I’ve had 40k bot followers added to my account, and I don’t know how to remove them. They’ve been there for 6 years, and I’ve never found a way to get rid of them can anyone help me?

I got an Instagram notification for “Chicken Road | PLAY NOW.” Tapping it opened a website with a crash game and betting amounts.

I never signed up for this. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it an Instagram ad or something suspicious?

Attaching screenshots.

Most of them are corny AI posts or something stupid

I don’t even realise when I do that so I keep having to go back to mu reposts from time to time

I just un reposted and I’ve had enough.

Any fixes besides being more careful?

I have a notification of him liking my story but I can't see his like and even his name in the list of who watched it. I alsp tried to delete cache and updating the app but I still can't see him

Hey, everyone !

I'm trying to figure out if Instagram changed something recently or if I'm just tripping. I tried to take a screenshot of a story today and it didn't work. I got worried it might notify the user.

Is there a new Instagram update that completely blocks people from screenshotting stories or sends an alert ? Or could it be related to specific settings, like being on someone's "Close Friends" list ?

I know IG already blocks or notifies for screenshots in disappearing DMs and Vanish Mode, but I always thought normal stories were fair game.

Has anyone else noticed this happening lately or knows what the deal is ? Thanks in advance !

Got this randomly and i went from getting thousands of views to 100 max. Either got flagged for spam or for following edgy/OF pages.

Provided my ID to appeal, appeal denied .

Been like this since 10/14.

It says ends 10/14 but that’s when it started

All my other stuff in account status is green check.

Do I just make a new acc?

Wonder if using the same phone number will make the shadowing carry over?

Lmk if anyone has similar experience I’ve seen similar posts. Here

Hey guys, I'm a music producer and I post my samples and my beats on my Instagram page on Reels. However, most of the time I only get a certain amount of views, 200, and never more, never less. I think most of the time it's just my followers watching my videos.

I wanted to ask you all if trial Reels would help anything. I've tried it a few times, but it didn't really work out well. The last trial Reel I had got only 30 views, so I'm kind of skeptical of that feature. I'm not sure if I'm shadowbanned or something because my Reels never get more views, which is kind of weird.

I wanted to contact Instagram, but I could only just talk to an AI because Instagram support is really bad. It's only AI; there is no way for you to contact a real person, which is why I decided to go on Reddit.

Can anybody please tell me from your experience if trial Reels have helped you to get more views? And also, if there is anything that's important to know, for example:

- If I need to stay consistent with my Reels to post one Reel a day

- Or if it's completely BS to post daily Reels

- If I can just post one Reel a week but high quality and get views

It's really weird for me. I usually thought that Instagram Reels get way more views than TikToks and YouTube Shorts. However, in my experience, YouTube Shorts, whatever I post, I get two, three, maybe 10k views. But on Instagram Reels, it's never over 200 views, as well as on TikTok also.

So yeah, if anybody can please give me any advice and help me out, I would really appreciate it.

If I hide a story from someone, does it hide all my stories from just that account, or their associated accounts as well?

Hi everyone, I’m based in Asia and could really use some advice 😔

My Instagram account has been banned three times now. I created a completely new account on a new iPhone, but immediately after signing up, it asked me to verify that I’m human. Then that new account was banned too. I submitted an appeal straight away.

What should I do now? Has anyone experienced something similar and managed to resolve it?

I’m honestly so frustrated and sad about going through this repeatedly. Any advice would mean a lot ❤️

I'm not sure if this is a sort of trend, or if I'm just suddenly waking up to it, but lately so many reels have a snippet of whatever the climax of the video is in the beginning. A comedy show clip might have the punchline, a video of two people interacting might start out with a clip of whatever the source of discord/intrigue/joy is. I feel like I'm watching shitty reality tv or something.

To be realistic, this is barely an issue. But I'm irrationally irritated about it for whatever reason and want to see if anyone relates.

Have you seen this? Do you find it irritating?

We were both following eachother and their posts were visible also their following list and followers

These days I spend 99% of my time on Instagram blocking slop. Regardless of how many times I block accounts or "Not Interested" them, they keep springing up thousands more. It's a pointless and useless waste of time. I haven't seen a post by a living breathing friend or family member in weeks (maybe months). How is this even still a thing? It needs to just die and go away.

I'm pissed cause when I try to login with my number, I get into one of my old acc but when I try with my current mail I don't receive any mail from them.

I'm logged in on my phone but since my screen is broken I can't do anything except login from another device, which is my laptop.

A while ago, I created an Instagram account on my own phone using my grandmother’s phone number while visiting her house in another city. Later, after returning to my home city(same country), I tried logging into the account on my computer. Since I was logging in from a different city than the one where I originally created the account, Instagram asked me to enter a verification code sent to the registered phone number or email address.

But when I created a new Insta account using a different phone in my city, but at a location where I don’t usually spend time. Later when I tried logging into that account on my own phone from another location within the same city, Instagram let me log in without asking for any verification code.

In both cases, I was logging in from a different device than the one originally used to create the account, but Instagram only required verification in the first case.

Could this be because of the difference in location?

Does Instagram consider how far away a login attempt is from the original location more important than whether someone is using a different device?

For example, is Instagram more likely to require a verification code when someone logs in from a different city or country compared to logging in from another location within the same city?

Same as everyone i got perma disabled also…

I lost access to my Instagram account a few days ago. I can still access the email address and phone number associated with it, but I can't complete the account verification process.

Here’s what I've experienced:

• The app accepts my password, but the website says it's incorrect.
• My authentication codes are rejected, and sometimes an unexpected error appears.
• One verification step worked, but the next one never sends a code.
• I tried asking two friends to verify my identity, but neither received a notification.
• A video verification option appeared once and then disappeared.

I've already reported the technical issue through Facebook but haven't received an update.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue and managed to regain access? I'd appreciate advice based on what actually worked.

Thanks!

I've added the phone number using the bottom button but no matter how many times I try it, it gives this same error. Anyone else having the same problem?

tried using it on laptop, clearing cache and other methods, help would be appreciated

I've been noticing something on Instagram that I think deserves a serious discussion, particularly when it comes to prominent business personalities and the creator economy.

I came across the Instagram profile of Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of BYJU'S, and noticed a reel showing approximately 18.6K likes but only 10 comments, 3 reposts, and 5 shares.

What caught my attention wasn't just this one video. There appear to be multiple similar videos on the profile, which makes me curious about the engagement patterns across the content rather than just a single post.

To be clear, a low comment count compared with likes does not prove that likes are fake. Some viewers like a video and immediately scroll away. Public figures can also have large audiences that rarely comment.

But shouldn't we be asking better questions about how online influence is measured? The bigger issue: Are likes becoming a vanity metric?

Instagram has created an environment where numbers can influence how people perceive a creator's popularity. Likes, views, followers, and shares can affect brand deals, sponsorship opportunities, and the visibility creators receive. Now consider a small creator who spends hours producing original content and building a community. Their videos might receive fewer likes but generate genuine discussions and meaningful audience relationships.

How should that creator compete if the industry places too much emphasis on headline engagement numbers rather than audience quality?

And if artificial engagement is being used anywhere on the platform, how effectively is Instagram detecting it?

Three questions worth discussing 1. Should we trust engagement numbers at face value?

A high like count can indicate genuine appreciation, but likes alone cannot tell us how authentic an audience is. We need better ways to evaluate engagement quality.

1. Are advertisers getting the full picture? Brands should be able to evaluate audience authenticity, suspicious engagement patterns, and meaningful interactions before making decisions based on social-media metrics.

2. Is Instagram doing enough for genuine creators? Platforms should reward original content and authentic audience interest, while identifying and limiting artificial engagement wherever it occurs. Why I'm bringing this up

I'm not claiming that Divya Gokulnath or any particular account has purchased likes. The screenshot and the visible engagement figures are not sufficient evidence for that conclusion.

My question is about the broader system: when similar engagement patterns appear across multiple posts, shouldn't we be curious enough to examine the data rather than automatically treating likes as proof of influence?

If someone has experience in social-media analytics, influencer marketing, or Instagram growth, I'd genuinely like to hear their perspective. What like-to-comment patterns are normal for large accounts?

What evidence actually helps distinguish passive audiences from suspicious engagement?

Does Instagram give enough transparency to advertisers and creators?

Are genuine creators being disadvantaged by the industry's dependence on vanity metrics? Popularity and authenticity are not the same thing, and the industry should have better ways to distinguish them.

Let's discuss the numbers, the algorithm, and what a fairer creator economy could look like.

I need to vent because what Meta is doing right now is absolutely dystopian and completely broken. The sheer level of incompetence and corporate greed in their system right now is sickening.

My 4-year-old active account got hit with an automated suspension out of nowhere. I use this account daily. It's completely clean. When the ban hit, the screen gave me the standard corporate prompt: enter your phone number, upload a video selfie to verify identity, and it explicitly promised a 30-day grace period to download my information.

Because I’ve built up 4 years of history, memories, and close connections on there, I immediately tapped "Download Information" to protect my data from their trash AI. I jumped through every creepy, privacy-invasive hoop they demanded. I handed over my phone number and literally let their algorithms map my face just to secure my data packet.

Two days later, I open the app. The system throws a massive glitch, forces me out, and says "someone may have changed your password" or "you've been logged out" like I was hacked. But nobody hacked me. It was Meta's own backend dropping a digital execution on my profile.

When I finally log back in, the entire interface did a complete bait-and-switch.

The 30-day window? Evaporated. The option to download my data? Stripped away entirely. The screen now flat-out says my account is permanently disabled, all information will be permanently deleted, and I cannot request another review.

Think about how incredibly toxic and manipulative this is: They literally trick you into giving up your phone number and biometric face scans under the false promise of a 30-day window to save your history. The absolute second their broken, unhinged AI processes your video, it rejects it, slams the door shut, overrides the countdown, and locks you out of the data download you already initiated.

Instagram Support is officially done. There are no humans left over there. It is just an automated, faceless machine that flags normal accounts, demands your biometric data, lies to your face about a grace period, and then holds your years of personal data hostage before deleting it.

I don't even care about the profile aesthetic or the handles anymore. But losing 4 years of connections, networking, and history because a malfunctioning algorithm decides to erase you with zero human oversight is pathetic. Meta is an absolute garbage pile of a company.

Has anyone actually managed to force a data package download through the external data privacy/legal forms once this final brick wall screen hits, or is the data gone forever?