What Do I Do If I Can T Follow Anyone on Instagram?

Instagram is a fun way to keep in touch with family, friends and celebrities, but it can be frustrating to find out you can't follow someone. Luckily, there are common issues that may cause it as well as a way to resolve the error. Reviewing Instagram's policies can help, and they have an extensive and searchable help desk area. You can also report problems through the app or website.

Jeff Whelpley is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Jul 9, 2020

Instagram is a fun and innovative way to share media with family and friends. They see your posts when they follow you and you see theirs when you follow them. But what if you are having trouble following anyone? There are a few explanations and solutions for this problem.

Common Causes and Their Fixes

  1. You have an older version of the Instagram app installed. Solution- update the app.
  2. You just created your account recently. Solution- Give it a day before you start following accounts.
  3. The platform won't allow you to follow more than 7,500 accounts total. Solution- Unfollow some accounts so you can follow some newer accounts.
  4. A common tactic used by robot accounts is to locate and follow many accounts in one day, if you've done this unknowingly, the platform will flag you as a robot account and restrict you from following anyone else for 24 hours. Solution- Instagram's current policy is to allow users to safely follow 120 accounts per hour.
  5. The person you're trying to follow either has a private account or has blocked you. Solution- You may try to see if Instagram's automated customer service can help you contact this user or you can reach out to the other user on other social media platforms. It is not recommended that anyone use social media to cyberstalk or harass another person.
  6. You violated one of Instagram's rules and were reported by someone, your account was restricted until an investigation can be completed. Solution- Reach out to customer service in case they haven't contacted you. Check your spam folder first for any Instagram alerts and review the terms and conditions periodically.

Using Instagram Support and Other Account Features

Reporting Issues via the Website

  1. Log into your account and click on your profile picture close to the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Click on the Settings Icon, which looks like a gear part.
  3. From here, you can select Report a Problem and follow the steps. You can also click on Emails from Instagram and see either the security-related emails you were sent or other, which are updates from accounts you follow.

Reporting via the App

  1. Open the app and sign in if needed.
  2. Tap on the Menu option, then Settings and Report a Problem.
  3. Follow the prompts.

Further questions?

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Jeff truly believes that all customers deserve good service. He’s been building tools, inventing phone tree hacks and helping customers since before his days at GetHuman. He's also a Google GDE and involved in the Angular community.
What Do I Do If I Can T Follow Anyone on Instagram?

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Why does GetHuman Write How-to Guides for Instagram Problems?

GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like Instagram in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our What Do I Do If I Can T Follow Anyone on Instagram? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

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