Instagram crack down on fake accounts, followers, comments and likes

Instagram has began its crackdown on fake followers, likes, and comments generated by third-party apps tailored to make accounts appear more popular than they actually are.

The crackdown comes as Instagram parent Facebook strives to assure people that the leading social network and its services can be trusted.

Starting today (Tuesday), we will begin removing inauthentic likes, follows and comments from accounts that use third-party apps to boost their popularity, Instagram said in a blog post.

Instagram is using self-improving software programs to help identify accounts that use such apps and purge products of inauthentic activity, which violates terms of service at the service.Instagram said it would notify users about removed likes, follows, or comments.

Instagram will alert accounts with an in-app message against whom action has been taken. These accounts will be notified when their likes, comments and follows have been removed. Instagram will also ask these apps to change their password.

Twitter has made similar efforts to root out inauthentic accounts, resulting in declines in the number of followers for some users.