Where do these strangers who follow you for no apparent reason on Instagram come from?

You gain followers on Instagram, but some are a bit ... Weird? There is a simple explanation.

Instagram is a social network like the others: once registered, most of its users multiply the publications but will also see those of others. We subscribe, we look for accounts that we like, in short, we network.

So it's no wonder that when I post a video with the hashtag “slime”, I have a few fans of these slimy things following me on my public account.

What is more surprising on the other hand, it is these accounts come from nowhere and without any relation with me, which follow me after I liked the photo of a celebrity, for example.

What brings followers to Instagram?

If you choose to leave your Instagram account in public mode, you're likely to gain followers you don't know. 

From there, it happens more or less like on other social networks: the more you follow these rules, the more likely you are to get new likes and followers. For a simple reason: Instagram wants you to use the features implemented (location, tags, etc.). And you also buy Instagram auto likes UK for getting traffic on your accounts.

Read also: Five Instagram accounts that make me burst out laughing

The more you use it, the more the algorithm of the app will highlight you, for example in the search results of other users. However, following these rules will mainly bring your followers with the same interests as you.

Except for one type of user: bots.

Bots, this Instagram plague

What is a bot? It is an account managed not by a person, but by a computer program. Very often, they are programmed to follow, comment and like.

Most of the time, they are used either to promote a brand or to shine the account of someone who wants to become a public figure.

Imagine that you want to display beautiful statistics (number of subscribers, likes, comments) on your social networks. Some services allow you to buy followers, who will not be real people.

In general, the bots that follow you are more often of the first type: those who advertise a brand.

What to do against bots on Instagram?

Few solutions exist: if you want to stop being followed by bots, the best is still to pass your profile in private. This will allow you to filter the accounts that add you.

If you want to stay in public, using fewer hashtags allows you to decrease the influx of these accounts. But it also makes you less visible on Instagram.

It is best not to visit these strange pages and never follow the links they offer. According to Refinery 29, bots are rather simple to program on Instagram and are therefore very numerous.