Have you lost followers recently? Over the last few days, we’ve noticed many fake accounts and bot accounts being deleted as part of the Instagram purge.
What is the Instagram Purge Causing Loss of Followers?
A “purge” is a large platform-wide clean up effort that social networks like Instagram and Twitter perform to maintain the integrity of their user base. After all, they want real people they can nudge to either pay for ads or view ads, while fostering a more authentic ecosystem.
What’s happening?
Back in November, Instagram clearly outlined that reducing inauthentic activity was a big priority. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Instagram routinely purges the following type of accounts:
- fake / spam accounts – if it looks suspicious, Instagram is on to you!
- botted accounts (any account that uses or has maliciously used bots, bot-driven services, or panels)
- accounts engaging in inauthentic activities (auto DMs, auto liking, auto _______)
- inactive accounts
- accounts in violation of copyright or trademarks
Over the last few days, a massive purge clearly occurred on the Instagram platform.
In addition, Instagram also acknowledged a bug was found which coincidentally resulted in lost followers or lower follower counts being reports for many accounts. See their tweet below:
We’re aware of an issue that is causing a change in account follower numbers for some people right now. We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.
— Instagram (@instagram) February 13, 2019
While we firmly believe Instagram did conduct a purge of accounts, the combination of their bug and the purge magnifies the impact on accounts.
Purging users is quite common. In fact, even Twitter performed several purges last year resulting in the deletion of millions of accounts. YouTube has a similar problem in fake profiles, bought views, and spam comments which game their algorithms. These purges will become routine across all the major social platforms. In short, combating spammers and unauthentic users is in the best interest of each platform as they all generate revenue from advertisers, and are all suffering from issues related to fraudulent clicks / views / actions, and the accuracy of such metrics.
What’s the purge mean for your account?
With regard to Instagram’s purge, it’s nothing to worry about in our opinion.
You may notice a sudden drop in follower count due to the purge(s). All accounts that Instagram removes are deleted from the platform are deleted from your follower and/or following counts.
If you did experience a decrease in followers, don’t stress as there’s nothing you or we can do about this event.
Such purges can especially impact those accounts that previously or currently use bots or shady services. Though, if you’re managing your account genuinely, then you’ll see less impact or no impact at all.
Why We Love Instagram Purges?
Our Ampfluence team loves purges because they eliminate irrelevant or fake accounts that were following you, or you were following, which translates into a better audience and hopefully more engagement over time.
Fake followers = no engagement = lower overall engagement rate
Furthermore, such purges helps make Instagram a more useful and enjoyable experience.
Luckily for us, our client accounts are grown organically. While it’s possible their accounts also lost followers due to Instagram’s purge, they’ll continue to gain real and active followers based on our team’s daily activities. Furthermore, our client’s commitment to grow legitimately means we’ll always be compliant with Instagram’s terms of service.
What’s next?
It’s our opinion that Instagram will be performing more of these purges in the coming weeks and months, especially as it continues its efforts to further integrate and align with its parent company Facebook.
We’ll be sure to keep you informed about any future updates or findings. In the meantime, let us know if you lost a lot of followers due to the Instagram purge, and how many (comment below)?
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