{"slug": "need-help-my-account-was-locked", "title": "Need Help - My Account Was Locked", "summary": "A Hugging Face user whose account was locked after duplicating a Space reports that the account was eventually restored after contacting safety@huggingface.co and HF Discord. The user advises others not to panic, to send factual follow-ups to website@huggingface.co if needed, and notes that public repos may still be accessible. The incident highlights the account recovery process for locked Hugging Face accounts.", "body_md": "I once had an HF account lock as well, after duplicating a Space that was probably not as harmless as it looked. It was eventually restored after email / HF Discord contact. I do not remember the exact number of days, but the account came back…\n\n[Your account does not look deleted to me, since at least some public Space/repo pages still seem reachable](https://huggingface.co/AntixStudioDesign). So I would not assume the data is gone. If HF lifts the lock, I would expect the account/repo/Space state to mostly come back normally.\n\nShort version:\n\n- Yes, there are public examples of locked HF accounts being restored.\n- Since you already emailed\n`safety@huggingface.co`\n\n, you may already have reached the right team.\n- I cannot know HF’s internal routing, so I would not say that\n`safety@`\n\nis wrong or insufficient.\n- If you do not get a reply after a reasonable time, I would also send a concise follow-up to\n`website@huggingface.co`\n\nfrom the email address attached to your HF account.\n- If this becomes a formal moderation appeal, HF’s Content Policy also lists\n`legal@huggingface.co`\n\nas the route to contest a moderation decision: [Hugging Face Content Policy](https://huggingface.co/content-policy).\n- For data recovery, public repos / Spaces may still be downloadable if they are visible. Private repos, secrets, persistent storage, billing, and account settings are probably support-only.\n\nMy main advice would be: do not panic, do not create many duplicate tickets, and keep any follow-up factual. Include the account name, the lock message, affected Space/repo links, and what you were doing shortly before the lock.\n\n##\nSuggested follow-up email\n\nIf you do not get a reply from `safety@huggingface.co`\n\n, I would send something like this to `website@huggingface.co`\n\nfrom the email address attached to your HF account.\n\n```\nSubject: Account locked review request: AntixStudioDesign\n\nHello Hugging Face team,\n\nMy Hugging Face account `AntixStudioDesign` appears to be locked. I am not sure what triggered it. I mainly used the account for personal learning and experiments.\n\nI already contacted `safety@huggingface.co`, but I am also sending this here in case this is the correct route for account / login / internal-alert review.\n\nAccount:\n- Username: AntixStudioDesign\n- Registered email: \n- Lock message: \n\nRelevant repos / Spaces:\n- \n- \n- \n\nRecent activity before the lock:\n- I was experimenting with Hermes Agent and different workflows.\n- \n\nIf I accidentally violated a rule, I am sorry. It was not intentional. Please let me know what I should remove, disable, or change. If the account can be restored, I would really appreciate a review. If restoration is not possible, could you please let me know whether temporary access or data export is possible?\n\nThank you.\n```\n\nI would keep the message calm and factual. The goal is not to argue with an automated system. The goal is to make it easy for a human at HF to identify the account, understand the recent activity, and route the case correctly.\n\n##\nWhat I would mention if Spaces were involved\n\nUsing Hermes Agent by itself does not prove that you did anything wrong. HF has an official Hermes Agent integration page: [Hermes Agent](https://huggingface.co/docs/inference-providers/integrations/hermes-agent).\n\nBut if the recent workflow involved Spaces, duplicated Spaces, proxying, keep-alive behavior, API routing, unusual storage/upload patterns, or credentials, I would mention that in the email.\n\nThe point is not to accuse yourself. The point is to help HF distinguish between accidental experimentation, a problematic duplicated Space, an automated false positive, and actual abuse.\n\nHF’s Content Policy includes a “Platform Abuse, Security Violations and Spam” section, including things like unauthorized bot APIs, remote management tools, excessive or irrelevant repository data, proxies / tunnels used to bypass restrictions, cryptomining, spam, and similar abuse patterns: [Hugging Face Content Policy](https://huggingface.co/content-policy).\n\nThat does not mean your account did any of those things. It only means that Space-related experiments can sometimes overlap with the kinds of signals that platforms monitor.\n\n##\nData recovery notes\n\nIf a repo / dataset / Space is public and still visible, you may be able to copy it without account restoration, depending on what is still reachable.\n\nOfficial docs: [Download files from the Hub](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/en/guides/download).\n\nFor a public model repo:\n\n```\nhf download AntixStudioDesign/ --repo-type model --local-dir ./hf-backup-model\n```\n\nFor a public dataset:\n\n```\nhf download AntixStudioDesign/ --repo-type dataset --local-dir ./hf-backup-dataset\n```\n\nFor a public Space:\n\n```\nhf download AntixStudioDesign/ --repo-type space --local-dir ./hf-backup-space\n```\n\nOr from Python:\n\n``` python\nfrom huggingface_hub import snapshot_download\n\nsnapshot_download(\n repo_id=\"AntixStudioDesign/\",\n repo_type=\"model\", # use \"dataset\" or \"space\" when appropriate\n local_dir=\"./hf-backup\",\n)\n```\n\nImportant limits:\n\n| Case |\nRecovery expectation |\n| Public repo / public Space still visible |\nOften copyable with `git clone` , `hf download` , or `snapshot_download()` |\n| Private repo |\nProbably not accessible while locked unless HF restores access or helps export it |\n| Space secrets |\nDo not expect these to be recoverable from the public repo |\n| Persistent storage / runtime state |\nDepends on the Space setup and HF support |\n| Billing / account settings / private tokens |\nSupport-only |\n| Deleted / disabled content |\nSupport-only |\n\nSo I would treat public repos as “possibly recoverable now,” but private data, secrets, and persistent runtime data as “ask HF support.”\n\n##\nSome public precedents and why I would not panic yet\n\nA few public threads suggest that an HF account lock is not always permanent, and that account / Space / internal-alert cases can be reviewed by HF support. Of course, none of these proves what happened in your specific case. Only HF can confirm the real reason.\n\n| Public case |\nWhat happened |\nWhy it matters here |\n[Locked out of my account](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/locked-out-of-my-account/141153) |\nAn HF staff member said the account was locked due to one of their internal alerts and asked the user to email `website@huggingface.co` . The user later posted that they were back. |\nThis is probably the clearest example that an internal-alert lock can be investigated and restored. |\n[Unban me, please](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/unban-me-please/174586) |\nA user reported that their account was restored via `safety@huggingface.co` . They also said the immediate cause appeared to involve a filter that scans Spaces, while HF was still investigating. |\nThis is useful because you already emailed `safety@huggingface.co` , and because your issue may also be Space-related. |\n[Why have my space and account been inexplicably banned?](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/why-have-my-space-and-account-been-inexplicably-banned/164013) |\nA user reported a sudden account / Space access issue. Another user later said `website@huggingface.co` restored access for them in a few hours. |\nThis is a useful reassurance case for Space-related account problems. |\n[Cannot Log In, 403 Error and Account Possibly Blocked Without Cause](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/cannot-log-in-403-error-and-account-possibly-blocked-without-cause/162013) |\nAnother user said they had previously had an account frozen but were able to get it back, and recommended contacting HF by email at `website@huggingface.co` . |\nNot an official statement, but it is another public recovery anecdote. |\n[Hello, my account has been blocked?](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/hello-my-account-has-been-blocked/163095) |\nA user later reported that their account was back, apparently without any notification email. |\nThis suggests that sometimes access may return without a detailed public explanation. |\n[Unable to login and all my spaces are “banned”?](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/unable-to-login-and-all-my-spaces-are-banned/162512) |\nSimilar symptoms were discussed: forced logout, Spaces not working, and advice to contact `website@huggingface.co` with the account name. |\nThis is not a clean recovery report, but it shows that similar account/Spaces symptoms have appeared before. |\n[GitHub issue: storage patterns tripped internal systems](https://github.com/huggingface/huggingface_hub/issues/3366) |\nThe 403 message itself told the user to contact `website@huggingface.co` so HF could verify the account and unlock storage for the use case. |\nThis is not the same as an account ban, but it supports the idea that `website@huggingface.co` is a real practical route for internal-system / verification / unlock cases. |\n[Hugging Face Content Policy](https://huggingface.co/content-policy) |\nThe official policy says users can contest a moderation decision to disable content or suspend / terminate an account by contacting `legal@huggingface.co` with arguments and evidence. |\nThis is the more formal appeal route if the issue is treated as a moderation decision rather than a simple account-support lock. |\n\nMy reading from these examples is:\n\n- A locked account is not necessarily deleted.\n- Space-related or internal-alert-related locks can happen.\n- Some users have reported restoration after email contact.\n`website@huggingface.co`\n\nappears repeatedly in account-lock / internal-alert / verification cases.\n`safety@huggingface.co`\n\ncan also be relevant, especially if the lock screen or safety review points there.\n`legal@huggingface.co`\n\nis the formal Content Policy route for contesting a moderation decision, but I would not treat it as the first everyday support address unless the case clearly becomes a formal appeal.\n\nBottom line: I would not assume your account or data is gone. There are public restoration examples, and your public pages not being completely gone is a good sign. You already did the most important first step by emailing HF. If there is no response, follow up through `website@huggingface.co`\n\nwith a short, factual summary and links to the affected Spaces/repos.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/need-help-my-account-was-locked", "canonical_source": "https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/need-help-my-account-was-locked/177071#post_4", "published_at": "2026-06-23 08:37:45+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-24 00:42:17.250367+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "ai-safety", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["Hugging Face", "AntixStudioDesign", "Hermes Agent", "safety@huggingface.co", "website@huggingface.co", "legal@huggingface.co"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/need-help-my-account-was-locked", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/need-help-my-account-was-locked.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/need-help-my-account-was-locked.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/need-help-my-account-was-locked.jsonld"}}