Alexis Kestler
Curating your Instagram feed and followers list can really enhance your experience on the app. By being more selective with who you follow, you can create a feed that aligns with your interests and values. Unfollowing certain accounts also helps keep your following list tidy and engaged.
But you don’t want to go crazy unfollowing people left and right. That can hurt your account if you unfollow the wrong folks. In this post, I’ll go over the main types of accounts that are worth unfollowing for a more enjoyable, efficient Instagram experience.
Inactive Accounts
One of the best types of accounts to clean up in your following list are inactive accounts. These are accounts where the user has not posted, commented or liked anything in a very long time.
Followers with inactive accounts are unlikely to engage with your content. They probably won’t like or comment on your posts, since they’re not even active on Instagram anymore. So keeping them around does nothing for your account.
According to social media expert Neil Patel, the average Instagram account loses 3.86% of its followers monthly due to inactivity. But the follower loss can be even higher. Rival IQ found that accounts with 10,000 to 50,000 followers lose about 6.5% of followers per month on average.
To find inactive accounts in your following list, check when each user last posted or had any activity. If it’s been over 6 months with zero activity, they are likely inactive and worth unfollowing. Any follower who has not posted in over a year is almost certainly inactive.
Unfollowing these ghost accounts will declutter your list and free up space to follow engaged users. Just be aware that if the user becomes active again, they may notice you unfollowed them. But an occasional unfollow cleanup is unlikely to ruffle any feathers.
Overposters
Accounts that post way more than average are another group worth unfollowing or muting. These “overposters” can quickly clutter up your feed, burying posts from accounts you care about.
According to research by Union Metrics, most Instagram users post between 1-7 times per week, averaging about 1.5 posts per day. So accounts that consistently post 5+ times daily would be considered overposters.
Having too many overposters in your feed makes it nearly impossible to keep up. If you like staying on top of your feed, muting or unfollowing some prolific posters can help prevent your feed from becoming overwhelming.
You may also find that overposters tend to recycle content or post low-quality filler just to meet their daily quotas. Their excessive posting is often more about vanity metrics than providing value to followers.
Muting overposters can be a nice middle ground if you don’t want to fully unfollow someone you know. You’ll still be able to check out their profile, but their content won’t flood your feed.
Pod Accounts
In case you’re not familiar with the term, a “pod” on Instagram refers to a group of accounts that have agreed to regularly like and comment on each other’s content. The goal is to artificially inflate engagement metrics.
Accounts participating in comment pods often have noticeably generic, spammy comments like:
- Wow great post!
- Awesome 😍😍😍
- So cool! 👌👌
Their comments don’t offer any meaningful praise or feedback. They exist solely to boost the post’s comment count.
Engagement from real followers who appreciate your content is so much more valuable than pod spam. Unfollowing pod accounts frees up space to connect with users who will engage with your account organically.
Social media analyst and pod-hunter abstraction.ak notes that pod accounts also frequently use engagement groups on Telegram to coordinate their spammy commenting. So if you notice any of your followers participating in shady Telegram groups, they‘re likely a pod account.
Frequent Unfollowers
This next one can feel a bit petty, but hear me out. Unfollowing users who frequently unfollow others can help maintain your followers-to-following ratio.
Some folks use Instagram automation tools to follow/unfollow accounts rapidly in hopes of gaining followers. They‘ll follow you one day, then unfollow you the next once you follow back.
Watch out for followers who frequently appear on your "Unfollowers" list in analytics apps like IG Insights or Social Blade. If someone unfollows you multiple times, they may just be playing follow/unfollow games.
Unfollowing Serial unfollowers prevents them from repeatedly inflating and deflating your following count. And it keeps your list focused on loyal, long-term followers.
Just know that some users unfollow for non-shady reasons like wanting to cap their following count. So consider giving repeat unfollowers a few chances before unfollowing.
Competitor Businesses
If you use Instagram primarily for a business, unfollowing competitor accounts can make strategic sense.
Seeing a competitor‘s content in your feed all the time may unintentionally give them “free advertising” to your audience. For example, if you run a donut shop, constantly seeing a rival donut shop’s tempting posts could sway your hungry followers.
Unfollowing competitors also frees up more feed space to showcase your own products, services and brand story. Just be careful not to go overboard unfollowing others in your niche. You don’t want to come across as petty or insecure.
Review competitors you currently follow and consider unfollowing any whose content too closely mirrors what you post or whose products/services directly compete with yours.
Toxic Accounts
Finally, unfollowing accounts that spread negativity, misinformation or make you feel bad is always a smart move.
We all have different definitions of what constitutes a “toxic” account. Personally, I block or unfollow anyone promoting bigoted viewpoints, spreading conspiracy theories or engaging in bullying or hate speech.
Curbing toxicity can make Instagram feel like a much safer, more inspiring place. For your mental health, don’t hesitate to unfollow accounts that consistently make you feel worse in any way. Marie Kondo that negativity right out of your digital space!
- Unfollow inactive accounts that never engage
- Mute or unfollow overposters cluttering your feed
- Remove pod accounts that leave spammy comments
- Consider unfollowing serial unfollowers
- Unfollow competitor businesses as a strategic move
- Block or unfollow toxic accounts spreading hate or negativity
Being more selective with who you follow on Instagram can really improve your overall experience. I hope these tips help you clean up your following list and curate a feed that motivates and inspires you! Let me know in the comments if you have any other thoughts on who to unfollow.
