Instagram Cracks Down on Fake Followers and Likes

Following similar crackdowns on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, Instagram has revealed more plans to crack down on automated third-party apps people use to leave paid-for comments and likes, or follow and then unfollow to artificially grow their account. The platform believes this behaviour has a negative impact on user experiences and makes accounts less secure, so in an effort to rebuild trust among users and advertisers alike, it will start its purge in the coming weeks. “People come to Instagram to have real experiences, including genuine interactions. It is our responsibility to ensure these experiences aren’t disrupted by inauthentic activity,” said Instagram in an announcement online.Using machine learning, tools have been built to help identify accounts that use these services and remove the inauthentic likes, follows and comments with the aim to keep the platform “a vibrant community where people connect and share in authentic ways.”
One step to limit this kind of activity will be to send an in-app message of warning to accounts that are found to be employing this type of behaviour, telling them to change their password to cut ties with these apps. Instagram has shut some bot apps for growing followers like Instagress and Social Growth but there’s an array of apps and plugins that Instagram influencers use to make them seem more attractive to brands. These apps often ask you to share your password whether the app is just for analysing your follower base or for helping you increase engagement. The measures will be ongoing and account that continues to use third-party apps may well see their Instagram experience hindered. “We’ll have more updates in the coming weeks on additional measures we’re taking to tackle inauthentic activity on Instagram,” read the statement.

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