You’ve just installed Instagram for the first time on your smartphone and, after creating your account, you’ve realized that you can not follow any user anymore. A big problem, since your selection of people to follow depends on some of the most useful features of the social network photo owned by Facebook. As I have already explained, all you see in the Explore section depends largely on who you follow and the likes you put on their photos. Understanding why Instagram does not make me follow people, therefore, is more important than it might seem.
In fact, it is not just about following your friends and seeing the photos, videos or stories they publish (and maybe “spying” what they do). It is a question of having the best possible user experience of the platform. In the guide that follows, I will help you to understand why Instagram does not let you follow people, what are the possible reasons and how to solve them.
Why Instagram does not let me follow people
The reasons why you might wonder why Instagram does not let me follow people, could be different. The most common, usually, are two: violations of the regulation and the conditions of use of Instagram and “Disagreements” with other users who, by repentance, have blocked you and thus prevent you from following them.
In the next few paragraphs I will explain what violations can prevent you from following users on Instagram. These are simple and immediate explanations that will take you a short time. To understand what happened, however, it may take a little longer: armed with patience and pay close attention to what you read. It could be very useful for not having your Instagram account deleted.
Index
Temporary follow block
When you ask why Instagram does not let me follow people, keep an eye on the temporary block. Although not very publicized, Instagram has a system of blockages and limitations to avoid the proliferation of bots on its platform. To prevent this from altering the operation of the platform, the technicians of the photo social have placed limits on the number of follow that a user can put every day.
If you ask how many follow you can put on Instagram every day, just read the terms of use of the platform. Specifically, point 15 of the internal rules of Instagram specifies what you can do with your profile and how many times you can do it. If you have a profile that has just been opened (less than 3 months ago), you will be able to follow a maximum of 300 new people every day (in the count, however, you must also include the follow-ups that you take away from other users). For older profiles, with more than 3 months of life and more than 1,000 followers, the limit rises to 45 follow/unfollow actions per hour, for a maximum of approximately 1,000 shares a day.
What if I had to get carried away and exceed the daily follow limit? You will go to meet what is known by the name block follow Instagram. For a variable period of time (usually 24 hours), you will no longer be able to follow new users (nor remove the follow-up from someone already on your list).
To understand if this is the reason why Instagram does not follow me people, you will not have to do much. It will be the same social platform to warn you of the violation and the punishment imposed. If this is the case, all you have to do is wait for the release and pay attention. In fact, if you continue to receive violation notices, Instagram may also decide to unsubscribe you.
Understanding if you have been blocked
If you have not received any reports of incorrect behavior, the answer to the question because Instagram does not follow me should depend on other factors. For example, it may happen that one or more users have blocked you on Instagram and, as a result, you can no longer find their posts or follow them.
To understand if you are in this situation, it will take a few minutes and very few touches. First of all, go to the Explore section of Instagram and look for the username of the person you’d like to follow. If you do not find it (and you’re sure you’ve entered the correct name), this is the first clue to the block. It may happen, however, that you display the username but can not access your profile. Instead of the photo grid, you may even see a blank space with an error message such as “User not found” or “No posts yet“.
To be sure that this is not a platform error, try to create a second Instagram profile (you can manage up to 5 from the same smartphone) and look again for the person you are interested in. If you do not have trouble finding it and seeing its profile, you would have the certainty that it has blocked you on Instagram. Alternatively, try to follow it. If the Follow button does not work, you would have a further confirmation.
Distraction
When you want to understand why Instagram does not follow me people there is always the distraction factor to be taken into consideration. In fact, it may happen that you already follow that profile and, quite simply, you have not noticed it or you do not remember it.
So, how do you understand if you are already following someone on Instagram? Very simple: look for it from the Explore section, enter his profile and look at the top of the screen. If on the right of your profile picture you find “Send message” instead of “Follow“, it means that you are already a follower of him. Alternatively, enter your profile by pressing on the icon with the stylized half-length, press on the number above the message Follow and search inside the username that interests you. If you find it, it means that you already follow him.