You likely lost 40 Instagram followers due to a combination of factors, most commonly Instagram purging fake/inactive accounts, users losing interest in your content, algorithm changes reducing visibility, or a natural shift in audience preferences, possibly triggered by inconsistent posting or low engagement. It could also stem from users deactivating accounts or genuine people unfollowing due to changing interests or your content no longer resonating, notes this Quora thread.
And that's it's! Being shadowbanned, having gained followers inorganically, being in a decline-phase niche, or simply that your audience's tastes have changed but your content hasn't are the 4 most likely reasons why you're losing Instagram as well as the tactics you can do to fix each.
TL;DR: Your follower count is dropping because of one (or more) of these issues: inconsistent posting, too many sales pitches, low-quality content, poor engagement, messy branding, fake followers, ignoring trends, or shadowbans.
Instagram's Bot Purge
If you've noticed a dip in followers, it could be due to the platform removing inactive or suspicious accounts.
5 Reasons You're Losing Instagram Followers (& How to INSTANTLY Fix It)
Put simply: a dip in follower growth often reflects how many people you've already reached. As Instagram becomes increasingly algorithm-driven, people can discover and consume your content (especially Reels) without ever following you.
In the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap Menu. Tap Follow and invite friends and turn off Flag for review . You can turn this back on at any time.
Fake followers can disappear tomorrow
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are well aware of the issue of fake followers. In 2015, Instagram held a purge and many celebrities and bloggers lost thousands of followers overnight, as fake and inactive accounts were deleted.
Instagram uses AI to determine who's a spam account and they're turning people off from following you just because they deemed them as spam.
Hashtags are used to drive discovery, but now the algorithm leans more on content type, trends, and user behavior. Over-reliance on hashtags can limit your reach. Solution: Use relevant hashtags, but focus more on format and content quality. Reels and carousels will go further than hashtags alone.
Why Am I Losing Instagram Followers? (2024)
If your Instagram is suddenly losing followers, then it's probably because you've been hit by the infamous 'shadow ban'. This can be because you've been using unauthorised software, spamming (irrelevant) hashtags or posting controversial content.
If someone unfollows you, you do not automatically unfollow them back. This means that she removed you as follower.
People quickly unfollow accounts that post irrelevant content, have poor visual quality, post too frequently and overwhelm feeds, lack consistent engagement with followers, or share content that conflicts with their personal values or beliefs.
There's no evidence of a new Instagram update that allows users to see who their “regular stalkers” are. However, Instagram did introduce a feature in the past that shows when a person was last active on the app, which is displayed underneath the person's Instagram handle on the direct message screen.
Visiting a follower's page can tell you a lot right off the bat. A fake account may have missing or limited details in their profile. Their images & posts may not have real people in (or they may be generic stock images). Fake accounts may also be missing a bio, a random gibberish name, and have little or no posts.
If you're losing followers, it could be as simple as an Instagram glitch. Some accounts are seeing their follower count decrease only to see it go right back up again within a few days. Or it could be a mass cleanup by Instagram where they're going through and removing inactive accounts or bot/spam accounts.
You can't see exactly who views your profile repeatedly, but you can get clues: check your Instagram story/highlights viewers lists (you see names here) and look for consistent engagement like likes/comments, while using Instagram Insights (Professional accounts) for overall profile visit numbers (no names) and consistent story viewers for names. The best indicator is a person frequently appearing in your story/highlight viewer lists and engaging with your content, as profile visits themselves are private.
Sometimes, technical issues can mess with your follower count. Things like app glitches, sudden logouts, or even account restrictions can affect your visibility, making followers disappear or even unfollow if they can't see your content.
The presence of flagged followers can damage the reputation of the account, as others may associate these negative elements with the account owner. ✨ENGAGEMENT QUALITY: Removing flagged followers improves the quality of engagement, ensuring that interactions are genuine and valuable.
Soft blocking on Instagram is a discreet way to remove someone as a follower by briefly blocking and then unblocking them, forcing them to unfollow you without sending a notification, so they stop seeing your posts in their feed but can still view your profile if they search for it directly. It's a "no-drama" alternative to a full block or unfollow, letting you reset the connection by making your content less visible to them.
5 simple tests to check if you're shadowbanned on Instagram