Cleansing is an important activity done to remove the impurities in a system, in simple words. Similarly, an Instagram Cleanse is a way of Insta cleaning up its platform of all the unwanted accounts, thus removing the impurities in its system. A cleanse is essential for Insta, not just because their platform is cleared up from all the bot accounts. Still, it also helps its algorithm work better to deliver personalized content to its users, show ads, and more, thus satisfying its business model.
Cleaning helps the platform deliver better content for every user and allows advertisers and marketers to understand consumer preferences and showcase their line of goods and services. Research shows that 8 out of 10 IG accounts have fake followers in some or the other way. We might not consider this as a problem, and it isn’t if the bogus accounts are low in number, but as they increase, it becomes a problem not just for Instagram but also the account user associated with the bot accounts. Thus, a cleanse becomes necessary for all parties involved to have a better, smoother, and hassle-free experience.
Instagram Cleanse is when Instagram cleans all the fake and Bot accounts being operated on their platform. It confuses IG’s algorithm, increases the chances of malware and data theft. Instagram users associated with such bot accounts…..lose credibility, cause an account suspension, no real-time engagement, mess with insights, give users a false sense of popularity. Bots not only harm the user but also affects the platform.
Though IG does cleanse the platform, every user has to report any such fake or Bot accounts they come across through Instagram audit tools, which can be used to help identify fake quickly, this responsibility towards the platform helps both the users and the platform to provide a smoother and easy experience.
To begin, let’s understand Bot accounts and how they function. A bot account is a fake account that is usually made to increase the number of followers on IG, their account practices would usually help understand if they’re a bot or not. Some accounts though, hide well, most are usually easy to spot out. Bot accounts might be self-made or purchased from a service provider. As a random user, a bot account might want to follow you to deceive IG about it being a bot account, by showing activity and variety on the account.
So why are these BOT accounts such a problem? Bot accounts are not just a problem for IG, but also the users. A user who might have a large number of bot accounts linked to its handle can be suspected of malpractice, even if not true. Let us see how do Bot accounts affect users and why you shouldn’t be concerned about losing those followers.
Impact on Credibility
On social media, you can lose your credibility as fast as you gain it. Though a high number of IG followers make your wall seem better, having a lot of bots increases the parity between the likes and followers, this difference makes it clear about how many active/actual users are following the user vi-za-vi the fake. Such a difference can question the credibility of the user and their content, which might affect the user not just online but also in real life.
Account Suspension
According to IG norms, bots are a punishable offense, any user found engaging or being linked to such bot/fake accounts will have to bear the consequences. IG usually links such bot accounts together to find an operator or user who might be engaged in its operations. This gives IG a plausible reason to suspend the user account when cleansing out such bot accounts. Having an influx of such accounts on IG might give a false impression to authorities about the user and lead to suspension under pretense. Such suspensions impact both the platform and the users.
No real-time engagement
IG is an engaging platform, various users post about their lives and adventures for the world to see and appreciate, a bot account usually doesn’t show any activity and remains dormant throughout, not just in terms of posts, but likes, comments, shares, and more. The platform is to engage people by connecting them together, such bot accounts don’t provide any engagement and therefore are no good for users.
They Mess Insights
IG has become the birthing ground for a lot of content creators, it has given them stardom, money, recognition, and more. Many aspire to get that same stardom through Instagram by finding out what the people want and enjoy, based on their reaction and attitude towards the various content posted.
In case of bots, such insights are misleading, causing IG’s algorithm to show non-engaging, non-interesting results. This not only impacts the user but actively becomes a problem for the company who can’t then deliver user-centric results to its users.
False sense of popularity
Many users focus on increasing their number of followers to have a better wall or flaunt how many people follow them. Bot accounts act as a fuel for such ambition; users might get the idea that more and more people are appreciating and following their content, which might just be bot accounts; this not only affects the users’ psyche but also the people around might get impacted as well. Such a false sense of popularity can cause severe damage in the long term for the users both offline and online.
Thus, an IG cleanse can be beneficial for both IG and the users as mentioned above. It cleans up the accounts and gives a better understanding to the users in terms of their intentions and prospects with the platform. As IG users, it is also our responsibility towards the IG community and other users to get rid of such Bot and fake accounts. By observing any such accounts, making sure to report them, thus making IG aware of their presence and do the needful, this will not just prevent you from the damages of such practices but also other users who might be engaging in them unknowingly.
IG has provided various tools that make the job of finding bots easier, through the IG audit tool, you can scan your account to get an idea about the percentage of bot accounts following your channel, after which all those accounts can be reported and taken care off. As users, we need to keep the platform clean and lean, thus enhancing user experience and getting better quality results.
The reality of the situation is, IG has not just remained a platform for creators and people engaging with each other, sharing content and snippets of life and telling them what they do or don’t. It has also shifted to calculating popularity in terms of no of followers, which have led to many such malpractices, causing the platform to have a large number of inactive accounts, which end up taking server space.
The platform’s purpose is to share and connect to people, follow the ones you like and admire, appreciate their content, and be appreciated for yours. The number of people following and being followed shouldn’t be a factor when on IG. Though followers are a big part of social media, engaging with bots and fakes to increase the followers might impact the user image and hinder their social growth.
The platform is about connecting with people around the world, not about having fake followers, and though this problem continues to persist and will remain relevant on such social media platforms, users can be more alerted and active towards such accounts. HAPPY SCROLLING!
