• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
TechEngage

TechEngage

Technology news and opinions

  • Tech News
  • Reviews
  • How-to
  • Science
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Space
  • Apps
  • More
    • Opinion
    • Noteworthy
    • Roundups
    • Culture
    • Blockchain
      • Cryptocurrency
    • Events
    • Deals
    • Startups
      • Startup Submissions
  • Videos
  • Login
Social Media Networks

Instagram users lose followers due to bug

Avatar for Noor Imtiaz Noor Imtiaz Updated: December 23, 2020

An illustration of instagram logo design
Design by Muntaha | TechEngage

Several Instagram users woke up on Wednesday to see a follower count much smaller than the day before. Users initially believed Instagram had deliberately shut down dummy accounts, but Instagram later confirmed that the losses were due to a bug. Instagram has been working to remedy the situation. The company said in a statement:

“We’re aware of an issue causing a change in account follower numbers for some people right now. We’re working quickly to fix this”.

Instagram later issued a follow-up:

“Update: we’re expecting to have this issue resolved by 9 a.m. PST tomorrow. We understand this is frustrating, and our team is hard at work to get things back to normal.”

Who Was Affected

Several popular celebrities lost millions of followers due to the bug. Selena Gomez lost more than 2 million followers, as did Kylie Jenner. Nike also lost 1.1 million followers. Other victims include influencers like YouTube creators James Charles and Zach Clayton.

It appears that the number of followers an account lost is proportional to the number of followers they originally had.

Reason

As big names on Instagram lost followers overnight, several users speculated that Instagram was removing fake accounts as they had in the past. Fake accounts do not contribute much to the general landscape of the social media app but made up a bulk of the fan-made accounts that follow celebrities.

The number of followers is important to Instagram influencers since that dictates their ability to negotiate advertising contracts. Instagram has always had a problem with influencers buying followers. Because brands only pay people with high follower counts to advertise their goods, there is a constant incentive to increase followers.

A few days ago, Instagram sent out a notification to its users saying it recognized deceptive activity on their platform. It read:

“We will begin removing inauthentic likes, follows and comments from accounts that use third-party apps to boost their popularity. We’ve built machine learning tools to help identify accounts that use these services and remove the inauthentic activity.”

Users had even been sharing their login information with apps that promised to increase their followers. Instagram made it clear that they would work to put an end to this.

Other social media platforms also occasionally remove fake accounts in bulk.

Follow-up

After this notification and Instagram’s promise to ensure authenticity on their platform a year ago, users concluded that Instagram had simply removed more fake users. While we now know it’s due to a bug, Instagram hasn’t been any more specific about the nature of the glitch.

We do know that the bug has caused many users to automatically unfollow accounts, so people are encouraged to check and see if accounts need to be refollowed.

This post was orginally published on: February 16, 2019 and was updated on: December 23, 2020.

Related Tags: Instagram

Related Stories

  • Facebook users' information becomes vulnerable, AGAIN!

    Facebook users' information becomes vulnerable, AGAIN!

  • Instagram (Also) Spreading Hate?

    Instagram (Also) Spreading Hate?

  • Twitter shares quarterly earnings and loss in active users

    Twitter shares quarterly earnings and loss in active users

Avatar for Noor Imtiaz

Noor Imtiaz

News Reporter

Currently a MS student in Healthcare Biotech at Pakistan’s National University of Science and Technology juggling pure science and creative writing. I’m an avid reader who makes more time for books than Netflix.

Reader Interactions

Join The Discussion: Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or publish anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Become a contributor

We are accepting contributor applications. All applications will be decided in 3 days after applying. To learn more click here.
TechEngage-Apple-News
TechEngage-Google-News

Recent Stories

  • 6 best car scratch removers on Amazon for 2021
  • Best iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro wallet cases for 2021
  • Best video game consoles to buy on Amazon in 2021
  • Best gaming mouse in 2021
  • Best soft couch covers and sofa slipcovers on Amazon for 2021
Best Fitness Apps featured image

Top 10 best fitness apps 2021

Featured image for best to do list apps

Top 10 best to-do list apps 2021

Woman working together

A business manager’s guide to remote working software

Free WiFi in a restaurant

How to force a public Wi-Fi network login page to open

Footer

About Us

  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Startup Submission Questionnaire
  • Community Guidelines
  • Corrections Policy & Practice
  • Contact us

Discover

  • About
  • Newsroom
  • Advertise
  • Brand Kit
  • Partners
  • Staff
  • Our Ethics
  • Publication Principles
  • Contact us

Legal Pages

  • Reviews Guarantee
  • Community Guidelines
  • Cookies Policy
  • Comments Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Download our apps

TechEngage-app-google-play-store

Copyright © 2021 · All Rights Reserved · TechEngage® is a Project of TechAbout LLC.
TechEngage® is a registered trademark in United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167 and is ISSN protected under the ISSN 2690-3776 and OCLC Number 1139335774.

Go to mobile version