The short version: Instagram does not secretly follow accounts on its own, but it creates situations that make it look like it has: app glitches during updates, synced contacts, old accounts you connected years ago, and third party apps you gave permission to that follow on your behalf. If your following count is rising without you tapping follow, the cause is almost always something you agreed to once and forgot about.
Why this question keeps coming up
I hear some version of this question constantly from small business owners managing social media for the first time: "I checked my following list and there are accounts I've never heard of, did Instagram do this?" The honest answer is that Instagram as a platform does not run a background process that picks accounts and follows them for you. There's no algorithm quietly adding influencers or brands to your list because it thinks you'd like them. But I understand exactly why it feels that way, because the end result looks identical.
Think about it from a business angle. If you run a small bakery account with 4,000 followers and you suddenly notice you're following 60 accounts you don't recognise, that's unsettling. It makes you question whether your account has been compromised, and that's a fair instinct to have.
The real causes, one by one
There are five realistic explanations, and in my experience the first two cover most cases.
- Contact syncing. If you ever tapped "yes" when Instagram asked to access your phone contacts, it can suggest and in some flows auto connect to people whose numbers match, especially if you also connected Facebook. This isn't Instagram following people for you, but it can make new contacts appear in your suggested or followed list faster than you'd expect.
- Third party apps and bots. Follower growth tools, scheduling apps with "engagement" features, or shady "get followers fast" services often need you to grant access to your account, and the small print usually includes permission to follow and unfollow accounts automatically to try to trigger follow-backs. This is the single biggest cause of mystery follows and it's also against Instagram's terms of service, which puts your account at risk.
- App bugs during updates. Instagram pushes frequent updates, and occasionally a bug causes accounts to be duplicated in follow lists or old pending follow requests to resolve automatically. These get fixed quickly but they're real and documented by users on forums like Reddit.
- Shared logins. If a freelancer, agency, or team member has access to your account and is testing competitor research or outreach, they might be following accounts without telling you.
- Hacked accounts. If your password was compromised, someone using your account to follow spam accounts (often ones that later DM you a scam link) is one of the clearest signs of this.
A worked example
Say you run a small jewellery brand on Instagram with around 8,000 followers, and three months ago you downloaded a free "Instagram growth" app that promised to get you 500 new followers a week. You gave it your login details because it asked nicely and had decent reviews. For the first few weeks it worked, your follower count went up. But buried in your following list now are 140 accounts you never chose, mostly low quality profiles with stock photos and no posts. That's the app auto following accounts to trigger follow backs, a tactic that works short term and damages your account long term because Instagram's spam detection eventually flags the pattern and can restrict your reach or lock the account entirely. The fix is a five minute job: revoke the app's access under Settings, then Apps and Websites, then Active, change your password, and manually unfollow the accounts you don't recognise in batches of 20 to 30 at a time to avoid tripping Instagram's own anti spam limits.
The uncomfortable part nobody mentions
Most articles on this topic stop at "check for bots" and move on, but there's a part worth being blunt about. A lot of people who ask this question secretly used a growth tool themselves, forgot about it, and are now looking for reassurance that it wasn't their fault. I'd rather tell you straight: if you've ever used an automated follow/unfollow tool, a "like for like" bot, or paid for a follower package, the strange accounts in your list are very likely a direct result of that, not some mystery Instagram feature. It's not a flattering thing to admit, but owning it is the fastest route to fixing it, because you'll know exactly where to revoke access instead of chasing a phantom bug.
What to check, step by step
- Go to your profile, tap "following," and scroll the full list looking for accounts with no profile picture, no posts, or generic usernames with random numbers.
- Go to Settings, then Security, then Apps and Websites, and review everything with access under "Active." Remove anything you don't personally recognise or still need.
- Check Settings, then Security, then "Login Activity" for logins from unfamiliar devices or locations.
- Change your password and turn on two factor authentication if you haven't already.
- If you manage the account with a team, confirm nobody else has been testing tools without telling you.
This whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes and it's worth doing even if you're not currently seeing strange follows, as basic account hygiene.
Where this connects to the bigger picture
If you're building a following for business reasons, whether that's personal branding or product sales, it's worth knowing what real growth is worth versus artificial growth. I've written before about what a genuine 100k followers can realistically pay in the UK, and the short version is that real, engaged followers matter far more than a high number padded with bot accounts, because brands and sponsors check engagement rate before they check follower count. A following list full of mystery accounts is a red flag to anyone doing due diligence on your profile before a partnership.
It's also worth tidying up related areas while you're in there. If old tagged photos are cluttering your profile from a previous automation mishap, this guide on hiding tagged photos walks through hiding versus removing the tag entirely. And if you've ever been tagged somewhere you'd rather not be associated with, the process for untagging yourself on Instagram is quick and worth bookmarking.
If you manage this for a business, not just yourself
For business owners running several social accounts alongside everything else, this kind of thing is exactly where a bit of outside structure helps. If you're constantly firefighting account security issues, strange automation, or just don't have time to audit every connected app, it might be worth getting real help setting up safer workflows. I work with small businesses on exactly this kind of practical cleanup as part of broader AI consultant for small business work, because social media security and automation habits are usually tangled up with the same tools people use for everything else in the business.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
And while you're reviewing platforms, it's worth remembering this isn't an Instagram only problem. If you want to see who's engaging with your business elsewhere, this piece on seeing who follows you on Facebook covers the equivalent process on that platform, and the scroll behaviour question comes up just as often, which is covered in does Instagram have auto scroll.
I keep every related walkthrough in the Instagram Help: 81 Guides to Followers, Hashtags, Money, Accounts and Fixes. To see who does not follow you back, use the free who-doesn't-follow-back checker.
Frequently asked questions
Can Instagram follow accounts without my permission?
No, Instagram itself does not independently choose and follow accounts on your behalf. What feels like unauthorised following is almost always caused by a third party app with access to your account, contact syncing you agreed to previously, or in rare cases a compromised password.
Why do I see accounts I don't recognise in my following list?
The most common reason is a growth or automation app you connected at some point that follows accounts automatically to try to trigger follow backs. Check Settings, then Security, then Apps and Websites, and remove anything you don't actively use.
Is it safe to use apps that promise to grow my Instagram following automatically?
No, it's risky. These apps typically need login access and often violate Instagram's terms of service by automating follows and unfollows, which can get your account flagged, restricted, or permanently disabled.
How do I stop Instagram from following accounts automatically?
Revoke access for any connected third party apps under Settings, then Security, then Apps and Websites, change your password, and turn on two factor authentication. This removes the permissions that allow outside tools to act on your account.
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