How to handle an IG account copycat

lawyal

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I run an official and legit Instagram account with unique and quality content for more than a year. Posting daily and growing around 100 followers daily, just by posting content I create, no bots, no bot views. The content is mainly my own motivational texts/quotes on nicely designed backgrounds.

Now I discovered a copycat, blatantly copiing everything for months - except the design.
He copied my logo, my IG bio, every image description, the hashtag combinations I use, the quotes/texts I use on the images and even slightly changed my IG user name (example: from @KeepIt Simple to @keepit easy). Everything to look like me - but he uses his own - much simpler - designs with my texts.

This is why IG doesn't seem to accept this as some sort of infringment, since the pictures look different...

Although it is nice to know that my account is good enough to be copied, this is annoying as hell and misleading.

I'm looking for creative ideas to stop this :)
Any help or ideas are welcome.
Thanks
 
If you're part of any engagement groups you could ask people to report that account - if the people on there are anything like you, hopefully they'll empathise, relate and take action
 
If you're part of any engagement groups you could ask people to report that account - if the people on there are anything like you, hopefully they'll empathise, relate and take action
Mass reporting does not help. Instagram does not take down content/account just on the basis of mass reports until there's an actual violation of their terms.

@OP, unfortunately, there's nothing you can do. This is how social media race is. Keep your content top notch and keep engaging with your audience. Other than that if you have a loyal following ask your followers to call the copycat out on his posts by commenting on them.
 
@OP, unfortunately, there's nothing you can do. This is how social media race is. Keep your content top notch and keep engaging with your audience. Other than that if you have a loyal following ask your followers to call the copycat out on his posts by commenting on them.

I agree @NirvanaWolf but I don't want to bring any attention to this account, at least not on my own profile. Since it is so similar people might still think it is my backup account and start following it.

To be honest I tought about something a little bit more blackhat, like a provoked shadowban.
 
To be honest I tought about something a little bit more blackhat, like a provoked shadowban.

Buy a couple of thousands of fake followers from some panel and direct it to the fake account and hope for a hard shadowban
 
Buy a couple of thousands of fake followers from some panel and direct it to the fake account and hope for a hard shadowban
Is it really THAT easy? Worst case, I boost his account big time.
But I guess dead fake follower hurt more than fake likes?
 
Buy a couple of thousands of fake followers from some panel and direct it to the fake account and hope for a hard shadowban
This, plus phising/brute force and luckily you might have his account
 
Wouldn't 'report a problem' help to get in touch with support describing this issue?
 
https://www.combin.com/howto/how-to-find-and-engage-instagram-competitors-audience/


check if hes taking any of your audience as well, if hes not, is there an issue? He might just be targeting another audience so it doesnt overlap, thats kindve how competitve niches go sometimes

I myself have copied shopify stores and had my copy store copied lol
 
You can't do much. If you start buying him shit from panels he will do the same to you.
 
Is it really THAT easy? Worst case, I boost his account big time.
But I guess dead fake follower hurt more than fake likes?

Well, if you start messing with his engagement, IG will shadowban his acc allegedly so he would be force to disable/make private his acc.
 
Well, if you start messing with his engagement, IG will shadowban his acc allegedly so he would be force to disable/make private his acc.

No the worst case is the other guy realized the only person that could want to harm is account is OP and respond by doing the same thing. They will both end up shadow banned. I've actually been through something like that once LOL. Panels are common knowledge by now
 
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