Have you seen any fake movies that liked your Instagram stories? That I’m not alone in this. Many users around the world have been reporting this phenomenon since at least the end of November 2022. Some believe that this happens when someone views their posts using some external Instagram tool, such as an anonymous story viewing site, for example. , but TechTudo tests have shown that this is not the case. Experts point to another path: for them it is possible that these are bots that promote scams or malicious pages on the Internet.
TechTudo spoke with Flávia Braz de Castro, a lawyer focused on digital law who works on regulation and new technologies at Lima Feigelson, to understand what these bots are and what users can do to protect themselves from them. In the following lines, see what you need to know about fake sexy accounts liking your Instagram stories.
What happened? Why do sexy impersonators like my stories?
In late November 2022, some users began opening forums on Reddit to try to understand why they had fake porn they liked on their Instagram stories. “Is it just me recently getting likes from interesting bots in Stories? It’s like one or two bots per story. In response, many people responded, some mentioning that this happens when someone views their posts using some tools outside of Instagram.
TechTudo has run tests to understand if this is indeed what is happening and has confirmed that the porn bots that like your stories are not seeing your posts anonymously. In our tests, we used three different websites for the same purpose, and in none of the cases was this suspicion confirmed. But what are these sexy profiles that enjoy Instagram Stories?
So far, there is no definitive study on this phenomenon, but experts point to some possible causes, including fake sharing and swiping app. “These ‘fake’ accounts are generally bots programmed to perform automated tasks, such as following profiles, commenting or liking stories. In this context, they are generally used to simulate followers, manipulate interactions or apply scams,” said lawyer Flávia. Castro’s Brazil.
Another possibility is that these profiles are used to fake legitimate behavior and then circumvent Instagram’s ability to identify them as fake. However, they can also, in the opinion of the expert, be a means to lead users to sites associated with these profiles, which in turn may be malicious, pornographic and/or fraudulent.
This second theory is consistent with the perceived behavior of 24-year-old student Fernanda Nunes, who reported experiencing this type of interaction on Instagram. “The similarity of the profiles [of bots] is usually the interaction in the stories, either [with] views, likes or participation in surveys. They are also profiles of more than eighteen years and the requests for messages are profiles of shops of ‘traders’, which I don’t know if they really exist,” he said in the report.
However, at the moment, there is still no confirmation as to what these exciting bots are, especially since Instagram has not published any studies or issued any specific statement on the matter at the moment.
How can I stop these bots from liking my stories?
The student Fernanda told TechTudo that, for some time, she has noticed an increase in the interactions of these types of accounts with her posts. The solution I found was to close her profile. “I decided to close my Instagram because the frequency [of the bots] was increasing a lot. At first, it was just one profile or another, but [recently] it was three or four times a day, and it was really annoying and annoying.” it turned me off a lot,” she said in the report.
To end this inconvenience, there are those who, rather than closing the account, also block fake profiles, but it is possible that this solution will not work either, since new accounts with similar behavior are created daily. So what can you do to prevent these bots from interacting with you? According to experts and also Instagram itself, there are some measures you can take.
The first indicator is reporting accounts. This is useful for the platform itself to identify and eliminate bots. To do this, when a profile likes your story, tap on it to open it. With the account open, go to the three points at the top right of the screen and select the “Report” option. Click “Inappropriate Content” and then go to “Report” again. Now, you will need to explain the reason for the report. To do this, Instagram suggests the option to “pretend to be someone else.”
Likewise, the platform indicates to block profiles, as well as select the option to block new accounts created by the same IP address. This is useful because, according to the TechTudo expert consulted, it is possible that these accounts come from the same IP addresses. So doing so can at least reduce the number of interactions, as it will automatically block new profiles created for the same purpose.
It is also possible to leave your Instagram profile private and, as we explained, for the student Fernanda this was the best solution they found. But, in the case of people who depend on visibility on the social network for business purposes, this may not be a possibility. In this sense, the ideal is to follow the recommendations of the platform, blocking and restricting any bot profile that shows your stories.
What does Instagram say about the case?
TechTudo looks to Instagram to understand what the platform knows and is doing to prevent this type of account. In response, the social network sent the following note:
“Genuine interactions on Instagram and Facebook are very important to Meta, and as such, we work hard to keep the community free of false behavior. We dedicate significant resources to combating profiles that promote this type of behavior on our platforms and “When detected, we are considering all applicable options, including account suspension and removal. We also encourage people to report any suspicious accounts or activity on Instagram through our reporting tools.”
