Is Buying Instagram Followers Legal?

In most countries, buying Instagram followers is not illegal under general law. There are no criminal laws that prohibit someone from purchasing followers for a personal or creator account. From a legal standpoint, it’s usually treated as a private transaction between a buyer and a service provider.
However, legality can change depending on context. If follower purchases are used to intentionally deceive customers, advertisers, or investors — for example, by misrepresenting influence in paid partnerships — it could raise issues related to false advertising or consumer protection laws. For personal use or casual profile growth, though, buying followers itself is not considered a crime. The bigger concern is not legality, but how platforms and audiences perceive it.