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Follow-unfollow - Instagram Glossary

Follow-unfollow is the practice of following accounts to prompt a follow back, then unfollowing them later. It inflates follower counts, produces an audience with no interest in the account, and is explicitly against Instagram's terms.

Beyond the policy problem, it is self-defeating mechanically. Instagram weights recent engagement from your existing followers when deciding distribution. An audience acquired this way does not engage, which drags down every subsequent post's performance - the growth actively costs you reach.

It is worth naming because the numbers look like progress. An account can add thousands of followers this way and see engagement rate collapse from 6% to under 1%, at which point brand deals evaporate and the account is worth less than it was smaller.

More Instagram terms

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