It's hard to tell if an Instagram account is fake. We all know now that this statement is only partially true. While the quantity of followers really matters, what really matters is quality and content.
One of the biggest problems you can have on Instagram, as on other social networks, is dealing with fake accounts. Yes, we are talking about fakes, accounts that make fun of you or treat you badly, or accounts managed by bots for advertising purposes and end up filling your Instagram account with spam....
To avoid such situations, below we will explain how to know if an Instagram account is fake. If you want to avoid following a completely fake Instagram profile, below you will find the steps to understand if an Instagram account is fake without being a social media expert.
So how do we recognize and detect these warning signs?
An image shared from the supposed profile of Cristiano Ronaldo's eldest son went viral on Instagram. This account has been verified, so the number of followers has increased every hour.
However, after a few minutes it was closed and later it was learned that it was a fake profile created under the account @mrah.... That said, the Spanish newspaper El Pais spoke to the head of the social network, who said he did not know the origin of that Instagram page.
Fake Instagram accounts often make spam comments. These accounts are not too complicated to identify, because their comments always have the same message, the same images, always links to the same sites, etc.
It is very common for the comments to be in English or another language. All these behaviors are recurring examples of fake Instagram accounts posting messages.
And we can say almost the same about links. If you see an account mentioning a lot of links every time it posts something on your Instagram account for no reason, such as commenting on posts that are not the same as yours and are not related, this account is fake.
How to tell if an Instagram account is fake
| Appearance | Indicator | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Verified account badge | White box on blue background | Search for the verified account badge. |
| Using applications such as IGExorcist | Identifying followers inactive for more than 180 days | Analyze followers with applications such as IGExorcist. |
| Account type and activity | Less than 6 publications per month (average according to study). | Observe frequency of publications. |
| Incomplete profile data | Lack of photo, biography, name or city. | Identify accounts with incomplete information. |
| Little activity and lack of stories | Lack of stories and infrequent posts | Recognize accounts with low activity |
| Photos taken from the Internet | Use of images from other accounts or websites | Verify originality of published photos. |
| Missing data such as biography, name and photo. | Lack of essential information in the profile | Notice lack of essential data. |
| Possibility of reporting | Discovery of a fake account | Report suspicious accounts. |
Creating a fake account to use the name of a famous person or brand is a very common practice on social networks. Singers, actors or athletes are not spared and when you search for a known person on Instagram several accounts appear with the name of this person and if you do not know which account is the correct one you can see if it has verified account badge.
These badges are nothing more than a small white square on a blue background that can confirm the authenticity of the account on Instagram. They are identical to those we find on other social networks such as Twitter.
In the case of an ordinary person it is a bit more complicated, of course, because there is no way to have the account verified and it is possible that we do not know the person in real life, unless it is a celebrity as we said above.
You can also use applications like IGExorcist. This app can connect to your Instagram account and thus analyze all your followers, activities, interactions, etc. to determine if accounts have been inactive for more than 180 days (another indication that the account may be fake) and generate a list of inactive followers. You can decide who you want to remove from your follower list.
While this is not a 100% reliable strategy, you can pay attention to thetype of account used and its activity. A recent study reveals that these fake accounts have an average of 6 posts per month, below the average of 55 regular users.
Only 29% of fake accounts are missing some data (profile picture, bio, full name or city), so if you find an account with no picture, name or bio, with very little activity, you have most likely found a fake account.
It's not entirely reliable, but you can recognize a fake account by the number of posts it has. Many of them are not very present, they don't upload stories or show everyday life. They can only post photos taken from real Internet pages and accounts.
Even in the profiles are not all the data such as biography, full name and photo. In case you notice that you have discovered a fake account on Instagram, you can report it.
So, how to find out about a fake Instagram account?
Here's how you can find out that you are facing a fake Instagram account:
- Identify the name
- Profile photo (fake profiles usually do not have a photo of the person to whom the account corresponds)
- The amount of posts made, there are always few posts and there are no real photos, but of landscapes or any element that does not belong to the person who owns the account
- Identify "Likes", the vast majority of cases with fake accounts do not manage to receive Likes from real profiles.
How do I know who owns an Instagram account?
How can I determine if an Instagram account is fake and track suspicious profiles? Here are a few ways to do it effectively
METHOD 1: USE THIRD-PARTY APPS.
If you want to find out who the real owner of an Instagram account is, third-party apps like trackers and PeopleLooker can be of great help. These apps provide you with useful information about the account owner. Although each app has its own interface, they are usually easy to use. Just follow the instructions provided by each application to find out who actually created that account. This option is useful for identifying profiles you are curious or suspicious about.
If this method doesn't work for you, move on to the next one.
METHOD 2: TRACKING THE ACCOUNT IP ADDRESS
Another effective way to discover the owner of an Instagram account is to track its IP address. You can use IP capture websites or apps, such as iStaunch Instagram IP address finder, to quickly get the IP address of the profile you are interested in. You can also follow the account you want to verify and click on the location tracking URLs to reveal the user's IP address. This method, excluding the use of third-party apps, is perhaps the only way to track a real profile behind an Instagram account.
METHOD 3: VERIFY ON OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.
Checking the account on other social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter can also be useful. Since many users change their names on these platforms, checking their other profiles could provide you with more information about the account owner. Searching for the Instagram username on other social networks could reveal more useful data, such as real name, occupation and email, in addition to images.
METHOD 4: CHECK FOLLOWERS AND FOLLOWEES
Taking a close look at a user's profile page is possibly the smartest method in this case. By reviewing the list of followers and followers, you can get an idea of whether a profile is real or fake. Generally, fake accounts tend to follow other fake accounts, but the person you are looking for might be following people they already know. By carefully analyzing this list, you will be able to distinguish between fake and real accounts.
METHOD 5: GOOGLE REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH TEST
If you want to discover the owner of an Instagram account for free, try Google reverse image search. Simply, upload the person's profile picture to Google, click search and see the results. While this method won't directly tell you who's behind the account, it can show you other sites where the image appears, giving you the opportunity to learn more about the person.
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