How to Find and Remove Inactive Followers on Instagram

IG Audit  ·  Updated March 2026  ·  5 min read

Inactive followers are one of the most damaging things for an Instagram account's performance — and most people don't realise how many they have. Here's how to find them and what to do about them.

What counts as an inactive follower?

An inactive follower is an account that follows you but has stopped using Instagram. Their account still exists, they still appear in your follower count, but they haven't opened the app in months or years. They'll never like, comment, or share your posts.

There are several types:

• Dormant accounts — real people who quit Instagram but didn't delete their account
• Deactivated accounts — accounts that have been deleted or permanently deactivated by Instagram
• Abandoned bot accounts — fake accounts created in bulk that Instagram hasn't purged yet
• Old follow-for-follow accounts — people who followed you during a follow-for-follow phase and have since become completely inactive

Why inactive followers are a problem

Every inactive account in your follower list dilutes your engagement rate. Instagram's algorithm uses engagement rate as a core signal for how widely to distribute your posts. A lower rate = less reach = fewer new followers. It's a compounding problem that gets worse over time as more followers go inactive.

How to identify inactive followers

The easiest inactive followers to identify are deactivated accounts — profiles that no longer exist at all. IG Audit automatically scans your non-follower list and flags these with a 💀 badge after you upload your data export.

For dormant-but-still-existing accounts, identification is harder without paid analytics tools. Signs to look for when checking manually:

• No posts, or last post was 1–2+ years ago
• Default profile picture with no bio
• Following thousands of accounts but zero engagement on their own content
• Username looks like a randomly generated string (common with bot accounts)

How to get your follower data

1. Open Instagram → Profile → Menu (☰) → Accounts Centre
2. Your information and permissions → Export your information → Create export
3. Select your account → Export to device
4. Select Followers and following only · Date range: All time · Format: JSON
5. Upload the downloaded ZIP to igaudit.app

Removing inactive followers

Instagram allows you to remove a follower without blocking them — they aren't notified. Go to their profile, tap the three dots (⋯), and select Remove follower. For accounts you follow that are deactivated, simply unfollow them.

Work in batches of no more than 50–60 actions per day to stay within Instagram's safe limits.

Will removing inactive followers increase my reach?

Yes, over time. As your inactive follower count drops, your engagement rate rises relative to your follower total. Instagram's algorithm responds to this improvement by showing your content to more people. The effect builds over weeks rather than overnight, but it's real and measurable.