How to Identify High-Quality Instagram Bots

How to Identify High-Quality Instagram Bots

Bots are everywhere. Sometimes right in front, sometimes hidden behind layers, but every social media platform is filled with them. Instagram bots are present to increase fake engagement and growth on the platform. With the Instagram explosion, there has also been an explosion in the number of bots on the platform.

Some Instagram bots are easy to catch. Like Instagram accounts with no posts but with thousands of followers. Others are accounts with high engagement but without any followers. Such dodgy accounts are mostly bots that are inactive Instagram accounts with no real person behind them.

In this article, we will look at some of the best ways to identify high-quality Instagram bots and stop interacting with them. The tips below are so efficient that you might feel like a smart detective uncovering all the Instagram bots at one go. 

Erratic Engagement Numbers:

Do you spot high inconsistency amongst engagement numbers? Some examples of erratic engagement numbers are:

  • The engagement numbers are not consistent for the same type of posts. There’s one video with a hundred views and another similar video with a million views? Or some of the pictures have thousands of likes while others have none.

This is the perfect example of a high-quality Instagram bot with many posts and genuine numbers. However, when you look at the engagement, most of their posts have 100-200 views with few posts reaching more than 200k views. Quite absurd for their number of followers and type of posts. 

  • A high number of views with no comments. Posts with high views are expected to have some comments. For bot accounts, it’s extremely common to have a high number of views but no comments at all.

  • No engagement at all. If the Instagram account shows a high number of followers with no engagement, then it could be a bot account. 

  • The engagement far exceeds the number of followers for many posts. 

  • The bot accounts might comment on a lot of your posts at the same time. If you’re suddenly overflowed with comments or views in a gap of a few seconds, it could be bot account. 

Elementary Instagram Posts:

Do Instagram posts look too basic? If the Instagram posts are similar to the images that you have seen on many other places on the internet, it could be a bot account. Here are some of your clues:

  • Stock photos: Take the Instagram post and reverse image search the picture. If the image turns out to be a stock photo, there’s a chance it’s an Instagram bot.

  • Similar posts: If all the Instagram posts look alike or the same picture has been posted multiple times, it’s definitely a bot. No human would post the same photos on their Instagram. Like the example below, this account is filled with photos that seem to be taken from the internet with repetitive content.  

  • Very few posts: If the account has a high number of followers or engagement but there are just 3-4 photos, it’s a sign of caution. Real accounts gain followers and engagements with their posts. 

  • No posts: Instagram accounts that follow a huge number of accounts and have no posts are dodgy accounts too. Many bots are created to just increase follower numbers and these could be such Instagram bots. 

Irregular DMs:

Direct messages can also be a good way to know if it’s a bot or a real person, especially if the frequency is irregular. Here are some ways that you can combine to spot bot accounts using DMs:

  • You get an automated message when you follow them or like/comment on their posts.

  • But there’s no reply when you try to begin a conversation with them. 

  • And, you get repetitive DMs from accounts that you don’t follow asking you to follow them. This is a classic example of bot behavior. 

Final Words:

Identifying high-quality Instagram bots could be quite a fun process if you are through with all the red signals mentioned above. At the same time, it could be possible to be confused between an account using growth services or a bot account. As both the accounts can have numbers that don’t match. In either way, both are accounts with inauthentic engagement, and you probably would not want to interact with them. 

If the account is showing more than one of the signs above, you have definitely caught a smart Instagram bot and there won’t be any reason to follow them. If an account has a huge number of followers, and you’re unsure of their authenticity, you can also use HypeAuditor. HypeAuditor can provide you a quick audit of any Instagram account with more than 1,000 followers. 

Written on . Posted in YouTube Strategy & Tips.

Leo Zhavoronkov

Leo is an influencer marketing enthusiast and marketing copywriter at HypeAuditor. When she’s not searching for the perfect music and filters for her Instagram Stories, she can usually be found keeping up with the latest gaming and tech influencers on Twitch and YouTube – or drinking a latte macchiato.