If you want to get followers fast, bot accounts can be a tempting offer. However, you must try to avoid these profiles (whether buying or not) as they can hurt your account. In this guide, we look at Instagram bot followers, how to spot them, and why you should avoid them.
Your brand can only succeed if it’s fully authentic. This means every follower you have has to be a real account. You should also take action against bot profiles whenever you notice them. This might just involve blocking these profiles, but it’s best to also report them to Instagram.
What Are Bot Followers?
Instagram bot profiles are automated accounts that follow users, either to spam their posts or artificially boost their follower count. Some people pay online services to get bot fans, which makes them look more popular. However, these fake profiles offer few benefits and even violate the platform’s terms.
There is a common misconception that you only get bot followers if you pay for them. However, spambots are simply looking for an audience to hack. Big accounts are especially likely to have bots for this reason. They’ll also find it harder to audit their followers and remove bots.
After following an account, spambots might lay dormant or message you with a phishing link. Do not click on a link an unfamiliar account sends you; they can hack your account this way. If they reply to your posts asking people to view their profile, delete their comments immediately.
The presence of bots on Instagram has grown alongside the app’s popularity over time. As there are over 2 billion monthly users on Instagram, this means more potential targets for bots. Users who have limited experience with social media are especially vulnerable and might even click on a phishing link.
Why People Use Instagram Bots
This is the natural next question once you find out the answer to ‘What are Instagram bots?’ All account types use bots to seem impressive, at least until Instagram takes action. Influencers, for example, may charge more for sponsored posts if they have more followers. At first glance, this can seem like a good investment.
Scammers also use Instagram bots because they can trick users into giving away their sensitive details. This could include passwords or even their credit card number. Ultimately, the goal is to make money by any means necessary. A bot farm could send hundreds (possibly thousands) of DMs per hour, and they just need one success.
The downsides of paid follower bots are clear to anyone looking into them. The people who use them, however, may convince themselves that Instagram won’t notice. While it’s possible for the accounts to fly under the radar, this is a massive risk. If their behavior trips any of the platform’s alarms, Instagram will take action.
Common Signs of Bot Profiles
Once you know what to look out for, you can notice fake accounts with ease. This lets you keep your own profile clear of them and even warn your friends. If an account has next to no followers and no bio or profile picture, they’re likely a bot. They might even only have gibberish in place of a username.
If an account keeps adding repetitive and simple comments to your posts, they might be bots. In isolation, this isn’t proof, but these comments can be a subtle way of getting people to view their profile. You must look out for comments on your profile that are even slightly suspicious. Not all ghost followers resort to blatant spam.
If you have a lot of followers but low likes on every post, you could have IG bot followers. These accounts sometimes simply stay inactive for long periods of time, meaning you might not notice them. Big accounts can sometimes miss a spike in followers. However, if other people see these accounts, they might assume you paid for them.
How Instagram Bot Followers Hurt Your Account
If you’re still considering paying for bot followers, you need to know the problems they cause for your long-term growth. While paid services say that bot profiles have much to offer, they’re only trying to get your money. Here are the ways bots can harm your brand:
1. Lower Engagement
Bots affect your engagement rates by rarely liking or even viewing your posts. Instagram might see this as your followers not enjoying your content, affecting its reach. A high engagement rate can promote your post to Instagram’s Explore page, but bots get in the way of this. People might even think less of your content if it has a low engagement rate.
2. Fewer Followers
Similarly, people take notice of fake profiles. They might see your low engagement, or they may notice spam comments on your content. Some will falsely believe you bought followers and stop following you. If you aren’t quick enough to deal with bots, it can make you seem careless. Any boost in followers will also disappear when Instagram deletes these fake followers.
3. Unclear Analytics
Many accounts rely on their likes and followers to get an idea of their audience. If you have a lot of fake profiles following you, it is difficult to gain useful insights. For example, creators would be unable to note the age groups that make up their followers. This could stop you from making the content that appeals to your target audience.
Can Instagram Detect Bot Followers?
If you learn how to get bot followers on Instagram, the platform might punish your account. This can lead to a temporary suspension or even a full ban. Instagram is always getting better at bot detection, though it sometimes relies on user reports. If you think you have bots following you, report them to Instagram.
Instagram’s automatic bot detection mainly relies on machine learning. If it detects patterns from accounts that match its bot database, it restricts or suspends the account. However, this isn’t foolproof. Instagram sometimes identifies anybody mass-liking or mass-following as a bot. While false positives happen, they can still manually review if an account is a bot.
If you buy bots as followers, somebody might take notice and report them. If Instagram identifies that the accounts are bots, they may then penalize your account. This is because the platform’s Terms of Service forbid automated followers. If you’re desperate to grow your profile, only buy real followers that actually help your engagement.
How To Stop Bots From Following You on Instagram
Bots are difficult to avoid, though you can lock your account to stop them following you. If you do this, you have to manually approve each follower and can reject suspicious profiles. However, this feature isn’t available for creators or professional accounts. Using hashtags or having a popular account can also make you more of a target.
Here’s how to stop bots from following you on Instagram. First, go to your profile by clicking the profile picture (or person graphic) in the bottom right of your feed. Click the three horizontal lines in the top right to see Settings and Activity. On Account Privacy, press the toggle for Private Account to lock your profile.
You can remove them from your account by going onto your profile and clicking Followers. This shows a full list of your followers, and you can press Remove on suspicious accounts. However, it’s better to block and report them. Instagram can then simply close these bot profiles, stopping them from harassing other real people.
How To Get Bot Followers on Instagram
You can find bot Instagram followers with ease by simply searching for them online. This almost always involves a fee, however, and some of these websites simply want your bank details. If a service does actually connect you with bots, these will likely provide few genuine benefits. Real accounts are the only way forward for paid boosts.
It could cost as little as $25 for thousands of followers — but this is still a waste of money. Some bots claim to offer engagement, and yet their comments will always seem repetitive. Bots cannot read an image in the same way a human follower can. This means they will inevitably default to generic and obviously fake comments.
The closer that Insta bot followers get to emulating a human follower, the more expensive they’ll likely be. However, Instagram will still see that they’re a bot, especially if someone reports them. Using bots will only help you get ahead for so long. In the best-case scenario, their benefits will likely run out in a matter of time.
So many accounts consider using Instagram bot followers to rush their long-term growth, even if this means risking a ban. By choosing snsflow.com, you can buy human followers who boost your engagement while avoiding any problems with Instagram.
Our team can guarantee that you’ll get the right amount of views, likes, and comments to reach greater heights. Bot follower services will never offer this flexibility. Discover how the snsflow.com team can help your account thrive.
