⚠️Everyone! This is a research I did about the FB/IG bans, etc, etc.⚠️

🚨 ANDROMEDA CLARITY: What It ACTUALLY Is (vs What We Thought)

Hey everyone — spent the last few hours deep-diving into Andromeda after our last strategy call, and I need to share some critical clarifications that will save you from misunderstanding what's actually happening with Meta right now.

⚡ TL;DR

Andromeda ≠ Instagram TOS Crackdown

These are TWO SEPARATE THINGS that happened around the same time (Oct-Dec 2024), which is why everyone's confused.

📊 WHAT ANDROMEDA ACTUALLY IS

Official Definition (from Meta Engineering):

AI-powered ad retrieval engine for Facebook/Instagram PAID ADS
Rolled out: December 2024 → Fully deployed July-October 2025
Uses neural networks 10,000X more complex than previous system
Processes billions of ad-audience combinations in real-time

What It Actually Does:

✅ Matches ads to users based on creative signals (not demographics)

✅ Requires 50+ unique ad creatives per week for optimal performance

✅ Rewards creative diversity over hook-swapping

✅ Works best with broad targeting (no detailed interests)

✅ Uses embeddings to map ads/users in mathematical space

What It DOESN'T Do:

❌ Ban organic content

❌ Enforce TOS violations on stories/posts

❌ Shadowban accounts directly

❌ Affect organic reach algorithms

❌ Moderate sexual solicitation content

🔥 WHAT'S ACTUALLY KILLING ACCOUNTS (Not "Andromeda")

The Real Culprit: Instagram's Sexual Solicitation Enforcement Crackdown (Sept-Oct 2024 → Present)

Timeline:

Meta updated Community Guidelines (Adult Content section) - June 2024
Gradual enforcement rollout - July-Sept 2024
Aggressive AI moderation deployed - Oct 2024
Most accounts hit - Oct 4-15, 2024 (hence Dylan's call timing)

What Changed:

AI-powered pattern detection scanning for:
Behavioral trust scoring:
Flagged link services:

🎯 WHY THE CONFUSION?

At the strategy's call (Oct 4, 2025) I said:

"Andromeda update destroyed accounts in last 36-48 hours"

What Actually Happened: Instagram's TOS enforcement AI went aggressive Oct 2-4, 2025 — this coincided with people HEARING about "Andromeda" (which had been rolling out for months for ads).

The input provided by Dude conflated:

✅ Real TOS crackdown (correct info, wrong name)
❌ "Andromeda" (ad system, not content moderation)

All his compliance advice IS CORRECT, just mislabeled.

📚 SOURCES TO VERIFY

Official Meta Sources:

Meta Engineering Blog (Dec 2, 2024): "Andromeda: Next-gen personalized ads retrieval"
Jon Loomer article: "Meta Andromeda breakdown"
Foxwell Digital: "How Andromeda Changed Meta Advertising"

Adult Creator Enforcement:

Instagram Community Guidelines: Sexual Solicitation section
Instagram Platform Commerce Policy: Prohibited Conduct
Advertising Standards: Sexually Suggestive Content policy

✅ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR YOUR AGENCY

If You're Running META ADS:

Andromeda DOES affect you:

Need 50+ truly unique ad creatives/week
Broad targeting > detailed audiences
Creative diversity = survival
Hook swapping = death
Consolidate campaigns (fewer ad sets, more creatives)

If You're Doing ORGANIC TRAFFIC:

Andromeda DOESN'T directly affect you, BUT:

Instagram TOS crackdown IS real

🔧 CORRECT TERMINOLOGY GOING FORWARD

Say This:

✅ "Meta's 2024-2025 TOS enforcement crackdown"

✅ "Instagram's sexual solicitation AI moderation"

✅ "Post-October 2024 compliance requirements"

Not This:

❌ "Andromeda banned my account"

❌ "Andromeda update destroyed organic reach"

❌ "Andromeda is targeting adult creators"

Exception: If talking about PAID ADS specifically, then yes, "Andromeda" is correct.

💡 PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY

Both things happened:

Andromeda = Ad system changed (affects media buyers)
TOS Crackdown = Content moderation tightened (affects organic creators)
just know you're following TOS compliance best practices, not "Andromeda adaptation."

For Your Offers: Instead of saying "Post-Andromeda compliant", say:

"Compliant with Meta's 2024-2025 enforcement standards for adult content promotion"

More accurate, equally credible, won't confuse people who actually know what Andromeda is.

📎 Resources

Want the full breakdown?

Meta Andromeda technical docs: https://engineering.fb.com (search "Andromeda")
Instagram Community Guidelines: https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119

Credit: This research came from cross-referencing Meta's official engineering posts, 10+ ad industry breakdowns, and Instagram's TOS documentation. No speculation — all verifiable sources.

I hope this helps someone here as it did to me. You welcome😎😉👊

Questions? Drop them below 👇

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