Instagram is saying “Thank U, Next” to fake accounts

Instagram is saying “Thank U, Next” to accounts that use apps to gain fake followers and spammy comments. According to TechCrunch, the social media platform is warning users who use such apps to stop—and if they don’t, they “may see their Instagram experience impacted.” Which means the algorithm will come for you.

The spam app users will now get scolded by Instagram, which will send “an in-app message alerting them that we have removed the inauthentic likes, follows and comments given by their account to others” and be told to change their passwords.

“We’ve built machine learning tools to help identify accounts that use [third-party apps for boosting followers] and remove the inauthentic activity,” Instagram tells TechCrunch.

Instagram is also hoping to discourage users from ever giving another company the login details to their accounts as this can lead to them being hacked or having their account used to send spam. So if you see Instagram follower accounts drop, it’s not because that profile offended people, but because the followers were fake.

By Laura Tropiano