Want to increase your Instagram engagement but feel like some followers just aren’t there? You might have ghost followers.
These inactive accounts never like or comment, dragging down your reach.
But don’t worry, there are ways to clean up your follower list! In this blog, I will explore three methods to remove ghost followers: Manually checking profiles, using Instagram Insights, and utilizing safe ghost follower removal tools.
Learn more about how to remove ghost followers on Instagram and choose the best method for your needs!
How to Find & Remove Ghost Followers on Instagram?
When it comes to removing ghost followers on Instagram, knowing who they are is key. Let’s talk about different ways to spot ghost accounts so you can get rid of them.
Check Your Followers’ Profiles Manually
While this might take a long time, it’s a simple way for those with short followings list. Ghost followers usually have these symptoms:
- No profile picture or generic pictures
- A username that doesn’t make sense
- No posts for a long time
- No tagged content
- Fewer followers and more followings
- Little to no engagement (likes, comments, tags) on their posts
Use Instagram Insights tools
Instagram Insights won’t outright point out your ghost followers. However, by combining its data with profile checks, you can get a clearer picture.
- Go to your profile and tap on Professional Dashboard (You must have a Business or Creators account).
- Monitor engagement metrics like likes, comments, shares, and saves for your posts over a period (For example, 14 or 30 days).
- Look for those followers who never engage with your content for a longer period. They could be potential ghost followers.
Remember; the content type matters. For example, a funny picture might naturally get more likes than a long video. So, look for a drop in engagement relative to similar content you typically post.
How To Remove Ghost Followers On Instagram?
Identified those ghost followers? Time to take action!
Do It Yourself
If you don’t have many followers, you can remove ghost followers by yourself manually.
The more followers you have, the more time-consuming this process will be.
After identifying those inactive followers, you should simply tap Remove to delete them from your list.
But remember to stick to Instagram follow-unfollow limits which is around 200 unfollows a day. Otherwise, you’ll get action-blocked.
Use A Safe Instagram Ghost Remover
Many professional users don’t have enough time to check their followers one by one, especially if they have thousands of followers. So, how to remove ghost followers in bulk?
Good news! Some apps and platforms can remove ghost followers on Instagram for free. They’re like helpers that make the removal process faster, saving you loads of time. However, apps to auto-remove followers on Instagram are Not secure (Even if they’re free).
To find and remove ghost followers on Instagram online and risk-free, you can use AiGrow.
AiGrow has plans where actual people manually remove ghost followers. It’s great for accounts with big followers.
They find and remove these ghost followers in batches, with an Instagram account manager handling the process for 3K to 10K inactive accounts.
Should I Remove Ghost Followers on Instagram?
Let’s say: Yes, Now.
There’s been a bit of back-and-forth among Instagram marketers about whether to remove those ghost followers
About two years ago, they used to say it’s not worth spending time removing inactive followers. But times have changed, especially with Instagram algorithms.
So, why should you delete those Instagram ghost followers? Let’s break it down.
#1. Ghost Followers Can Harm Your Engagement and reach
Curious how?
The Instagram algorithm figures out how cool your post is by looking at how much your followers like it, among other stuff.
Instagram first shows your post to a small bunch of your followers, like around 5-10%. If they hit the like button, Instagram thinks, “Hey, this is cool!” and shows it to more people, even in search feeds.
But if your followers just scroll past without liking, Instagram thinks, “Eh, not so cool,” and stops showing it.
To put it simply: Lower engagement= lower reach (visibility)= No brands to work with you!
If you want to learn how to calculate your Instagram engagement rate, read this blog!
So, here is a question for you: Does removing ghost followers help boost engagement? The answer is a strong Yes. Cyndi Zaweski agrees with this too!
She tried something out. Cyndi removed about 800 ghost followers, and guess what happened in the next two weeks? Her engagement rate went up!
#2. Instagram Ghost Followers Can Harm Your Credibility
No matter how great your content is, by having too many ghost followers on Instagram, IG users can’t trust your page.
When businesses and influencers collaborate with companies that have fake followers, they can easily discover the ineffectiveness of such partnerships by examining their Instagram insights.
So the chances of working and partnering with such companies again are low.
How To Avoid Ghost Followers?
Now that you know how to remove ghost followers on Instagram in 2023, let’s see what to do in the first place to avoid them.
#1. Don’t Buy Followers
You have heard this before, and you need to hear it again; buying Instagram followers can’t help your growth and only damages your page. The purchased followers are likely bots or inactive accounts that won’t engage with your posts.
Or the purchased followers might engage with your content the first few days, but they have no long-term value. So after a week or two, you will lose the engagement even more.
Instead, if you want to kickstart your Instagram page, you can use trusted organic growth tools that use manual actions.
#2. Avoid Loop Giveaways
Instagram contests and giveaways can drive instant traffic to your page and boost your visibility in a short time.
There are lots of giveaway ideas to help you build brand trust and awareness and find a potential audience. So what’s the problem?
However, working with non-related brands and influencers will do the opposite thing. You will receive hundreds of users who don’t like your content and only follow you for the prize.
So after the giveaway, most of them will unfollow you, and the rest will forget about your page.
That’s why loop giveaways are risky.
#3. Don’t Buy Accounts
We told you why you shouldn’t buy Instagram followers and for the same reasons, buying an account is not a good idea. Let’s take a brief look at the reasons again:
- These followers won’t engage with your content.
- You might end up with thousands of fake followers that need to be removed.
- Buying accounts is against Instagram’s terms of service.
- You might lose followers since they are not interested in your content
So instead of buying an account, try starting your page with long-term plans and strategies to increase your audience with organic users.
What Ghost Followers Remover Apps And Services To Avoid?
Searching for an Instagram unfollowers tracker, you can see hundreds of platforms claiming to be a safe tool to help you with managing your account. But which unfollow app to choose and how to track ghost followers for free?
The Instagram algorithm is constantly changing and getting smarter to find automated actions. The moment Instagram detects spammy behaviors, it will shadowban your account.
After that, if you continue using automation, you might get banned or action-blocked. Most of these ‘unfollowers for Instagram’ apps use this kind of automation and bot. To keep your account safe, you need to avoid these apps at all costs.
Instead, try the platforms that perform all the mass removal of ghost followers on Instagram actions manually at the minimum risk.
Conclusion
Despite past debates, the latest Instagram algorithm says removing a ghost follower boosts your engagement, reach, and credibility.
But, trusting some apps for security reasons isn’t smart. Instead, using manual and safe tools like AiGrow can save time and keep your account secure.
FAQs On Remove Ghost Followers
#1. What Are Ghost Followers On Instagram?
Ghost followers are inactive or fake Instagram accounts that inflate follower counts but don’t engage with content.
They’re often created by inactive users or are bots, lowering engagement rates, especially common among those who engage in follow-for-follow or purchase followers
#2. Why Should You Remove Ghost Followers On Instagram?
The latest Instagram algorithm values active followers and engagement over just the follower count. To reach more people and grow your followers, get rid of those ghost followers.
#3. How Can I Delete Ghost Followers In Bulk?
There are two ways to remove ghost followers on Instagram:
- Do it yourself: If you don’t have many followers, check profiles one by one and manually unfollow inactive or bot accounts. Be careful not to exceed Instagram limits.
- Use a trusted tool: For those with many followers, use a reliable app to bulk-remove ghost followers without taking up too much time.
#4. How Do You Mass Delete Fake Followers On Instagram?
To remove ghost followers in bulk, you can try using a third-party tool that analyses your list of followers and detects the fake/inactive ones.
After that, you can either use a remove ghost followers Instagram app or remove users manually if the list is not long.
#5. Is There An App To Delete Ghost Followers On Instagram?
There are third-party apps that claim to identify and remove ghost followers, but they’re not safe as they usually require your login info and go against Instagram rules.
#6. Can I Unfollow Inactive Instagram accounts?
Yep, ghost accounts might be in your following list too. You can spot and unfollow them if there aren’t too many. However, you should consider Instagram limits.
Suggested post: How to mass unfollow on Instagram
#7. If I Remove Ghost Followers On Instagram Will More People See My Post?
Having no ghost followers means there will be no negative impact on your Instagram account. However, removing ghost followers on Instagram will not directly result in more people seeing your posts.
#8. How To Get Rid Of Bots or Spam Followers On Instagram?
To check fake followers and bots on Instagram and ditch them, you can use a follow-bot remover tool like AiGrow or Modash.
These tools are designed to find and remove fake accounts from your followers. This helps clean up your account for a real and engaged audience. Pick a reliable tool for the best results.
#9. How To Remove Multiple Followers On Instagram At Once?
Currently, Instagram does not provide a built-in feature to remove multiple followers at once. The platform only allows you to remove Instagram followers individually.
To remove multiple followers, you would need to manually unfollow each account individually. However, there are third-party apps and services available, like AiGrow, that can offer bulk unfollowing features.
