by Google
Instagram is one of the most powerful platforms for content creators today, whether it's building a personal brand, collaborating with businesses, or communicating with the community. However, with the growing number of users, there are also growing nuisances, such as bots and fake accounts.
These automated profiles may seem like "bonus" followings at first glance, but in reality they do more harm than good. They mess up your statistics, artificially increase the number of followers without real interaction, and can undermine your credibility in the eyes of brands and fans.
The good news is that there are effective ways to deal with this problem. In this article, we'll show you what you can do to protect your profile and maintain a quality community.
What are Instagram bots and why are they harmful to you
Instagram bots are automated accounts that are not operated by real people. They are created either as a tool to quickly increase the number of followers, or as a means of spreading spam and suspicious content. Such profiles often don't have photos, post meaningless comments, send spam, or don't respond to your content at all.
At first glance, the numbers may seem appealing because more followers look better. But in reality, bots are harming you in the long run. Why?
They ruin engagement – they increase your followers but don’t add any likes or comments, so your engagement-to-follower ratio drops.
They ruin analytics – your data becomes inaccurate, making it harder to analyze performance and optimize content.
They damage your reputation – if brands or agencies see that you have a lot of followers but low engagement, they may consider you someone who “bought” your audience.
And it’s no small problem. The study "Detection of Fake Instagram Accounts via Machine Learning Techniques" states that about 10% of the 2.4 billion accounts on Instagram are fake. This means that the chances of you encountering bots are quite high, and the bigger your account, the more they can hit you. That's why it's important to learn how to spot them and keep your profile clean so that your community remains authentic and your results real.
What to avoid ❌
When you're hit by a wave of bots on Instagram, the first thing you might think of is a quick and radical solution. But in practice, some of them do more harm than good.
Setting your account to private
You might say to yourself, "I'll just set my profile to private and be at peace." The truth is, if you use Instagram as a creator who works with brands, it's a step that completely defeats your goals. With a private account, you're not only missing out on statistics and insights, but also on the visibility of your content for new followers and potential partners.
In short, brands won't be willing to invest in someone whose content they can't see.
Changing your username
Meta support often advises you to change your name. Yes, in some cases, this can slightly reduce bot attacks, as the system will evaluate you as a "new profile" for a while. The problem is, changing your name isn't a real solution, and the bots will come back sooner or later. Moreover, if you already have a well-established brand, fans may quickly stop finding you and risk confusing you with another account.
How to defend yourself ✅
The good news is that Instagram has several built-in tools that will help you keep your profile under control. Not everything works 100%, but in combination they can significantly reduce the number of bots and spam on your account.
Instagram Spam Filters
One of the easiest options is to use the “Hidden Words” feature. You can find it in Settings → Security → Hidden Words. Instagram will allow you to automatically hide comments and messages that contain inappropriate or suspicious phrases. You can also add your own words to the list, such as the most common spam phrases like follow for follow, DM for collab, or random emoji strings. The advantage is that everything is filtered automatically, so you don't have to manually check every reaction.
This tool will help you keep comments and messages cleaner, which will improve the impression of your profile even for real fans.
"Flagged for review"
Instagram has added a feature that can be of great help to creators. In the Followers → Flagged for review section, you will see accounts that the system has assessed as suspicious. Here you can review the suggested list and decide whether to delete the account.
Important note: Instagram often adds inactive followers here, who may not be bots, such as older acquaintances who just don't interact. That's why it's always worth checking the list manually so you don't accidentally delete a friend.
Manual account cleaning
If you feel like there are too many bots or you don't want to rely solely on algorithms, there is still a classic solution, which is manual cleaning. Just set aside a few minutes every week and review new accounts. You can quickly find out who is suspicious by looking at the profiles (no photos, meaningless names, zero activity). Beware of the difference between removal and blocking – a removed follower can follow you again, while a blocked follower loses all access to your content.
👉 By combining these three steps (spam filters, "marked for review" and manual cleaning), you can significantly improve the quality of your audience and maintain real statistics that are important for building collaborations and long-term growth.
Extra prevention tips
To avoid bots as much as possible, it's also worth thinking about prevention:
Don't use questionable tools to buy followers - it may seem like a quick way to get numbers, but brands and algorithms will detect it very quickly.
Create quality content - authentic and consistent posts naturally attract real people, not bots.
Use third-party tools - platforms like HypeAuditor or Modash will help you detect the share of fake accounts among your followers.
Watch for unusual spikes in your follower count - if you suddenly gain hundreds of followers within an hour, it could be a bot attack. Then it's better to act immediately.
Bots on Instagram are annoying, but they are not invincible. It is important to stay calm, use the available tools and, above all, focus on what is important - creating quality content that will find real fans. If you maintain an active and authentic community, a few fake accounts will not destroy your results.
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