What are fake followers? Fake followers are bots or fraudulent social media accounts that follow people to boost their overall audience count. People can pay services that use these bots to follow them and artificially inflate their audience on social media, leading to potential brand partnerships.
Instagram follower bots are used to increase the number of followers on an Instagram account, as well as to increase the visibility and engagement of posts. They are used by Instagram account holders to increase a following quickly, but they should be used with caution, as they may violate Instagram's terms of use.
A bot is programmed to repeatedly follow and unfollow you, until you return the favor. Consider them a bot if they follow thousands of accounts, but only have a few followers in return. If the ratio seems way off, its likely a bot.
In short, a fake Instagram account is one that's not actually run by an individual human being. Some of these accounts are mass-created by people; others are mass-created by bots. Some are used to spam comments, likes, etc., while others are left dormant. Every social media provider is plagued by these fake accounts.
HypeAuditor has also revealed that only 55 percent of the followers on Instagram are real people, so this basically means that the other 45 percent include bot/inactive accounts, bogus or fake followers.
Look for these red flags: Followers with No Photos or Posts: If an influencer is followed by users that have not posted and/or lack a profile picture, you can typically assume that these followers are fake. Brands should also look out for influencers with followings of tons of private accounts and “spammy” usernames.
It happens almost all the time, both to new and old users. A primary reason for random followers on your account is bots that use your page to sustain their activities. Other reasons for your predicament could be that you are a new user, and Instagram suggests you to its users who might follow your account.
One of these avenues is Instagram bots. These bots will follow other accounts, like posts and leave comments on targeted lists of Instagram accounts to help increase reach, followers, and engagement on a companies account.
There is no downside to manually working through your follower list. Remove followers who are fake and inactive, whilst increasing the engagement and visibility of your profile across the platform. Your content will perform better, you'll receive more authentic engagement, and you'll have the algorithm on your side.
Instagram Bots
There are companies out there that have automated the process of creating bots so well that they can then sell them as followers. In some cases, the bots may even assume the identity of a real person, using stolen images and names.
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“The bot may be befriending you so it can send you private messages with spam or phishing attempts.” These bad bots, the ones that want to steal your password or infect you with a virus, account for 28.9 per cent of bots on Instagram, according to data security company Imperva.
Yes, you can buy followers on Instagram from a wide range of sites at different price points, such as $10 for 1,000 followers. However, these followers typically aren't real, and they're either bots or inactive accounts that won't actually engage with your profile.
Often if the username is a string of jumbled letters and numbers, there is a good chance it is a bot. You might also notice the profile picture is missing, or shows up in a reverse image search, meaning it has been used many times on the internet.
Don't Panic: While being botted may be stressful and a distraction, try not to panic and carry on as you would otherwise. Stay Civil: Botting can bring a lot of attention and you may be asked about your viewership. Feel free to calmly explain the situation or ignore such questions altogether.
You'll probably notice an influx of new followers if you start randomly liking posts with a certain hashtag, or following accounts with a theme (say fashion or beauty). The bots then take notice and follow you. Of course, you'll only get these random accounts following you if your profile is set to public.
No. You can't get in trouble for buying Instagram followers. Everyone is doing it, and it is not illegal to buy Instagram followers. IG lets people purchase followers if they want to look more popular quickly.
Influencers and companies often buy followers to boost their credibility, thinking that users are more likely to follow an account with 20,000 followers than 200.
According to Instagram Community guidelines, buying fake followers is officially banned and is considered fraudulent. The platform can punish your account permanently without the possibility of recovery.
So, the main reasons you should delete fake followers with no regrets: They decrease your engagement rate. Brands don't like to work with influencers with high percent of bots. Bots are deleted by Instagram, so you'll have negative trend in your followers count history.
One of the most prevalent issues that have arisen with influencers is the trend of follower fraud. Data collected by Statista concluded that in 2021, approximately 49% of Instagram influencers participated in follower fraud.