In the early days of Instagram, a beautiful photo and a couple of hashtags could get you thousands of likes. But if you’ve noticed your engagement rate tanking—even as your follower count grows—you’re not alone. Influencers, brands, and creators alike are all asking the same question: Why is my Instagram engagement dropping?
While there are several reasons this could be happening, one of the biggest (and most overlooked) culprits might be sitting quietly on your follower list: fake followers.
🤖 The Hidden Danger of Fake Followers
Fake followers are inactive, automated, or purchased accounts that never engage with your content. They don’t like, comment, share, or click. In short, they skew your stats, hurt your credibility, and confuse the Instagram algorithm.
Think your account might be affected? You can audit any Instagram profile—even a competitor’s—using our Instagram follower audit tool.
Instagram’s algorithm relies heavily on engagement metrics like likes, comments, shares, saves, and profile visits. When your posts are shown to a batch of your followers and they don’t respond, the algorithm assumes your content isn’t worth promoting—and stops pushing it to a wider audience.
If a large percentage of your audience is fake, that initial signal is weak, and your content simply won’t get the reach it deserves.
📉 The Data Behind the Drop
In a review of over 1,000 Instagram audits conducted using our tool, we found that accounts with 25% or more suspicious or dormant followers consistently saw engagement rates below 1.5%, even when the content quality was high.
Some of the most common red flags included:
- Followers with no profile picture or bio
- Accounts following thousands of users but with few posts
- Irregular or robotic posting patterns
- Users with no engagement history at all
These aren’t just annoying—they’re actively hurting your brand.
💡 Why You Need to Audit Your Followers Regularly
The truth is, fake followers aren’t always the result of shady practices or follower-buying scams. Many accounts accumulate them naturally over time, especially as they grow. That’s why it’s critical to conduct regular audits.
With Social Audit Pro, you get a detailed breakdown of your follower quality, including dormant followers, highly suspicious behavior, ghost followers, and more. Our algorithms are updated frequently—and every audit is manually verified for accuracy.
Regular audits are especially useful if you’re an influencer looking to prove your authenticity. As we explained in this guide on choosing real influencers, brands are getting smarter and are no longer impressed by inflated numbers.
🧹 Cleaning Up: What to Do If Your Audience Is Full of Fakes
If your audit reveals a high percentage of inauthentic followers, don’t panic. You have options.
Our Follower Cleanup Tool lets you silently and safely remove fake followers from your Instagram profile. It’s fully automated, adjustable, and requires no ongoing supervision. Don’t use Windows? We also offer a Done-For-You service for non-Windows users.
For more on this, check out our guide on removing fake followers safely.
👎 Why Fake Followers Are Bad for Business
Low engagement doesn’t just affect your algorithm reach—it also harms your reputation. Brands and agencies increasingly rely on follower-to-engagement ratios and data-backed influencer vetting tools to weed out inflated accounts.
Want to learn what dormant followers are and why they kill your reach? Read this post about dormant followers.
If you’ve ever bought followers in the past—knowingly or not—it’s not too late. There’s a smart way to recover from follower buying without damaging your future campaigns.
🌍 External Resources to Explore
- Hootsuite: Instagram Engagement Explained
- Later: How the Instagram Algorithm Works in 2025
- Influencity: How to Spot Fake Influencers
These guides reinforce the need for genuine follower engagement and underline the importance of regular profile audits.
✅ Conclusion: Engagement Drop? Start With an Audit
If your Instagram likes and comments have been dipping recently, the root cause might not be your content—it might be your followers.
An audit with Social Audit Pro can help uncover the issue. And if fake or dormant followers are to blame, our Cleanup Tool gives you a way to fix it—fast.
Ready to find out what’s hurting your engagement? Start your audit today.