHub
3. Try authorizing a third-party app → Does it say flagged?

If confirmed, proceed with the following steps.

Step 2: Try the Official Appeal Process

Entry Point

GitHub’s official appeal page:

https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/acceptable-use-policies/github-appeal-and-reinstatement

Follow the instructions on the page to fill out the appeal form.

Tips for Filling Out the Appeal Form

1. Be Sincere and Clear

Don’t:

• Be emotional, angry, or threatening
• Exaggerate or fabricate information
• Accuse GitHub of “randomly banning accounts”

Do:

• Briefly explain your situation
• Provide facts and a timeline
• Express your willingness to cooperate with the investigation

2. Include Key Information

Your appeal should include:

• GitHub username
• Registered email
• Date you first noticed being flagged
• Your suspected trigger cause (if any)
• Your recent significant activity (such as normal API usage, CI/CD configuration, etc.)
• Actions you have already taken (such as changing your password, enabling 2FA, reviewing authorized apps)
• What you hope to restore (public visibility, third-party authorization, etc.)

3. Appeal Template (English)

Subject: Appeal for flagged account - [your username]

Dear GitHub Support,

My account (@[username]) appears to have been flagged/hidden.

Timeline:
- [Date]: I first noticed my profile was returning 404
- [Date]: I received [no / an] email notification about my account status

What I believe may have triggered this:
[Briefly describe - e.g., high-frequency API usage for CI/CD, account was previously compromised, etc.]

Actions I have already taken:
- [e.g., Changed password, enabled 2FA, reviewed authorized applications, revoked suspicious access]

My account is used for:
[Briefly describe your legitimate use case - e.g., open source contributions, work projects, personal learning]

I would appreciate it if you could review my account status and restore my public visibility.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your username]
[Your registered email]

Step 3: Contact GitHub Support

If the appeal process doesn’t work, or you can’t complete it (e.g., stuck at SMS verification), try contacting Support directly:

https://support.github.com/contact

Potential Issues

SMS Verification Barrier (Mainland China Users)

If you are a Mainland China user, you may get stuck at the SMS verification step. GitHub’s official SMS authentication supported countries list does not include Mainland China (+86).

See Common Barrier for Mainland China: SMS Verification

Flagged Accounts Cannot Submit Support Requests

This is a vicious cycle: flagged → unable to authorize third-party apps → may also be unable to use certain Support channels.

Possible solutions:

• Use the appeal process (if you can still access it)
• Have an unaffected account contact Support on your behalf (explain the situation)
• Try reaching Support via email directly

Step 4: Wait and Follow Up

Wait Times

Based on community cases, recovery times vary significantly:

Reference: ropery/Waiting-for-GitHub-to-Unflag-Me — waited approximately 3 months

Follow-up Recommendations

• Don’t repeatedly submit the same ticket (may be treated as spam)
• Every 3–5 days, you can politely follow up once
• Provide new, valuable information with each follow-up rather than repeating previous requests
• Keep records of all communication with Support

Step 5: After Recovery

After your account is restored, we recommend:

1. Enable 2FA immediately (if you haven’t already)
2. Review all authorized apps and revoke any you don’t need
3. Check your repositories for completeness
4. Check GitHub Pages for normal operation
5. Update your email to ensure you can receive notifications
6. Consider sharing your experience in this repository’s Chinese Case Library to help others

Community Experience Summary

The following comes from community discussions, not official advice.

• Some people have accelerated processing by contacting Twitter/X @GitHubSupport
• Some report that submitting a report through HackerOne’s GitHub program has also been effective
• Being polite and patient is more effective than emotional communication
• Providing more context information leads to faster resolution

Previous

← Possible Causes

Next

Common Barrier for Mainland China: SMS Verification