When it comes to Instagram, many may think having more followers means more engagement. This will ultimately lead to more brands approaching you for a partnership. But this isn’t always the case.
Although having more followers leads to a better engagement and visibility of your account, it also means you may have more ghost followers. This is especially the case if you’re using unfair means to become famous on the platform.
Before we get into how to identify them, we need to understand that having ghost followers can seriously affect the influence of your content. If your engagement is low, Instagram will deem your content not worthy of attention. Therefore, it will decrease the number of followers that can see your posts, leading to an overall downfall of your Instagram reach.
An approach that people use to get rid of ghost followers is through third-party apps, which you’ll find plenty in the App Store/ Play Store. However, employing these apps can get your account banned or blocked as Instagram doesn’t support third-party apps.
If you’re trying to grow your account organically and get rid of ghost followers, you’ve landed on the right page. In this guide, you’ll come to know how to identify ghost followers as well as a few ways how to remove ghost followers on Instagram.
So, let’s dive right into it!
Ghost Followers and How to Spot Them
Ghosts followers are just inactive or spam accounts that don’t add any value to your Instagram account. They’re basically lurking in the shadows as their presence means nothing. After following you, they don’t interact with your posts via liking, commenting, or sharing.
So, even though you gain a follower when a ghost follower follows you, it’s of no use. Your next question may be, how do they find you then? There are many ways that ghost followers can follow you.
The very common way to have ghost followers added to your account is by buying fake followers or having inactive accounts follow you. Mostly, every account on Instagram has a number of ghost followers. It all comes down to whether the number affects your engagement or not.
The first step in removing ghost followers on Instagram is to spot them. So, although you may be aware of their presence, finding them is the tricky part. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Accounts With a High Ratio of Following to Followers
An easy trick to spotting a ghost follower is by checking out its following and follower count. Most of the time, a ghost follower is the one that has a high number of the following but is barely followed by anyone.
Now, that is not to say that every account with a greater following than followers is a ghost account. But, if an account is following 5k people, it’s very unlikely that they may be interacting with everyone they’re following. Hence, making them a ghost follower for some.
2. Accounts With No Display Picture
Apart from having a high following count, a ghost follower tends to have no display picture. Sometimes, the ghost follower may just be a bot that doesn’t have any real person behind it.
Usually, these accounts don’t have any posts on their profile. However, if they do have a few posts, they may have will be of low quality and will make you wonder who will follow them.
3. Accounts With Suspicious Handles And Bios
This includes users with weird handles having numbers and letters that may appear to be auto-generated passwords. Ghost accounts also contain spammy links in their bio, as well as an unusual bio or no bio at all. At the same time, a user not having a bio doesn’t mean it’s a ghost follower.
To consider a user a ghost follower, they should have a few, if not all, of the things mentioned above present in their account.
Ways To Remove Ghost Followers on Instagram
Now that you know how to identify ghost followers, let’s take a look at how you can get rid of them on Instagram to get your reach back.
1. Do It On Your Own
This method may seem like too much work, but it is one of the most effective and safest methods to remove ghost followers. Furthermore, if you’re using this method, keep in mind that you can trigger the Instagram algorithm if you don’t do it the right way. This means that you can’t remove all your ghost followers in a day. So, take it slow and only remove a few at a time.
Here’s how you can do it:
- To start, launch the Instagram app and tap on your Profile tab.
- From there, select Followers. Go through the list and identify ghost followers using the tips provided above.
- Next, tap on Remove to make them unfollow you.
Instagram only allows you to remove thirty followers at a time. After which, you won’t be able to remove anyone else. Hence, it’s necessary to take some time off in between your batches so that Instagram doesn’t flag or restrict your account.
2. Hire A Professional Or An Agency
If you think the method mentioned above is time-consuming, hiring a professional is another way to remove ghost followers effectively. Many individuals and agencies online are providing their tools and services to help you get rid of ghost followers.
You can hire a professional like Tom or contact an agency, such as Aigrow, to help you remove ghost followers in bulk.
3. Use A Third-Party App
It is recommended that you avoid such apps as they perform an action repeatedly, causing Instagram to detect them and flag your activity as suspicious. However, if you know how to use them correctly, even third-party apps can go unnoticed by Instagram and be quite helpful in eliminating ghost followers.
The trick to using these apps is only to remove a limited number of ghost followers in a day. This way, you won’t be detected by the Instagram algorithm while getting rid of ghost followers. A few such reliable apps include Spamguard, Unfollowers & Ghost Followers, and Reports +.
Ways to Avoid Ghost Followers on Instagram
It’s no lie that even after you remove ghost followers on Instagram, you may get them back one way or another. However, there are a few ways to avoid gaining ghost followers.
1. Avoid Buying Followers
The very first thing is to avoid purchasing followers. The companies and links that ask you to pay for followers essentially give you bots and ghost followers that will lower your account’s credibility. A large follower count will mean nothing if they’re from bots and inactive accounts.
So, always try to grow your account organically and focus on creating good content which will help you gain real and valuable followers.
2. Don’t Purchase A Pre-Existing Instagram Account
Many companies and agencies now provide pre-made Instagram accounts with a follower count to help you get a headstart on your Instagram career. However, these are just scams, and you will end up with many ghost followers if you fall into their trap.
3. Don’t Buy Likes and Comments
Many people opt for buying likes, comments, and shares instead of followers because they believe it will not result in them gaining ghost followers. But, buying engagement can also make you gain bot followers. Moreover, it will only be temporary and will not help you grow in the long run.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
1. What happens when you remove ghost followers on Instagram?
By removing ghost followers on Instagram, your engagement will improve. This will result in your posts reaching a larger audience and help you grab more brands’ offers and valuable customers.
2. Is it good to remove ghost followers on Instagram?
Ghost followers can interfere with the engagement of your posts and prevent your content from reaching the target audience. Hence, removing ghost followers on Instagram is a great way to get your reach back.
Wrapping Up: How to Remove Ghost Followers on Instagram
Ghost followers tend to affect not only your account’s credibility but also reduce your posts’ engagement. For this reason, removing them can really help with your Instagram career. By following the methods in this guide, you can successfully remove ghost followers on Instagram.
If you have further questions regarding this topic, feel free to let us know in the comments section below. Also, check out related topics at the end to learn a few more fixes regarding Instagram.
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