If you recently witnessed a sudden hike in followers, say 1000 were automatically added to your Instagram account, it’s something to be concerned about. Instagram could detect that increase as suspicious activity and restrict your account or, even worse, suspend it. So, you must know why it is happening and how to stop gaining Instagram followers automatically!
Why are my followers increasing automatically on Instagram?
- You allowed a third-party app or website access to your account which lets it add Instagram followers. This can also lead to Instagram’s Your request is pending issue.
- A post or reel of yours went viral
- Instagram displayed your profile in the “Suggested for you” section
- A popular account gave you a shoutout and tagged you in a story or post
- You promoted your account on another platform and it has picked up pace
- Someone else bought Instagram followers for your account to get it restricted, shadow banned, or suspended
While the first five are easy to verify, the last one often drives affected Instagram users crazy. If you are in the same situation, fret not. I have covered every single aspect. Keep reading to find out!
Table of Contents
How can I stop gaining Instagram followers automatically?
1. Switch to a private account
An automatic exponential increase in Instagram followers only happens on a Public profile because anyone can follow you. So, if your account is Public, set it to Private.
To set the account to Private, open Instagram > navigate to your profile > tap on the hamburger icon (☰)> choose Account privacy > enable the toggle for Private account.
Now, you won’t find bot accounts following you. Doing it early can also help you avoid account restrictions!
Having worked closely with people who offer Instagram followers in lieu of money, I know that setting the account to Public is a key requirement. When the account is Private, followers can’t be added. This way, you can ensure that followers purchased by someone else are not delivered to your account.
Remember, having a Private account doesn’t affect organic follower growth. Genuine, real profiles will continue to follow you and only the bots will be filtered out!
2. Verify which apps/websites have access to your Instagram account
Next up, you have to check whether any unreliable third-party apps have access to your Instagram account, and if that’s the case, remove them.
To do that, open Instagram’s website > sign in > navigate to your profile > click on Edit profile > select Website permissions from the left pane > choose Apps and websites > if you find any entries here, remove them right away.
After you have disabled Instagram access to any such profile tracking service, make sure to change the account password. This permanently locks the service out, ensures you stop gaining Instagram followers automatically, and prevents the issue from reappearing!
Don’t forget to check out Instagram’s dedicated blog on controlling third-party app access.
3. Check other platforms for active Instagram account promotions
If you have previously promoted your Instagram profile on other social media handles, say on X, Threads, or Facebook, these followers could be a result of that. A post could have gone viral on any of these platforms. So check that!
Also, since this follower growth is organic and the incoming followers are all real, active accounts, you don’t need to worry about it, given the increase in follower count is gradual. A sudden change could still trigger a restriction, but you could always appeal against that.
4. Disable similar account suggestions on Instagram
Another reason why you might be gaining Instagram followers automatically is if your profile is suggested to new users. Instagram initially suggests a bunch of profiles to follow for new users. Even old accounts receive these suggestions under the Notifications section.
To prevent your account from being suggested to new users, open Instagram’s website > go to your profile, click on Edit profile > disable the toggle for Show account suggestions on profiles > click on Submit.
5. If the growth is organic, capitalize on it
If it’s not for any of these reasons, the last possibility is that the follower growth is organic. Your content actually resonates with the audience, and you are getting followers as a result.
So, instead of focusing on how to stop gaining Instagram followers automatically, you should try to capitalize on the growth, focus on brand deals and collaborations, and mint money out of it. In the process, keep creating similar content as that will drive in more followers organically.
In my experience running both a private and public profile, I have found that organic follower growth is key to success on Instagram. But the moment this growth takes an exponential curve, you risk getting restricted or suspended on the platform. And remember, once the account is flagged, issues will keep appearing every now and then!
Also, if you are running a creator or business account, consider setting up age restrictions on Instagram. This will prevent users under the specified age group from visiting your profile and will filter out unwanted followers.
Besides, if you are into Instagram advertising, never boost posts on Instagram’s iOS app to save 30% on the total spend.
For any queries or to share what you did to stop gaining Instagram followers automatically, drop a comment below.
