How to Tell Fake Instagram Followers (Fast and Free)

Shanoon Cox

Jan 07, 2025• Proven solutions

Instagram is one of the most popular platforms that is used for influencer marketing. In order to become an influencer, users try to gain a big following. Many influencers think if they have more followers, they will have more opportunities to cooperate with brands, so they tend to buy fake Instagram followers.

However, brands like to work with influencers having high engagement rate nowadays, instead of influencers with huge follower base. More and more influencers realize that having more followers is not everything. Yet, here are some of the ways to check fake Instagram followers fast and free.

• Part1: Why Influencers Tend to Buy Fake Instagram Followers
• Part2: Why Are Fake Instagram Followers Dangerous
• Part3: How To Check Fake Instagram Followers

Part 1: Why Influencers Tend to Buy Fake Instagram Followers?

Many people think if they have more followers on Instagram, they are more popular and branks will like to work with them. In fact, it is wrong.

Nowadays, brands focus more on engagement rate, which means if your followers are real and active. If you have real influencing power on Instagram even with a limited number of followers, brands still like these kinds of accounts.

So, if you are planning to buy fake Instagram followers, stop it!

Part 2: Why Are Fake Instagram Followers Dangerous?

The fake Instagram follower accounts can be created using bots to raise your follower count, but it comes with several hidden risks. In spite of the Instagram eradication program where numerous accounts were deleted, the problem of fake profiles still persists creating a major security issue for the users.

Such fake profiles are easily identifiable as they have very little followers and do not have any profile image or any other photos. But, there are a few who use genuine information of other real users, without their knowledge to prove themselves legitimate.

The fake Instagram followers often use fake bios and stolen photos, making it very difficult for the outside companies to spot the real between so many fakes. The problem has become worse with social media influencers seeking fake followers in order to enhance their online presence.

Part 3: How to Check Fake Instagram Followers

You can always find out if an Instagram account is fake. Check these free tips below.

1. Check Followers

While searching for a brand influencer and targeting a few, go through the profile of each influencer to check if they have any fake followers in their profile. It is not very difficult to understand if the influencer you are targeting has fake followers or not. Wondering how? Check out for the points below to figure out the fake Instagram followers.

• Profiles with no photos must be considered fake. The brands must be cautious if the influencer they have targeted consist of fake followers who usually lack a profile picture in their accounts. Any sort of spammy usernames must also be considered fake.
• Check out for the spam comments – When the influencer’s post gets tons of likes and comments, it is evident that all of their followers are very active. You must go through some of the comments to scan if any comments have no meaning or look gibberish. In case you find one, it is a fake Instagram follower.
• Use of fan buying services – Try to look for the profiles that your influencers are following. If you find any fan buying accounts, you can count it as the fake Instagram followers.

2. Check Profile Sections

Usually, the fake Instagram followers do not put much effort into creating an appealing profile, and neither do they have a realistic bio. They might even leave the bio space empty or fill in minimum details.

Your profile check becomes tough when the fake followers turn their profile settings to hidden. It is obvious that the one who hides their profile, can it be authentic? Can you get a loyal and committed follower with such fake Instagram followers? Such profiles instantly get a red flag.

3. Check Engagement

The engagement rate must be proportional to the number of followers in your influencer’s account. The brands can calculate if the engagement rate is proportionate to the number of followers by comparing the number of comments and likes to the number of followers.

The Instagram accounts that have several followers but a very low engagement rate are usually considered to have several fake Instagram followers. For calculating the engagement rate of any account, you may pick last uploaded ten photos and take out the average number of comments and likes garnered on those images. Then, divide the average number by several followers and, finally, multiply it by 10. Even if you find the engagement rate satisfying, check out if the comments and likes are real or purchased.

4. Using Third-Party Tools

If you feel that calculating manually is not the best thing to do, you can also find some tools that can help you to determine if the followers of your influencer are fake.

FollowerCheck

FollowerCheck is one such tool that scans the influencer’s profile and finds out the results for real versus the fake followers. The most suspicious follower’s names are identified through this tool. It is a free tool that helps you with snapshots of the followers of the account. If a valid account has several fake Instagram followers, then you may block or remove the users. FollowerCheck offers 100% accurate results and works for the large follower bases.

Auditor for Instagram

An AI-powered tool, the Auditor for Instagram, offers to help the marketers in checking the Instagram accounts of the Influencers for fake likes and followers. In this mode, machine learning is used to find patterns of behavior.

5. Check Instagram Follower Growth

Normally, the health follower growth is consistent and steady. Overall, the increase is smooth, with a slight drop each day. However, the followers will go spike suddenly and then drop deeply if an Instagram account bought fake followers before. You need to track at least three months of statistics. There are many social media monitor tools in the market like Socialblade, Hootsuite, BuzzSumo, and more. Below is a health line chart for your reference.

6. Contact the Influencer Directly

Sometimes, you can contact the influencer to ask them the details about their account if you are not sure it has fake followers. The common questions include sending a case study, the experience of building Instagram, and how to cooperate with brands.

Conclusion

Tracking the fake Instagram followers is easy and can be done rapidly. Check out the above steps and tips to understand how to notice the fake Instagram followers without much of your efforts. Such fake profiles can be harmful to your brands as well as it will not turn into a committed and loyal customer. So, ensure that your brand is free from such fake followers when you work with an influencer.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox