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:
- Log out of GitHub, visit your own profile in an incognito window → Is it 404?
- Check your email for any account status notifications from GitHub
- 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:
| Situation | Approximate Wait Time |
|---|---|
| False positive, quickly processed after appeal | A few days |
| Requires manual review | 1–4 weeks |
| Complex cases (post-compromise recovery, etc.) | 1–3 months |
| Extreme cases | Longer |
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:
- Enable 2FA immediately (if you haven’t already)
- Review all authorized apps and revoke any you don’t need
- Check your repositories for completeness
- Check GitHub Pages for normal operation
- Update your email to ensure you can receive notifications
- Consider sharing your experience in this repository’s 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