It’s not new to see people or accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter cheat their way through contest and giveaways by generating fake likes and comments to increase engagement. Likes and Follows are like “validations” today on Instagram and people who do not have the numbers are looked down upon. Twitter made the move not long ago by filtering its system to remove fake accounts and “influencers-wannabes” who bought a lot of followers to become famous. Instagram has now announced it will continue ensuring people have the best experience on its platform by fighting fake likes, comments and follows from accounts that use third-party apps to achieve this.
Accounts who use third-party apps to promote engagement is against Instagram’s Community Guideline and Terms of Use, such invalid activity is being monitored by machine learning tools and will be removed. Accounts caught will receive a notification that their invalid activities such as fake likes, comments and follows have been removed. They will also be told to secure their accounts by changing their passwords since third-party apps have access to some account information.
Instagram says accounts that do not comply will see their experience “impacted”. Renowned rapper and entrepreneur, Kanye West recently voiced out his concerns as to why the number of followers and likes should be hidden as it damages people’s mental health.
