Look at the engagement rate first
The single quickest test is engagement compared with followers. Add up likes and comments on recent posts, average them, and divide by the follower count. Many genuine Instagram accounts sit somewhere around 1% to 5%; TikTok, measured against views, often runs higher. An account with 50,000 followers whose posts get 40 likes has an engagement rate well under 0.1%, which is a strong sign the audience is not what it seems. Our free Instagram and TikTok calculators do the maths.
Check the followers themselves
Open the follower list and scroll. Warning signs include:
- Many accounts with no profile picture or no posts.
- Usernames that are strings of letters and numbers.
- Accounts that follow thousands but are followed by almost nobody.
- Lots of followers from countries that make no sense for the account’s language or location.
Watch the growth pattern
Genuine accounts grow in uneven bumps that line up with good posts. Bought audiences often appear as a sudden step: thousands of followers in a day, then flat. Some third-party analytics tools chart follower history, which makes these steps easy to see. A steady, paced pack is harder to spot than a spike, which is one reason we pace ours, but a large mismatch with engagement still shows.
Read the comments
Comments are harder to fake convincingly. Generic comments like “Nice pic!”, strings of emojis from accounts with no posts, or the same comment on every post are all signs of automated engagement. Real comments mention the content: the product, the place, the joke.
What brands check
Brands and agencies working with influencers usually look at engagement rate, audience location, follower growth over time and the quality of comments, often with paid tools. If you are hoping to work with brands, a bought audience will not pass this kind of check and can damage trust. Our ASA guide covers the UK rules on influencer marketing.
Using the same checklist on your own profile
If you do buy a pack, the checklist above is also a guide to keeping your profile believable: keep the jump modest, keep posting, keep likes in proportion with a likes pack where needed, and do not use the number to mislead anyone.
Asked by readers
What is a normal engagement rate on Instagram?
It varies a lot by size and niche, but many accounts sit around 1% to 5% of followers per post.
Can you see if someone bought followers?
Not with certainty, but low engagement, odd follower lists and sudden jumps are strong clues.
Do fake followers hurt an account?
They do not engage, so they can drag the engagement rate down. A modest number on a new profile matters far less than a huge number on an established one.
How do I remove fake followers?
You can remove followers one by one from your follower list on Instagram, or block them. TikTok lets you remove followers from your followers list too.