Meta is Purging Dormant Instagram Accounts: What It Means? Why It’s a Good Thing?

Why This Purge is Good for the Long Run?

The removal of inactive users helps clean up the platform’s data and recalibrate engagement analytics to reflect real-time audience behavior.
It also allows the algorithm to better identify what kind of content truly resonates with a live, responsive audience.

This change encourages content creators to focus more on quality international interactions rather than specific region type of interactions.

Over time, this shift leads to stronger account building, better explore page appearance to active audiences, more opportunities for a stronger boosting in engagement and growth.

How Likesfor.me Is Adjusting

At Likesfor.me, we are proactively adapting to this change. Our iPad interaction systems will now include a new verification layer that filters out dormant accounts. Only accounts that have posted or engaged actively within the past year will be considered for interactions. This ensures that all new engagements are coming from fresh, active users who pass Meta’s internal activity checks.

This adjustment will not only help clients retain followers that are safe from purges, but it will also improve the overall health and long-term sustainability of their profiles.

Stories Are Now the New Norm for Everyday Users

Another trend to consider is how the average non-creator user behaves on the app. Most users today prefer posting on Stories rather than the traditional feed. Stories offer a more casual, real-time experience and require less effort to produce. While creators still rely heavily on feed content for long-form engagement and reach, Stories have become the go-to for regular users to stay active and connected.

This shift in behavior means that some accounts that may appear inactive in their feed could still be highly active through Stories that something Meta is likely accounting for when determining which profiles to remove.

A Looser Algorithm for Creators Boosting Content

Interestingly, this purge coincides with a softening of Instagram’s content algorithm, especially for creators who are consistently boosting posts. Because the platform is removing so many dead accounts, it now has more space to highlight fresh content. This gives creators who are actively promoting their content a slight edge, allowing them to reach a broader audience with fewer restrictions.

In other words, the algorithm is currently rewarding movement and momentum. If you are actively boosting and publishing content, you're more likely to be favored by the system while it continues to clean house.

Final Thoughts

This purge is not a threat; it's an opportunity. It's a reset button that will help improve the Instagram experience for both creators and users. By removing inactive accounts, Meta is opening the door for better visibility, more meaningful interactions, and improved performance tracking. For creators and platforms like Likesfor.me, it’s time to embrace this shift and optimize for quality over quantit