Many people think that IG is all about photos. While this is true to a certain extent, there is another aspect that is as important: numbers. To measure the quality of an account, users always check some things. This includes how many likes, pictures, and followers it has. So, knowing Instagram’s follow and unfollow limits becomes of great importance for those who want to grow on the platform in 2023. Let’s see in detail what to bear in mind for this.
Table of Contents
- Why is it necessary to know the limits?
- Beware Of The Instagram Police
- How Many People Can You Follow On IG
- How Many Persons Can You Unfollow On IG
- Factors that influence the limits
- But What About Those Who Exceeded the Limit
- Other Limits
- What Happens If You Follow Or Unfollow Too Quickly On Instagram
- What To Do If Your Instagram Account Gets Blocked
- FAQ
- Conclusion
Grow Your Account: What to Bear in Mind
One of the key methods to grow one’s account in an organic manner in 2023 is the follow/unfollow technique. It consists of subscribing to other Instagram accounts and waiting for them to do the same. Then, after some time, one unsubscribes but keeps the follower.
The follow/unfollow method tends to yield very good results. An approximate of 35% of people will fall for it and follow back. Still, it is advisable to hold off for about a week before unfollowing the other person’s page. Otherwise, they may realize it and take back their follow too.
But do not worry too much about this. This social media platform does not send alerts for negative interactions. That is to say that the only way the other person will know is if they are unfollowed before they can subscribe back. This tends to take between 3 and 5 days.
For this, it is important to bear in mind that Instagram has a follow and unfollow limit. Most automation tools know this. But those who do it themselves need to keep count of what they are doing to avoid getting banned for breaking the Instagram follow limit per hour.
These are the strengths and weaknesses of the follow/unfollow method.
Pros:
- 35% success rate
- Rather inexpensive
- The other users will not know who unsubscribed
- Anyone can do it
- Also valid for Twitter
Cons:
- Doing it oneself takes a lot of time
- Automation tools are paid
- There may be bans if not done right
The Software that Watches It All
One may think that the best way to get new subscribers is by using the follow and unfollow method. So, following a large number of accounts hoping they will react in the same way would sound like a good strategy. But Instagram is aware of this practice and it does not allow it.
The company’s algorithm is always looking for those with strange behaviors. One example is following more than a certain number of publicity in a short period of time. It does not matter whether one does this with automation tools or manually. The software will identify that as suspicious activity and put in place the Instagram follow limit. This is particularly bad for business.
The good news is that, in most cases, the ban is temporary and lasts just a few hours or a day. But if they discover that there were bots involved, then this measure may become permanent.
Still, it is good to bear in mind that sometimes the algorithm does not work as it should. For example, it may implement an Instagram follow limit on people that subscribed to just two or three accounts in a row. To be on the safe side, ask a member of the support team to take a look at the activity before taking any permanent measure.
How Many People Can You Follow on Instagram
Instagram keeps some privacy regarding many of its follow/unfollow limits since some of them vary from account to account. There is a total maximum of up to 7,500 subscribers per account.
But there are also some Instagram following limits per hour and day that the company does not state anywhere. The only way to know them in 2023 is through trial and error.
For example, new accounts can start following an approximate of 20 people in an hour, with a maximum of 200 in a day.
Those who have been using the app for some time already have a more generous limit. Instagram estimates that they subscribe to about 50 people per hour with a maximum of 300 or 400 per day. There is no exact answer to the question “how many people can you follow on Instagram?” since it is quite complex. All these numbers are estimates and they will vary from person to person and Instagram will not help users to know them.
How Many People Can You Unfollow on Instagram
In the same way that the algorithm limits the persons one can follow, it also implements an Instagram unfollow limit on those who quit many users in a short period of time.
One of the practices it does not like is when someone subscribes to another person’s page and then unlikes it a short time after. They recognize that that person was just looking for a follow back. So, it is best to wait for at least three days before unfollowing someone, just as on Twitter.
All in all, there is no definite answer to how many people can you unfollow on Instagram. But there are some practices to avoid to make sure that the algorithm does not set an Instagram unfollow limit.
The Factors that Decide the Limit
The limitations are not set in stone, though. There is not a definite answer to how many people you can follow on Instagram, they are all estimates. The software will decide the number of users it is normal for an account to subscribe to depending on these parameters.
- How long the profile has existed.
- Whether it likes or comments on others’ posts.
- The number of subscribers.
- Whether it posts on a regular basis.
- If the account is using automation.
Based on all these factors, the algorithm will decide how many people can you follow on Instagram. If it detects any abnormal activity, then it will start banning its activity.
The Exceptions to the Limit
After looking around the platform, it is possible to find users that are subscribed to more than 7,500 profiles in 2023. Why is this so? Because they had already reached that number before this rule was enforced. As a result, they can follow and unfollow as many accounts as they want.
It is possible to bypass this limitation with the help of some illegal methods that can be found on the darkest parts of the internet. But they are very risky. Sooner or later, the algorithm will notice them and implement Instagram following limits or even ban their accounts.
Still, there is no maximum in the number of subscribers one can have. Super famous celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston have reached and passed a million subscribers and they can keep on increasing without problems.
Other Limitations
There is not just an Instagram follow limit, but the software also caps the number of likes, comments, and hashtags. To see in detail how this works, read on.
Likes
Yes, the platform limits even this type of social interaction. Users can like up to 350 times per hour. It is not probable to get to this limit though. It is an average of almost 6 hearts per minute. The only possible way of reaching it is by using automation tools or being active to the extreme. So, in most cases, there is no need to worry too much about this.
Comments
According to the company, it is possible to comment just up to 60 times per hour. This means that the maximum is an average of one comment per minute. This limit is quite high, and most people will have no problems with it.
Hashtags
Though many persons love filling their posts with hashtags, there is a limit for this. It is possible to add up to 30 per image or video. Still, this should be enough for most cases, as adding more will not help add individuals to the audience.
Posts and Stories
This is one of the few situations in which IG does not set any limitations. Users can post as many pictures, videos, and stories as they want per day. They can do it all day and still will receive no warning.
The only problem is that there is a limit in the number of posts that can be deleted. In most cases, after 5 or 10 deletions, the algorithm will give a warning. It is best to stop then and resume at a later time.
The Consequences of Following and Unfollow Too Fast on Instagram
A bad implementation of the follow/unfollow strategy will sooner or later end in bans or blocks in 2023, just like what happens on Twitter. An example of this would be subscribing to someone’s profile and then taking that back shortly after. This will help the algorithm see that there was no real interest in the account. Instead, this was done just to make the account grow. Some of the most harmful activities for this in 2023 include the following.
- Getting paid subscribers
- Buying likes
- Using automation with bots
- Aggressive follow/unfollow strategy
- Social media panels
- Engagement pods
While these methods may give fast results and grow the account in a short time, the risk is not worth it. These practices go against IG’s terms and conditions and will result in suffering from Instagram’s follow and unfollow limits or even getting banned. Besides, the richness of this platform lies in having true interactions. If these individuals are not interested in the content, then why do it?
How to Solve a Ban in Six Easy Steps
If the tactics used to get new followers are too aggressive, suffering from Instagram’s follow and unfollow limits is always a possibility. But not everything is lost if this happens. Following these steps, it is possible to get it back.
- Stop doing anything that may have caused the ban right away.
- Change the password, in case anyone else has access to it and has caused the suspicious activity.
- Take off any apps that use the account.
- Hold off using the follow/unfollow method.
- Use the account every day and read the feed. The algorithm checks how much the app is used and if it is used to read other persons’ posts too.
- Once the ban has been lifted, resume normal operations, but at a slower pace. The software will look more in-depth for abnormal events than before.
Solving this may take anywhere between just a couple of hours to even days or weeks. This will depend on how serious the problem is. Growth may also be slower since they do not show profiles that go against their terms of use. So, it is best to always bear in mind how many people you can follow on Instagram because once there is a penalty, it is very hard to recover from it.
FAQ Section
Who Has Maximum Followers on Instagram?
Instagram itself is the one with the maximum of subscribers with 346 million. They share content related to popular accounts of the platform. Many persons aim to get this highlight since being promoted by the most followed accounts is a sure way to boost one’s profile.
Who Has the 2nd Most Instagram Followers?
It is Cristiano Ronaldo. With over 216 million subscribers, the superstar footballer has become the public person with the largest quantity of fans on the platform. And he also is the second profile with the highest number. He is only surpassed by Instagram itself. He is the clear proof that there is no limit to how many people can you follow on Instagram.
Who Has a Billion Followers on Instagram?
No one has reached such a high quantity of followers yet. Still, some famous celebrities have a rather large fan base. The top three includes the following stars.
- Instagram has its own account with 346 million followers.
- Cristiano Ronaldo with 216 million fans.
- Ariana Grande with 183 million subscribers.
Who Is the Most Followed Female on Instagram?
Arianna Grande is the woman with the largest number of subscribers on this platform. Currently, she has 183 million followers and is second only to the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Does Instagram Know If You Buy Followers?
It depends. If the service is of poor quality and it is obvious it uses bots, then they will most know. And they will punish the profile with any means at their hands. But if the tool works in an organic way and sends users over time, not all at once, then there is no way in which the algorithm can suspect anything.
Can Instagram Detect Fake Likes?
It can. And it goes against its terms of service. Their algorithm is always looking for bots, fake accounts, and suspicious activities. So, if one decides to buy likes from unprofessional companies, they will most likely notice it and ban the profile.
Use It Carefully or Suffer the Consequences
The platform is very strict in how many people can you unfollow on Instagram or subscribe to. While liking and unsubscribing from other persons’ pages is a very profitable strategy in terms of growth, it is best not to overdo it. The penalties for this may hinder one’s growth for months. But with some precaution and planning, the results can be great.
Have you ever suffered from Instagram’s follow and unfollow limits? Let us know in the comments below!
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