We suspect automated behavior on your account: what Instagram's warning means

"We suspect automated behavior on your account" means that Instagram's systems think something other than you uses your account: an app, a tool or another person. Instagram's Terms of Use don't allow automated access without its permission. The warning isn't a restriction by itself. It asks you to remove that access now, so that Instagram doesn't restrict or disable the account later.

A search of Instagram's Help Center finds no page for this exact message. The closest page is about accounts restricted for data scraping, and this article uses that page and Instagram's other help pages. Below are the full warning, the causes Instagram names, the steps to take in order, and how to see if your account is actually restricted. Menu names can differ between app versions, because Instagram is moving accounts to Meta Accounts.

What does the warning say, and what does it mean?

The wording comes from users, not from Instagram's help pages. Users who posted it on Reddit in June 2024 and in the Make community forum in October 2024 quote the same words:

We suspect automated behavior on your account. To prevent your account from being temporarily restricted or permanently disabled, ensure that no other users or tools have access to your account and that you're following our Terms of Use. Also consider changing your password to a stronger one to prevent unauthorized access to your account by third parties. — The warning, as Instagram users posted it in 2024

The rule behind it is in Instagram's Terms of Use. You can't access or collect information "in an automated way without our express permission". The rule applies "regardless of whether such automated access or collection is undertaken while logged-in to an Instagram account". So a tool that uses your own login still breaks it.

Instagram's data scraping page defines data scraping as "the automated access and collection of data from a website or app". It says that Instagram has teams that detect, investigate and block this behavior. That page is for accounts that Instagram has already restricted and flagged for review, which is one step further than the warning.

What causes the warning, according to Instagram?

Instagram doesn't say which action caused the warning on a specific account. The data scraping page names three possible reasons:

• Your account automates access to Instagram, or collects information in an automated way, without Instagram's permission.
• You gave your username and password to a third-party app or website. Instagram's example is apps that offer likes or followers.
• You used an app or service that interacts with Instagram in ways that Instagram doesn't allow.

The second reason applies to any app that asks for your Instagram password, whatever the app promises. According to Instagram's page on like and follower apps, an app with your login details "can gain complete access to your account". It can see your personal messages, find information about your friends and post spam on your profile. Accounts that keep using these apps can find parts of the account limited, and the account can be disabled.

Some people get the warning without any app. In the Reddit thread above, the person who posted it said that they used no third-party tools. One commenter said that four friends who use Instagram in a web browser see it each time they open it. These are user reports, and Instagram doesn't confirm them.

What should you do after you get the warning?

The warning asks for two things: make sure that no other people or tools have access, and think about a stronger password. Instagram's data scraping page gives the same advice in more detail. If you can still log in, do these steps in this order.

If you logged in on a new phone or computer recently, use a device that you usually use for Instagram. After a login from a device that Instagram doesn't recognize, Instagram limits some security and account settings on that device for a few days.

1. Check where you're logged in. Tap your profile picture, then tap Menu at the top right. Tap Password and security, then tap Where you're logged in. To log out a device, tap your account. Tap Select devices to log out. Select the device, then tap Log out. If you don't see this menu, tap Security, then tap Login Activity. Instagram's login activity page gives both paths.
2. Change your password. In Password and security, tap Change password and follow Instagram's password steps. According to the data scraping page, this logs you out of all logged-in devices, including logins that you don't recognize. Use numbers, letters and special characters. Instagram requires at least six characters and recommends at least eight.
3. Remove apps that you don't use or don't recognize. In Menu, below Your app and media, tap Website permissions. Tap Apps and websites, then tap Active at the top. Tap Remove next to the app.
4. Turn on two-factor authentication. In Menu, tap Accounts Center, then tap Password and security. Tap Two-factor authentication, then select your account. Choose a method and follow the steps on the screen. Instagram's two-factor page recommends an authentication app. Text message and WhatsApp are the other methods.
5. Stop using every tool that acts for you or has your password. Instagram's page on like and follower apps says that accounts that keep using them can be limited, disabled or terminated.

The list in step 3 shows the apps that you logged into with Instagram or connected to your account, according to Instagram's page on apps and websites. An app that you gave your username and password signs in as you, so it may not be in that list. The password change in step 2 ends its session. When you remove an app, it loses access to your non-public information, but Instagram says that the app can keep what it already stored.

How do you know if your account is restricted?

Check Account Status. Tap your profile picture, then tap Menu. Below More info and support, tap Account Status. According to Instagram's Account Status page, Features you can't use shows the features that you can no longer use. There you can take action, such as an appeal. Removed content lists the posts, stories and comments that Instagram removed.

The automated behavior warning is one of several notices that look alike. Instagram gives each one its own cause.

Instagram notices that people confuse with the automated behavior warning, from Instagram's help pages.

The most serious result is in the Terms of Use: Instagram can stop providing all or part of the service to an account that breaks them, which includes disabling access.

What if you gave a last seen app your login?

A last seen tracker that asks for your Instagram username and password fits the second reason on Instagram's list. iLS works this way. It signs in to your account with an automated browser, keeps that session encrypted, and reads the activity status line that Instagram shows on your chats. iLS doesn't store your password.

iLS needs an existing chat with the person, and activity status on for both of you. Each reading opens the chat, which can mark their messages to you as read. Using iLS breaks Instagram's Terms of Use, and Instagram can restrict your account. So if you got the warning after you connected iLS, iLS can be the cause.

The steps above also affect iLS. When you change your Instagram password, Instagram logs out every device, which includes the session that iLS keeps. iLS then stops its checks, and the Tracker shows Tracking paused. Fixing common iLS problems explains what that message means and how reconnecting works. To stop using iLS, press Disconnect on the IG Account page. This deletes the stored session and stops every check.

The guide to the account risk of using iLS explains where the risk comes from and which of your choices affect it.

What can't the warning tell you?

• Which app or action caused it. Instagram doesn't explain this for a single account.
• How long it lasts. The help pages in this article give no time for the warning. The advice to "rest" the account for 24, 48 or 72 hours comes from forums and vendor blogs, not from Instagram.
• Whether a restriction will follow. If one does, it shows in Account Status.
• Whether someone hacked your account. The warning alone doesn't prove it. An unknown device in your login activity is a stronger sign, and Instagram's page on hacked accounts gives the recovery steps.