Instagram - 0 followers, 0 following, 0 posts, no profile picture. What's this about?

[knittingaddict]

Asking for a relative.

She has over 500 followers. For a while now she gets a follower with no profile picture, no followers. not following anyone and no posts. Is this something that happens on Instagram? She blocks these people for a personal reason. There is only ever one of these at a time. A few hours after she blocks them, another one pops up.

Trying to work out if this is normal social media rubbish with an explanation or something else.

Thanks.

Ignore voting. I had no idea that would be there.

Also I know this isn't strictly speaking an AIBU. Sorry.

I’m sure there are loads of these out there. Just keep blocking.

Grrr. Please ignore the ignore voting comment. I do know how to use mn, honest.

Yes, but why? Why, for the love of God, do they do that?

Stalker?
A friend who wants to remain anonymous?

I'm not sure about Instagram (what the hell is it for anyway?), but I do get blank accounts following me on YouTube. I just ignore them but I don't block them.

It could be a spam bot, crazy stalker, if she paid for fake followers

Stalker?

There are other reasons to suspect this. Hence the post. Just don't want to get into paranoid territory if it's a thing people do.

They could be bots , or they just be a person who needs an account to follow private accounts or whatever but don’t necessarily want an online presence of their own but as it happens a lot they’re most likely just spam

These are common and would usually say it's just a marketing thing or a bot account to try to get you to click a dodgy link, but the fact they always get another one right away after blocking one makes me think this is something more targeted.

I would suggest your relative sets their account to private, so that no one can see their content without approval.

Definitely not paid for fake followers.

Its called a Finsta.

Basically a real person who creates a fake instagram account to snoop on someone else, but does not want them to know they are looking at their posts.

not speaking from experience

The first profile like this posted on her friends account first and left an abusive message against a post she made about domestic abuse. This was while my relatives account was private. The same person then silently followed my relatives account as soon as it became public and the pattern of blocking and new accounts started.

I know no one can really answer my question, but it's so easy to get into confirmation bias with this sort of thing.

Hmm. that's the conclusion we had come to as well HolyForkinShirt. I just needed a reality check.

Someone checking for benefit fraud maybe?

Its basically a troll on instagram. If she only has 500 followers it's likely someone she knows.

Why hasn’t she set her instagram to private is she’s worried about a stalker?

Seriously, Cantthinkofausename? How exactly would they repeated need to look at photos of sports, house plants and interiors? Think they've got too much time on their hands if that's what you think.

Also how do they link a particular claimant to an instagram account. I can understand why they might do that with Mr BIg in the world on benefits fraud, but not in this case. Nothing to see here.

Why hasn’t she set her instagram to private is she’s worried about a stalker?

Because she had 11 years of someone controlling her life and she's, quite rightly, not taking it any more. It's always the victims who have to move house and change everything about their lives, while the abusers go on their merry way. (Sorry, struck a raw nerve there). It might seem frivolous to many, but she enjoys doing it and who am I to knock that.

Don’t want people you don’t know following you - make your page private. Then you can control who follows you - simple.

Wow chill out! It was only a suggestion. And they do check claimants social media pages...it does happen!

Sorry Cantthinkofausename, that was a bit snippy of me.

@knittingaddict

Yes, but why? Why, for the love of God, do they do that?

Its somebody close to jer that she has probably fallen out with and they are trying to instagram stalk while being stealthily