Automated
No picture, a letters-and-numbers handle, no posts and thousands of followings. Often followed you in the same week as others like it.
Tools / Account quality
Instagram bot followers
Automated and abandoned accounts end up on most follower lists. This guide shows what they look like, why they follow you, how to tell them from quiet people, and how to remove them inside the app.
- No login
- No app
- Public accounts only
@a7x_29kJoined 3 weeks ago
0Posts
9Followers
862Following
- No photo
- Random handle
- No posts
- Follows hundreds
- No bio
- New account
Likely a botRemoved by you, in the app
How do you find bot followers on Instagram?
Read each follower's public profile for the same few signsBot accounts share a shape: no profile picture, a handle of letters and numbers, no posts, and far more followings than followers. Check your followers against those signs, open the likely ones, and remove them from your follower list in the app.
Key points
- 1
No single sign proves a bot. Several together are a strong hint.
- 2
Bots follow in bulk to be followed back, to promote links, or to pad bought follower packages.
- 3
Quiet people who never post are not bots. A picture, a name and mutual friends usually mean a person.
- 4
Removal happens in the app, one account at a time. No tool needs your password.
What they look like
Six signs on a follower's public profile.
Every sign below can be read from the profile itself. One sign is common on real accounts; three or four together are the shape of an automated one.
On a bot or inactive accountOn a quiet person
Profile pictureNone, or a stock imageUsually a photo of the person
HandleLetters and numbers, such as a7x_29kOften a name or a nickname
PostsNone, or a few copied imagesFew or none, sometimes
Following countThousands, far above its followersA few hundred people and interests
BioEmpty, or only a linkEmpty, or a line about the person
Mutual followersNone you knowFriends or colleagues in common
Why they follow you
Five reasons automated accounts follow real ones.
Being followed by a bot says little about you. It says what the bot was set up to do.
To be followed back
Some accounts follow thousands of others in the hope that a share follow back, then unfollow later. Your follow is the goal.
To promote a link
Spam accounts follow you so their bio link or their messages reach you.
To fill bought packages
Services that sell followers often deliver automated accounts. Some follow random accounts too, so the delivered followers look active. An Instagram fake follower check estimates how much of a count is bought in this way.
Left over from giveaways
Giveaways that ask entrants to follow several accounts attract throwaway accounts that stay on the list after the draw.
Abandoned, not automated
An account its owner stopped using looks much the same as a bot: no new posts, an old picture or none. It is inactive rather than automated. When such accounts leave your list in a clean-up, a who unfollowed me check shows the names that went.
Bot, inactive or quiet
Three kinds of follower that look alike.
A follower with no posts can be any of these. The difference decides whether removing it is worth a tap.
Quiet
A picture, a name, a short bio, no posts and some mutual friends. A real reader who does not share.
Inactive
An account with a picture and old posts that stopped years ago. A person once, no longer reading.
When in doubt, open the profile
A few seconds on the profile settles most cases. If it follows people you know, it is most likely a person, whatever its post count.
Three steps
Find bot followers in three steps.
Your username is the only thing you type. The removing stays with you, in the app.
- 1
Enter your username
Type your own public Instagram username. No password and no login are needed.
- 2
Each follower is read
Every follower's public profile is set against the six signs: picture, handle, posts, counts, bio and mutual followers.
- 3
Remove in the app
Open your follower list in Instagram and tap Remove beside the accounts you decided are not people.
Remove them in the app
Four ways to deal with a bot follower.
Each one is an option in Instagram itself. Start with the lightest that does the job.
- Step 1
Remove
In your follower list, tap Remove beside the name. The account is not notified.
- Step 2
Restrict
If it comments, restrict it: its new comments are shown only to itself until you approve them.
- Step 3
Block
If it comes back or sends spam, block it from its profile. It can no longer find your account.
- Step 4
Report
Report the account as spam from its profile. Instagram reviews reported accounts.
Pace your removals
Instagram limits activity that looks automated. Removing a long list of followers in a few minutes can trigger a temporary limit, so spread a large clean-up over several sessions.
Fewer in future
Settings that keep bot followers down.
No setting stops every automated account. A few choices make your account less useful to them, and let you approve followers before they appear. Like the other follower tools on this site, this one reads and reports, and the removing stays with you.
The trade-off is reach: a private account shows its posts only to the followers you approve, so new readers see your header and a lock.
Fewer bots on your list
- Set your account to private and approve each follow request
- Ignore requests from accounts with no picture and no posts
- Avoid giveaways that require following many accounts
- Never buy followers, likes or comments
- Report spam accounts instead of only removing them
Why it matters
What bot followers change, and what they do not.
Removing them is a choice. These are the facts to weigh it against.
With many bot followersAfter removing them
Your follower countLarger than your audienceCloser to the people who read you
Likes and comments per followerLook low against the countMatch the people who are there
What brands and readers seeA count some will testA count that holds up when tested
Your reach in InstagramNot published by InstagramNot published by Instagram
Buying followers breaks Instagram's rules.
Instagram's rules prohibit collecting followers, likes or comments by artificial means, including buying them. Bought followers are often the automated accounts this page describes, and Instagram removes accounts it finds to be fake.
Four situations
Four people with bots on their list.
Emma CarterA wave of new followers
Example- The situation
- Emma gained a run of followers in one week, all with no picture and handles of letters and numbers.
- What they did
- She opened a few, saw thousands of followings and no posts on each, and removed them over two evenings.
Daniel MoreauAfter a giveaway
Example- The situation
- Daniel's café ran a giveaway that asked entrants to follow three accounts. After the draw, many new followers had never posted.
- What they did
- He removed the obvious throwaway accounts and ran his next giveaway with a comment entry instead.
Claire DuboisSpam in her messages
Example- The situation
- An account with no posts followed Claire's boutique and sent message after message with a link.
- What they did
- She blocked it and reported it as spam from its profile.
Lena HoffA quiet follower
Example- The situation
- Lena nearly removed a follower with no posts from her choir's account.
- What they did
- She opened the profile first, saw a picture and several mutual friends from the choir, and kept the follower.
Can and cannot
What a bot follower check is for.
A bot check can
- Read each follower's public profile against the six signs
- Mark the accounts that fit the automated shape
- Tell inactive accounts from automated ones, with reasons
- Leave every removal to you, in the app
It cannot
- Prove an account is a bot
- Remove followers for you
- Read a private account's follower list from outside
- Say how Instagram ranks your posts
Stay safe
Three rules for any bot follower tool.
- Never type your Instagram password
Finding bot followers needs public profiles and your username. A tool that asks for your login is after your account.
- No mass removal by outside apps
An app that removes followers for you signs in as you, and Instagram limits activity that looks automated.
- You decide each removal
A check reads and marks. Removing, blocking and reporting stay in the app, done by you.
Quick answers
Smaller questions about bot followers.
Why did my count drop when I did nothing?
Instagram removes fake and automated accounts. When it does, they leave your follower list on the same day.
Do bots see my private posts?
Only if you approved their follow request. On a private account, ignore requests from accounts with the signs above.
Can I check another account's bots?
On a public account, yes. The fake follower check covers testing someone else's count.
Related pages
More about followers.
Questions
About bot followers.
Short answers to what people ask when their follower list fills with accounts that are not people.
01What are Instagram bot followers?
Accounts run by software rather than a person, that follow accounts in bulk. Most have no profile picture, a handle of letters and numbers, no posts, and a following count far larger than their follower count.
02Why do bots follow me on Instagram?
Most follow in bulk hoping to be followed back, to promote a link or a product, or to make bought follower packages look delivered. Some are left over from giveaways and follow-for-follow campaigns.
03How do I remove bot followers on Instagram?
Open your follower list, find the account and tap Remove beside the name. Instagram does not notify the account. If it keeps coming back or sends spam, block it and report it from its profile.
04Can I remove all bot followers at once?
Instagram has no button for it. Removal is one account at a time. Outside apps that offer mass removal need your password, and Instagram limits activity that looks automated.
05Is a follower with no posts always a bot?
No. Many people use Instagram only to read. An account with a picture, a real-looking name and some mutual friends is usually a quiet person, even with no posts.
06Does Instagram remove bot accounts itself?
Yes. Instagram removes accounts it finds to be fake or automated. When it does, several followers can leave your list on the same day.
07Do bot followers hurt my account?
Instagram has not published how followers who never engage affect what it shows. They do make your count larger than your audience, which brands and readers can notice.
08Will a bot know I removed it?
Instagram sends no notice for a removal. On a public account it can follow you again; a private account makes it send a request you can ignore.
09Do I need my password to find bot followers?
No. Each follower's picture, posts and counts are on its public profile, and your follower list is public on a public account. Never give your password to a tool.
10Is this site part of Instagram?
No. ProfileScanner is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Instagram or Meta.
11Can PeekViewer spot bot followers?
PeekViewer's pages do not describe bot detection. They list followers and followings of a public account and how they change, which you would still read by hand. Our PeekViewer review sets out what it offers and what it costs.
Ready when you are
Look first. Stay unseen.
Type a public username and open the viewer. No Instagram login on your side, no name on theirs.
