Having a high number of Twitter followers can seem impressive, but many accounts rely on fake bot followers to inflate their counts. Here’s an in-depth guide to check fake Twitter Followers audit to detect bots and ensure the quality of your community.
Table of Contents
Overview of Fake Twitter Followers
Twitter has over 300 million monthly active users, but a portion of accounts use tactics like bots, bulk purchasing, and follow/unfollow schemes to artificially boost their follower count.
These fake or bot accounts provide no value in engaging or promoting content. They simply exist to inflate vanity metrics.
According to various reports, rough estimates indicate:
- Up to 15% of Twitter accounts are fake or spam bots.
- The average Twitter user with >5000 followers has 8-10% fake bots.
- Accounts with >50k followers tend to have over 20% fakes.
- Certain celebrities, public figures, and brands have been found to have over 50% fake follower counts.
This epidemic of fake Twitter followers threatens the integrity and value of the platform. But with the right audit tools and techniques, you can identify fake bots and permanently remove them from your community.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover:
- Warning signs of fake Twitter followers
- Detailed steps to perform an audit
- The best fake follower check tools
- How to remove fake followers
- Tips to prevent and detect Twitter bots
Let’s dig into cleaning up that Twitter community!
Also read: Using Twitter Ads to Increase Followers
Common Signs You May Have Fake Twitter Followers
Here are some indicators your Twitter account may have accumulated fake bot followers:
| Common Signs of Fake Twitter Followers | Indicators of Fake Accounts |
|---|---|
| ✓ Sudden spikes in followers | – Not tied to a specific event or promotion |
| ✓ Consistently high new follower rate | – Unrelated to your activity |
| ✓ Lots of accounts with default profiles | – Stolen avatars, weird usernames |
| ✓ Followers don’t engage | – No likes, retweets, replies, etc. from most followers |
| ✓ Followers aren’t targeted | – Clearly irrelevant based on your content |
| ✓ Low follow-back percentage | – You don’t follow back a high percentage of your followers |
| ✓ Highly imbalanced following vs follower ratio | – A significant difference between accounts followed and followers |
| ✓ Lots of inactive accounts | – As reported by Twitter Audit tools |
- ✓Sudden spikes in followers that aren’t tied to a specific event or promotion.
- ✓Consistently high new follower rate unrelated to your activity.
- ✓Lots of accounts with default profiles, stolen avatars, and weird usernames.
- ✓Followers don’t engage – no likes, retweets, replies, etc from most.
- ✓Followers aren’t targeted – clearly irrelevant based on your content.
- ✓You don’t follow back a high % of followers.
- ✓Highly imbalanced following vs follower ratio.
- ✓Lots of inactive accounts – as reported by Twitter Audit tools.
If one or more of these describe your account, there’s a good chance you have a decent percentage of bot/fake followers. Running an audit provides clarity.
Also read: Trace a Fake Twitter Account
Step-by-Step Guide to Checking Your Twitter Followers
To thoroughly evaluate your Twitter community for fake followers, here is a step-by-step methodology:
Step 1: Run Initial Audit With a Tool
The first step is using a tool like TwitterAudit to perform an initial scan of your followers:
- Enter your @username
- Set “Minimum Grader Score” to 85 for stricter assessment.
- Click Audit to run the analysis.
This will classify each follower as real or fake, assigning them a score. Review the distribution of scores and the overall fake follower percentage.
Step 2: Export Your Followers List
To dig deeper, you’ll need to export your list of followers.
You can request your archive via Twitter directly, or use sites like Followerwonk to easily export your followers list with handles into a spreadsheet.
Step 3: Sort by Metrics Like Follower Count
Once you have your list exported, sort your followers by different metrics:
- Lowest to highest follower count
- Highest following-to-followers ratio
- The most recent follow date
- Least engagement with your tweets
- Default profile, avatar, bot-like name
Analyzing these metrics helps bubble up the most suspicious, bot-like accounts for further investigation.
Step 4: Cross-Reference Multiple Tools
Don’t rely only on a single tool. Cross-check questionable accounts against a few auditing tools:
- TwitterAudit
- Botometer by Indiana University
- Sparktoro
- HypeAuditor
Accounts scoring poorly across all tools are almost surely fake or spam to remove.
Step 5: Manually Review Borderline Accounts
For accounts that don’t score as definitive bots, you’ll need to manually review:
- Profile details – empty bio? odd posts?
- Posting activity – any tweets at all? how often?
- follower/following ratio – very imbalanced?
- Engagement with your tweets? any evidence of reading?
Use your best judgment based on these factors to decide.
Step 6: Prune All Definite Fake Followers
Now go through and permanently prune any accounts verified as fake bots by the tools and your manual review.
This will result in an initial drop in follower count. But it ensures only real, engaged followers remain as your starting point.
The Best Tools for Checking Twitter Followers
Combining a few tools provides the most accurate audit. Here are the top fake Twitter follower check tools recommended:
| Tool | Key Features | Cost | Account Required | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TwitterAudit | – Free tool with no account required | Free | No | – Easy interface to enter handle and run audit |
| – Computes score for each follower | – Gives overall fake % estimate | |||
| – Fast initial audit for sizeable follower list | ||||
| Sparktoro | – Free fake follower check up to 500 accounts | Free (Sign-up required) | Yes | – Provides more detailed follower demographics |
| – Calculates fake vs real median followers | – Additional paid-only features beyond initial audit | |||
| Botometer | – Created by Indiana University researchers | Free (No account required) | No | – Uses advanced machine learning for scoring |
| – Can check multiple accounts in batches | – Slower to process but likely most accurate | |||
| SocialBlade | – Mainly known for stats on YouTube creators | Free | No | – Also provides Twitter audit as a free tool |
| – Gives simple Good/Bad classification | – Easy to use with no account | |||
| – Lacks granularity of other tools | ||||
| HypeAuditor | – Extremely detailed reporting | 14-day free trial | Yes | – Analyzes profiles for authenticity beyond followers |
| – Advanced paid plans go deeper on audit | ||||
| Followerwonk | – Primarily used for follower analysis/management | Free | Yes | – Free scan of your followers’ Twitter health |
| – Shows lots of detailed account info | – Can export handles to cross-check other tools |
TwitterAudit
- A free tool with no account required
- Easy interface to enter handle and run audit
- Computes the score for each follower
- Gives an overall fake % estimate
- Fast initial audit for a sizeable follower list
Sparktoro
- Free fake follower check up to 500 accounts
- Provides more detailed follower demographics
- Calculates fake vs real median followers
- Requires free sign-up
- Additional paid-only features beyond the initial audit
Botometer
- Created by Indiana University researchers
- Uses advanced machine learning for scoring
- Completely free with no account
- Can check multiple accounts in batches
- Slower to process but likely the most accurate
SocialBlade
- Mainly known for stats on YouTube creators
- Also provides Twitter audit as a free tool
- Gives simple Good/Bad classification
- Easy to use with no account
- Lacks granularity of other tools
HypeAuditor
- Extremely detailed reporting
- Analyzes profiles for authenticity beyond just followers
- 14-day free trial
- Advanced paid plans go deeper into audit
Followerwonk
- Primarily used for follower analysis/management
- Free scan of your followers’ Twitter health
- Shows lots of detailed account info
- Can export handles to cross-check other tools
Signs of a High-Quality Twitter Follower
When manually reviewing your list, look for signals of authentic, high-quality followers:
| Signs of a High-Quality Twitter Follower | Description |
|---|---|
| ✓ Relevant bio showing genuine interests | – Look for a bio that reflects real and authentic interests |
| ✓ Actively tweeting quality content | – Check for consistent, quality tweets from the account |
| ✓ Profile photo of a real person | – Check if the accounts they align with their interests |
| ✓ Consistent engagement with your tweets | – Presence of regular interactions with your tweets |
| ✓ Follows accounts relevant to their interests | – Check if the accounts they follow align with their interests |
| ✓ Balanced, healthy following vs followers ratio | – A reasonable balance between accounts they follow and followers |
| ✓ Been on Twitter for years with steady activity | – Presence on Twitter over an extended period with consistent activity |
| ✓ Has both common and niche interests | – Verify that the profile photo appears to be a genuine person |
The more of these traits an account exhibits, the higher the likelihood it’s a real, engaged Twitter user vs a bot or spam account.
How to Remove Fake Twitter Followers
Once you’ve identified the fake accounts, here are the methods to remove followers on Twitter:
One-by-One Unfollowing
The most precise way is manually unfollowing one account at a time. But this takes forever if you have hundreds of fakes to prune.
Unfollow Apps and Tools
Apps like JustUnfollow allow mass unfollowing of groups of accounts based on filters like:
- Non-followers
- Inactive accounts
- Accounts not following you back
Configure filters to isolate the fakes and mass unfollow with a few clicks.
Twitter Sweep
This free tool allows you to cleanse your followers:
- Log in directly via Twitter
- Specify criteria like minimum tweets
- Bulk unfollow accounts that don’t meet the criteria
It’s a quick way to clean out clearly bot-like accounts in bulk.
Block then Unblock
A manual but effective technique is to block and then immediately unblock fake accounts. This will remove them from your followers.
Repeat for each fake account you want gone. More tedious but helps avoid false positives.
Tips to Prevent Fake Twitter Followers
Beyond just detection and removal, here are proactive ways to prevent and discourage fake Twitter followers:
- Protect your tweets – Keep your account private to require the approval of each new follower.
- Limit follow access – Use Followerwonk or JustUnfollow to purge accounts that don’t follow back.
- Avoid follow schemes – Refuse to participate in programs promising inflated follower counts.
- Report fake accounts – Use Twitter’s reporting tool on accounts violating policies.
- Disable notifications – Turn off notifications for new followers and mentions to avoid feeding trolls.
- Block spam accounts – Aggressively block bots and spammers that engage with your content.
- Monitor growth – Watch for unusual spikes in followers and investigate the source.
- Regularly audit – Make fake checks part of your regular community health monitoring.
A combination of defensive and offensive tactics keeps your community healthy and fake-free.
Can Some Twitter Bots Be Useful?
While the vast majority of Twitter bots are spammy and provide no value, there are some exceptions. Here are examples of bots that can provide utility:
- News aggregators – Automatically share headlines from various publications
- Weather notifications – Provide weather alerts for specific regions
- Research disseminators – Share summaries or snippets of new research
- Event announcements – Broadcast event scheduling details
- SaaS digests – Highlight tips, trends, and updates related to a tool
- Comedy bots – Post entertaining auto-generated jokes or stories
The key is providing a consistently high-quality, relevant experience that builds legitimate anticipation for that bot’s tweets, rather than using bots simply to superficially inflate vanity metrics.
Should You Buy Twitter Followers?
A directly related question is whether services selling Twitter followers are ever worth considering.
In nearly all cases, the answer is no:
- Followers purchased in bulk are almost guaranteed to be fake, inactive accounts providing no value.
- These followers can actually damage your reputation once they are exposed as fraudulent.
- It provides no actual business benefit beyond a superficial vanity metric.
- It sabotages Twitter’s efforts to combat fake accounts and bot networks.
- It can lead to penalties, suspensions, or bans by Twitter if discovered.
The only lasting way to grow a real engaged Twitter community is by consistently providing value. There are no shortcuts.
Key Takeaways for Detecting Fake Twitter Followers
Here are the key tips to summarize what we’ve covered related to auditing and handling fake accounts on Twitter:
- Use a tool like TwitterAudit to get an initial scan and overall percentage.
- Export your followers list and filter by metrics to surface likely fakes.
- Leverage multiple tools to cross-check suspicious accounts.
- Manually review profiles using best judgment on engagement and quality.
- Unfollow/block confirmed fake or bot accounts to remove them.
- Employ proactive tactics to prevent and discourage fakes.
- Focus on providing value to build an authentic community over time.
By making fake follower audits a regular habit and staying vigilant, you can keep your Twitter community healthy, active, and bot-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Is there a maximum number of Twitter followers you can remove per day?
Yes, Twitter limits mass account removals to avoid abuse. The max you can unfollow per day ranges from 500-1000 accounts based on your follower count.
-
Can someone see if you unfollow them on Twitter?
No, when you unfollow an account on Twitter, they do not receive any type of notification about it.
-
What is a healthy Twitter following vs followers ratio?
As a general rule, a 1:1 to 2:1 following-to-followers ratio is considered healthy. Higher than 3:1 following-to-followers tends to attract more bots and spammers.
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What percentage of fake Twitter followers is normal?
For accounts with <5000 followers, 5% fake followers is typical. Above 5000 followers, 10-15% of fake followers is average based on data from various studies.
-
Can you tell if someone bought Twitter followers?
Yes, auditing tools can usually identify accounts with an abnormally high percentage of inactive, bot-like followers as likely buyers of fake followers.
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Why do celebrities have so many fake Twitter followers?
High-profile accounts tend to attract more bot and spam followers trying to capitalize on their fame. But buying followers also artificially inflates their counts.
-
Are verification badges immune from fake followers?
No, even verified accounts can accumulate significant percentages of fake followers. The blue checkmark verifies identity, not community authenticity.
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How often should you audit Twitter followers?
Performing a full audit quarterly is recommended. But also monitor follower growth daily/weekly for any abnormal spikes that may indicate a bot attack.
