I’ve Tried Following Someone On Instagram, But It Won’t Let Me. What’s Going On?
There’s nothing more frustrating than finding an account you want to follow on Instagram and not being able to. In fact, if you’re trying to grow your account and become an influencer, following other users is a critical part of the process.
There are many reasons why you may not be able to follow another account, and understanding how to troubleshoot the problem can help you rectify the situation quickly. Let’s take a closer look at why you may not be able to follow people on Instagram.
1. You’re Blocked
Let’s get this one out of the way: why can’t I follow someone on Instagram, there is a chance that the user has blocked you. This action can happen for a variety of reasons and is at the other user’s discretion. If you are blocked, you won’t be able to interact with them at all, which includes not having access to their content, sending or receiving messages, and following them.
Unfortunately, if this is the case, you are very limited in options; you can either deactivate your Instagram account, create a new one, and try to follow them from that one (not recommended unless you want to risk getting a permanent ban from the app) or if you know them personally, reaching out to them to try to rectify the issue.
2. You’ve Followed Too Many Accounts
As we mentioned earlier, aspiring influencers often try following a large number of users to grow their accounts, but this method can backfire. To ward off spam and bots, Instagram set limits on how many accounts you can follow, which is around 60 per hour and 200 per day. If you exceed this number, the platform will send you a warning about unusual behavior and stop you from following accounts for an unspecified amount of time. Your best bet for increasing your reach is to focus on organic growth and avoid spammy behavior.
3. Downed Servers
Occasionally, Instagram servers will go down, which will cause the app to malfunction and not work correctly. If you’re unfortunate enough to try to follow someone when this happens, you most likely won’t be able to. The good news is that that platform usually gets its services up and running quickly, so you can try again in no time.
4. You’ve Reached Your Follow Limit
Similar to following too many accounts too quickly, Instagram has put a follower limit in place to help stop bots and spam accounts. Currently, you can only follow a total of 7,500 accounts before the app stops you from following anyone else. After that, if you want to follow another account, you will have to unfollow one you are no longer interested in or interacting with.
5. Your VPN is Interfering
VPNs are an excellent tool to protect your personal information, but they can stop you from following certain users on Instagram. If suspicious activity is detected from the user’s IP address, your VPN may not allow you to follow them, which could save you from getting a virus. You can override this protection by deactivating your VPN while on Instagram, but you may put yourself at risk if the user is flagged for possible spam behaviors.
6. The Instagram App is Experiencing Technical issues
It’s not uncommon for apps to experience technical issues, especially if you are a heavy user. While these malfunctions can happen for a variety of reasons, you can generally fix them by clearing your cache. Clearing the app’s cache removes excess data that can make it run slowly, crash, and act buggy, and it only takes a few seconds to do!
7. Your Internet Is Slow or Faulty
Sometimes, your internet connection may be the reason your Instagram isn’t working correctly, whether due to faulty equipment, slow WiFi, or poor network coverage. Try switching between cellular data and WiFi, restarting your modem, or turning your phone off and on to reset and fix the issue.
8. You’ve Restricted or Muted an Account
Instagram has many features to make your experience more enjoyable, including the option to restrict or mute certain users. If activated, these features limit how they interact with you and can stop you from following them as well. Check and see what accounts you’ve restricted and restore default settings if the user you want to follow is on this list.
9. Third-Party Apps Are Interfering
Instagram lets you share your information with third-party websites and apps, which lets you import pictures and link your account to different sites. While this feature can be useful, it can also cause the platform to flag certain accounts for suspicious behavior. If this happens, you may not be able to follow them. You can review all of the third-party sites associated with your account and restrict access to any that may negatively affect you.
Conclusion
While it can be disheartening if Instagram stops you from following another user, it doesn’t always mean you’re blocked. Use the list above to troubleshoot possible problem areas, and with a little luck, you may be able to follow the user without any further problems!
