Influencer wannabes might be able to portray an inauthentic version of their lives, but Instagram announced that they won’t be able to buy inauthentic engagement anymore.
The social sharing app is systematically purging fake followers, likes, and comments users purchase through third-party platforms, Instagram announced on its blog Monday.
“We’ve built machine learning tools to help identify accounts that use these services and remove the inauthentic activity,” Instagram wrote in its blog. “This type of behavior is bad for the community, and third-party apps that generate inauthentic likes, follows and comments violate our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use.”
Instagram is cracking down on apps like Archie, Boostio, & InstarocketProX that sell fake followers amidst the threat of inauthentic accounts pushing misinfo campaigns https://t.co/uD3KDMNJVf
— Josh Constine 📶🔥 (@JoshConstine) November 19, 2018
Instagram will begin its crackdown by messaging users who may have “unknowingly” shared their login information with a third-party device to change their password. If they don’t heed Instagram’s warning, users could experience other consequences.
An Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch that users who continue trying to use third-party apps “may see their Instagram experience impacted… [Instagram] may limit access to certain features, for example.”
Instagram is following other social networks’ attempts to eradicate inauthentic followers. Twitter purged 70 million fake accounts from its site in May and June alone, and gave users the ability to report accounts that they believe to be fake last month.
But all isn’t lost for users anticipating to see a drop in engagement. In the age of nano-influencers, brands will now give endorsement deals to people with less than 1,000 followers.