Follower quality

Instagram Fake Follower Checker API

Before you pay a creator, check who's actually following them. One request samples the account's followers, scores each for bot and throwaway signals, and returns an estimated real-follower percentage with a quality grade and a plain-English verdict you can drop straight into a vetting report.

50 free credits on signup · no card required

curl "https://api.instagramapi.dev/v1/insights/profile/audit?handle=nike&sample=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INSTAGRAMAPI_KEY"

What you get

Structured JSON, not raw HTML

  • Estimated real-follower percentage and a letter-style quality grade
  • Per-signal breakdown: no profile picture, no display name, digit-heavy usernames, private and nameless accounts
  • One-paragraph AI verdict written for sponsorship decisions
  • Choose the sample size (up to 500) to trade cost for accuracy
  • Raw follower list available separately via /profile/followers if you want your own scoring
  • Pair with /profile/about for account age and country of registration

Example response

What comes back

{
  "data": {
    "username": "nike",
    "followers_total": 291952375,
    "sampled": 100,
    "suspected_fake_pct": 14,
    "estimated_real_pct": 86,
    "estimated_real_followers": 251079042,
    "quality_grade": "B",
    "signal_breakdown": {
      "no profile picture": 9,
      "digit-heavy username": 7,
      "no display name": 11
    },
    "summary": "A healthy audience: roughly 86% of sampled followers look authentic…"
  }
}

Response fields

Fields returned by GET /v1/insights/profile/audit

FieldDescription
usernameThe account's @handle.
followers_totalThe account's total follower count.
sampledHow many followers were sampled and scored.
suspected_fake_pctEstimated percentage of sampled followers that look fake.
estimated_real_pctEstimated percentage of sampled followers that look authentic.
estimated_real_followersTotal followers projected to be real (followers_total × estimated_real_pct).
quality_gradeLetter grade (A–F) for overall audience quality.
signal_breakdownCount of how many sampled followers tripped each suspicious-signal heuristic.
signal_breakdown.no profile pictureSampled followers with no profile picture.
signal_breakdown.digit-heavy usernameSampled followers whose username is mostly digits.
signal_breakdown.no display nameSampled followers with no display name.
summaryOne-paragraph AI verdict on the audience for sponsorship decisions.

No login required

Nothing to authenticate but your API key

No OAuth flow

One static API key in an Authorization: Bearer header. No redirect, no refresh tokens, no expiring session.

No Meta app review

Never touch Meta's developer platform, Business Verification, or a connected Facebook Page. Sign up directly with Instagram API.

Public data only

Every endpoint returns only what's already visible on Instagram without logging in. Private accounts are never accessible.

Pricing

4–22 credits per request. Credits start at $8.00 per 1,000 and drop to $6.00 per 1,000 at volume — no subscription, no minimums. New accounts get 50 free credits.

See full pricing

FAQ

Instagram Fake Follower Checker API, explained

How do I check an Instagram account for fake followers?

Send GET /v1/insights/profile/audit?handle=<username>. We sample the account's followers, score each one heuristically, and return the estimated real percentage, a quality grade, the signal counts, and an AI-written verdict. Pass sample=<n> to change how many followers are checked.

How accurate is it?

It's a heuristic estimate from a sample, not a ground-truth count — the same approach the major influencer-marketing tools use. Bigger samples are more accurate. Note that Instagram caps the follower list on many accounts at around 50, so the sampled count can be smaller than what you asked for; the response tells you how many were actually checked.

Can I audit accounts I don't manage?

Yes. The audit only uses public follower lists, so any public account can be checked — that's the whole point for influencer vetting.

Does this need Instagram OAuth or app approval?

No. There's no OAuth, no Meta app review, and no business verification. Create an API key and call the endpoint.

What does an audit cost?

4–22 credits depending on the sample size (the default 100-follower sample sits at the low end). Credits start at $8.00 per 1,000, and new accounts get 50 free credits to try it.

Start pulling fake follower checker api data

Create a free key and make your first request in under a minute — 50 credits on us.