If you’ve ever posted a photo on Instagram and then been deluged by comments that read like a string of non-sentient word vomit, you’re likely dealing with spam bots. These instagram spam bots are designed to like or comment on photos and videos in order to increase their exposure, but it comes at a cost: every post is littered with profanities, sexually suggestive imagery, pyramid schemes, and other spammy content that turns off human readers.
How many bots in Instagram?
Instagram’s terms of service prohibit the buying or exchanging of followers, and the company does make regular sweeps to remove inauthentic activity. However, many spambots continue to thrive on the platform and can significantly affect a business’s organic reach. They can also damage a brand’s reputation by skewing engagement to uninterested users and spreading fake information (see COVID-19).
For these reasons, it’s important for businesses to invest in tools that help them prevent or detect bot activity. Thankfully, there are several free and paid options to help you protect your Instagram account from spam bots. One option is a free tool called “Robolike,” which crawls Instagram for a set amount of time and then likes photos based on the hashtags you specify. Other more expensive tools include Tagliker and NapoleonCat, which offer customizable settings and email notifications when a comment is triggered.
Another way to fight instagram spam bots is to use an app that hides offensive or spammy words, such as CommentGuard. This app allows you to create rules that automatically hide comments containing certain words, such as profanities or spammy phrases. You can also set up a filter to block specific keywords or even single emojis.