How to Remove Bot Followers on Instagram: A Step-by-Step Guide

Bot followers on Instagram can harm your account’s credibility and distort your engagement metrics. While a high follower count may seem appealing, inactive or fake accounts can lower your content’s reach and hurt your growth in the long run. In this guide, we’ll explain how to identify bot followers and walk you through the best strategies to remove them.

Why Are Bot Followers a Problem?

Bot followers are automated accounts designed to inflate follower counts. They often:

• Skew Analytics: Bots inflate your follower count without contributing to likes, comments, or shares, making it harder to track genuine engagement.

• Harm Your Reputation: Brands, influencers, and potential followers may view excessive fake followers as a sign of inauthentic growth.

• Reduce Content Visibility: Instagram’s algorithm favors engagement. Too many inactive followers can weaken your reach.

How to Identify Bot Followers on Instagram

Before removing bots, it’s important to identify them. Common signs include:

✅ No Profile Picture: Most bots use generic or no profile pictures.
✅ Strange Usernames: Look for accounts with random numbers, symbols, or awkward letter combinations.
✅ Low or No Posts: Bots typically have few or zero posts.
✅ Unusual Following Ratios: Bots may follow thousands of accounts but have very few followers in return.
✅ Irrelevant Comments: Generic comments like "Nice pic!" or excessive emojis often signal bot activity.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Bot Followers

1. Manually Remove Bot Followers

For smaller accounts, manually removing bots is effective:

1. Go to Your Followers List:

   • Open Instagram, visit your profile, and tap on Followers.

2. Search for Suspicious Accounts:

   • Identify accounts with the above-listed bot characteristics.

3. Remove the Bot Follower:

   • Tap the Remove button next to the account’s name.

Tip: Bots won’t be notified when you remove them.

2. Use Third-Party Apps (With Caution)

For larger accounts with hundreds or thousands of followers, manually removing bots may be overwhelming. Instead, consider these trusted third-party tools:

• SpamGuard — Detects and removes inactive or fake followers.

• Cleaner for Instagram — Allows bulk removal of bot followers.

• AiGrow — Provides bot detection and removal features.

Important: Always use trusted services that follow Instagram’s guidelines to avoid account restrictions.

3. Report Suspicious Accounts

To help Instagram reduce bot activity, you can report fake profiles:

1. Visit the bot's profile.

2. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.

3. Select Report and choose the appropriate reason (e.g., "It's a spam account").

4. Adjust Your Privacy Settings

To prevent bots from following you in the future:

• Switch to a Private Account: While this limits new followers, it effectively blocks bots.

• Restrict Follow Requests: Approve only genuine follower requests.

• Limit Comments: Use Instagram’s comment filter to block spammy content.

5. Avoid Bot Growth Services

Many websites claim to boost your follower count quickly, but these services often rely on bots. Instead, focus on organic growth strategies such as:

• Posting consistently.

• Engaging with your audience.

• Using trending and relevant hashtags.

Final Tips for a Bot-Free Instagram

✅ Regularly audit your followers to identify and remove inactive accounts.
✅ Focus on creating authentic connections to build a loyal audience.
✅ Avoid shortcuts like fake follower services that harm your credibility.

For more Instagram growth strategies and expert advice, visit PopularUp. Keep your account healthy, active, and filled with real followers for long-term success!