It's been clear for a while now that numerous social media platforms, particularly Twitter and Instagram, have an issue with users artificially inflating their follower counts. As Deadline reports, however, Instagram is finally ready to do something about it, announcing that they will be cracking down on third-party apps that increase follower counts through illegitimate means.
“This type of behavior is bad for the community, and third-party apps that generate inauthentic likes, follows and comments violate our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use,” a spokesperson for Instagram explained. Twitter made a similar move earlier this year, wiping over 200 million inactive bot accounts on the site. Companies such as Devumi have been selling social media followers to celebrities and users wanting to appear more impressive for a while, so this move will almost definitely devalue such services.
"Since the early days of Instagram, we have auto-detected and removed fake accounts to protect our community," Instagram wrote on their official blog. "Today’s update is just another step in keeping Instagram a vibrant community where people connect and share in authentic ways. We’ll have more updates in the coming weeks on additional measures we’re taking to tackle inauthentic activity on Instagram."
To coincide with this new initiative, the company has also announced that it will be sending in-app messages to Instagram users who have unknowingly shared their login details with a third-party app. The message will allow users to revoke the app's access to their accounts, as well as forcing a password change.
