March 27, 2025

How to spot fake instagram followers when buying?

As Instagram grows, more and more users are interested in buying followers to increase their reach and credibility on the platform. There are many fake accounts and bots out there that are purchased for cheap. Buying fake followers will not help you grow a real audience and even get your account banned by Instagram. So, how do you spot fake followers when buying Instagram followers?

The engagement rate is the best indicator of real vs fake followers. Fake accounts do not like, comment on, or interact with your posts. Check to see if the followers you buy are actively engaging with your content. If you have 10k new followers but are still only getting a few hundred likes per post, those followers are likely bots. Real followers will engage with your posts at a similar rate to your existing follower base.

Look at follower profiles 

Take a closer look at the profiles of your new followers. Fake accounts often have no profile picture, posts, or bio info. The username may be a random string of numbers and letters. Real followers will have detailed profiles with posts, stories, and bio info matching their persona. Checking follower profiles takes time but is one of the best ways to determine authenticity. Check the location of your new followers. If you have a business from another city, but most of your new followers are from India, those followers are likely fake. Bots don’t have a true location, so they will be from random places. Your ideal followers should live where your target audience resides.

Review follower followings

Genuine Instagram users follow accounts relevant to their interests. Fake accounts will follow a random selection of users with no cohesion. Analyze who your new followers are following to determine if they align with your niche. For example, if you sell beauty products and your new followers are all following gaming profiles, that’s a red flag. There are various free and paid tools you use to analyze your Instagram followers. Tools your followers and assign each one a quality score. It helps identify bots vs active users. Just connect your Instagram account, run a scan, and instantly get insights on your followers. The tools will also show you who your top/most valuable followers are.

Ask about follower sources

If you’re buy real instagram followersfrom a company, ask about their sources. Reputable providers will be transparent about where they get their followers. Fake follower companies may be vague, claiming their sources are “private” or “proprietary”. Make sure you fully understand how the provider sources real, targeted followers for your niche before buying. For new providers, start with small orders like 1k followers. Monitor the results for quality before ordering more. Fake follower providers will send bot followers no matter the order size. Getting a small order first lets you evaluate the followers before spending more.