Top 9 Reasons Why Instagram won’t Let You Follow People & How to Fix Them

Top 9 Reasons Why You Can’t Follow People on Instagram & How to Fix Them

Have you ever found a really cool account on Instagram, but when you went to follow them, you found you were incapable of?

Why can’t I follow some people on Instagram? I bet that thought has occurred to you at least once, and trust me when I say, you’re not alone.

And that’s exactly why we’re here, to clear up any curiosities and misunderstandings you might have.

In this article, we set out to provide the main reasons why you can not follow people on Instagram and how you can fix them.

Reason #1: They blocked you

Have you ever tried to follow someone only to find that Instagram automatically unfollows them or even won’t allow you to press the button at all? Then it’s likely that this action has been restricted.

If you’re trying to follow a specific person and it doesn’t work, then it’s likely that that person has blocked you on Instagram.

Why? Well, there are many reasons why this person felt the need to block you, but to sum it all up in a short sentence: they just didn’t want to have anything to do with you anymore or wanted to stop you from seeing into their account (especially if it’s a private account).

Generally, if their account (including their content and profile pic) appears white, this person has blocked you.

It can be hurtful when someone blocks you on Instagram, but it is one of the privileges that Instagram allows its users, so what can you do?

Solution #1: Make another account

Instagram Create a New Account

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about someone blocking you on Instagram. You certainly can’t appeal this decision from your own account, and you’re pretty much blocked until that person decides to unblock you.

Of course, if this is someone you know or are in contact with through other media, you can try to work out why they blocked you and hopefully have them unblock you. Honestly, we’d recommend trying that if at all possible.

But since that only works for a few people, if you want to see what this person posts, then your best bet would be setting up an alternative account and following them from there. Naturally, you would have to make sure they can’t tell it’s you.

Reason #2: Instagram blocked you from following people.

Instagram Action Blocked

You may have gotten the ‘Instagram Action Blocked‘ message when trying to follow someone, and in that case, you’re no longer dealing with a person, but with Instagram’s algorithm.

You see, Instagram tries to ensure the relative safety of its users by closely monitoring your actions. Things like logging in from a different IP or following too many people too quickly can trigger IG’s sensors and result in blocking.

This happens because Instagram has set a certain limit of follows, comments, and likes per day. If you exceed that limit, they may temporarily block you because they think you’re a robot.

Solution #2: Wait it out.

There’s no telling how long your ban will be, but it will last at least a couple hours. Of course, the time frame can vary depending on how often this has happened. A ‘first offense‘ might warrant a 2-hour ban, but if this occurs frequently, Instagram may ban you for a few days.

So your first action has to be waiting for the ban to be lifted. Once it is, make sure you don’t exceed Instagram’s limits: no more than 200 follows a day (50 if your account is new) and try to keep the actions (follows, likes, or comments) on new users’ profiles to around 10 an hour.

Surely you’ve seen those companies boasting they can increase your IG following by thousands of people. They rely on bots who follow, like, and comment automatically on the accounts of other people, hoping those people will follow you back.

To limit this, Instagram has set the above limitations, so try not to undertake more actions from your account in that time frame. If you want to follow people, make sure you distribute them evenly across several hours and don’t do too much too fast.

Also, make sure you engage with the ‘older users’ regularly as well. A trait of these bots is that they follow, like, and comment but then never engage with that account again. By mixing with both new and old accounts, you’re showing IG you’re a human being.

Reason #3: You’ve reached your Instagram follow limit.

Instagram Follow Limit

Sometimes, Instagram will prevent you from following other people, but not because it thinks you’re a robot or wants to test the authenticity of your account, but merely because you have reached the limit of accounts you can follow.

Is there a limit to how many people you can follow on Instagram?

Yes, there is. Just like any other social media platform, Instagram limits the number of people you can follow to prevent spamming. And in Instagram’s case, the limit of people you can follow is 7500.

Solution #3: Clean up your list.

If you’ve reached the 7500 thresholds, then it’s time for you to go back through the list of folks you follow and unfollow some of the ones you don’t engage with, so that you make room for new ones.

Instagram is great for keeping in touch, but no one’s keeping in touch with almost 8000 people, so make sure you tidy things up every once in a while.

Reason #4: Technical Difficulties.

When you see you can’t follow people or perform actions on your account, it’s reasonable to panic and to think you’ve done something wrong. But sometimes, it has nothing to do with you at all.

In fact, the reason might be the easiest in the world – you have a faulty Internet connection.

Solution #4: Look for a better connection.

Try switching from Wi-Fi to mobile data, as the Wi-Fi might be overloaded, or the signal might be weak. If you can’t do that, then either ask a friend if they can hot spot you, or if that’s not an option either, simply wait until you reach a place with a more reliable connection (the Wi-Fi at home is stronger than the one at McDonald’s, for example) to try again.

Also, make sure you restart your app after changing your Internet source. Otherwise, Instagram might not recognize it.

Reason #5: Bot Suspicions… again.

Instagram Bot

Yes, we know. Instagram is very suspicious of bots, and that’s putting it mildly. But hey, if you had as many bots trying to skew your algorithms, you’d be a bit paranoid too.

Sometimes, Instagram will doubt your account if it’s not verified. See, Instagram works on word of mouth a lot, and it will ask you to verify your identity by connecting other social media accounts, like Twitter or Facebook, to prove you’re a real person.

And if you have none connected, Instagram might start wondering if you’re a person at all.

Solution #5: Connect.

The solution here couldn’t be more straightforward. Simply go into the Instagram settings menu and connect your other social media accounts, such as Facebook (really easy, since the two are owned by the same parent company) or Twitter. That will give you a better cred with Instagram.

Reason #6: You look like a ghost.

Or, more accurately, a ghost account. These bots make an account to follow people, but don’t fill out the account details or make any posts at all. Instagram sees this as suspicious and is more likely to ban you (either temporarily or permanently).

Solution #6: Fill it out.

In this case, you need to make sure your account looks as real as possible. Add a profile picture and edit your description, fill in your e-mail and phone number. Post fairly regularly. No one’s saying you need to be on the platform 24/7, but people who post occasionally have a better chance of sounding like real people.

Private Account

Reason #7: The account is private.

While some people are okay with having a public, easy-to-follow account, other people prefer to set their visibility to private so that only they can decide who can and can’t see their content.

If you are having trouble following or seeing into a particular account, the person may be limiting your access (though that doesn’t mean they’ve blocked you).

Solution #7: Try to work it out.

Your only solution here is trying to work it out with the owner of the account. Since you’re not blocked, you’ll be able to contact them privately and ask if they wouldn’t mind allowing you to see into their account.

But beware, these people highly value their privacy, so they might not want to give you access even if you talk to them, and in that case, there isn’t much you can do.

Third-Party Apps And Instagram

Reason #8: You’re using a third-party app.

You can download many apps that connect to your Instagram account to tell you who followed and unfollowed you as well as monitor other aspects of your Instagram activity.

Some of these apps even allow you to undertake action from inside the app, such as unfollow people who unfollowed you. Unfortunately, Instagram sees that as a trick, so if you perform an action from a third-party app, there’s a chance to get banned.

Solution #8: Stop doing things in the app.

Either remember who you want to unfollow and do so from the actual Instagram app or uninstall the third-party app altogether.

Reason #9: It’s Instagram’s fault.

This doesn’t happen often, but sometimes, you haven’t done any of the above and still get banned from following people. This is usually a problem on Instagram’s side, some sort of glitch in their algorithms.

Solution #9: Instagram Help.

When you get the ‘Action Blocked‘ pop-up, you’re also given the option to report a problem if you think you’ve been banned unfairly. And while we don’t recommend doing this If you believe IG didn’t have just cause to block you (e.g. you weren’t guilty of any of the above) then sending them a message can help fix the problem

Contact the Help desk if you haven’t been following people too fast and if you can’t find any of the above reasons why Instagram should have banned your account.

Final Words

These nine issues are the reason you’re getting banned in 99% of situations, and if you can’t follow people on Instagram, there’s a big chance it’s because of one of these issues.

We hope this article helped you fix your problem!

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My Instagram Won't Let Me Follow Anyone