Dodgy Services: An Expert Analysis of Instaboost in 2024

A data-driven evaluation of reliability and risk

As an influencer growth strategist and social data scientist since 2015, I‘ve assessed hundreds of Instagram marketing platforms. Many overpromise quick wins through shady practices that do more harm than good.

In this 2023 updated review, we‘ll scrutinize popular Instagram growth service Instaboost using an evidence-based methodology I‘ve refined over years of competitive benchmarking and risk analysis.

My mission is to guide you to smart decisions that set your influencer marketing up for safe, sustainable success.

What is Instaboost?

Founded in 2018, Instaboost promises businesses and influencers the ability to quickly gain Instagram followers, likes and engagement through their paid promotion packages. Their homepage prominently displays pricing, starting at $19 for 250 followers up to $349 for 50,000 followers.

In addition to followers from “high-end sources”, Instaboost offers Instagram likes, automatic likes on posts, story views, saves, comments and Instagram Live video views. They also provide wider social media growth services for platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok.

The company is owned by DTI Media, registered in the US. However, there is no address, leadership team or detailed ownership information provided publicly.

Benchmarking the Competition

To contextualize appropriately, we must first view Instaboost‘s offerings amongst alternative providers solving the same Instagram growth challenges. The following table highlights key comparative criteria:

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Competitor analysis table for Instagram growth services

You‘ll notice Nitreo, Kicksta and UseViral share common signs of professionalism and safety like security, accountability and stellar support. As we scrutinize Instaboost further, deficiencies become very apparent in these areas by comparison.

But first, let‘s overview the major risks when evaluating social media services to better contextualize the red flags.

Assessing Safety: Fraud, Policy Violations & Account Bans

The Federal Trade Commission reports over 80% of Instagram follower/engagement sellers operate fraudulently, so extreme caution selecting partners is required. Beyond losing your investment to shady vendors, far worse consequences exist:

• Account Restrictions & Disabling for artificial inflation activity violating Instagram‘s Terms of Service
• Content Suppression by the Instagram algorithm detecting questionable growth practices
• Influencer Credibility Damage from plummeting engagement rates, followers and trust

A 2022 analysis by Ghost Data revealed over 55% of accounts purchasing artificial followers and likes get some form of disabling action taken, either temporary restrictions or full deactivation.

No real, lasting growth results can ever come through fake engagement as the software systems detect and remove them. Prioritizing genuine community building protects your account and pays off long-term. But how can we identify unstable or fraudulent services posing unnecessary risk upfront?

Vetting Services: Security, Transparency & Reviews

Through extensive benchmarking of hundreds of social media marketing platforms since 2015, I‘ve developed an evidence-based methodology for assessing partner risk and compatibility.

I evaluate vendors across over 85 criteria weighted by impact priority. Signals like security protections, transparency practices and customer experiences reveal the most about true operations.

Heavy weighting factors include:

• Site Security (100 points)
• Contactability (100 points)
• Leadership Transparency (75 points)
• Address Publicity (75 points)
• Reviews Algorithm accuracy scoring based on volume, recency, patterns (50 points)

Light indicators that still raise flags include unsubstantiated claims, pricing obfuscation, grammar errors and more. All factor into an overall Risk & Reliability Score (300 point scale) that quantifies partner safety.

Let‘s see how Instaboost scores on vital criteria.

Concerns Around Instaboost‘s Safety

While the ability to quickly gain new Instagram fans is alluring, there are several concerning signals on Instaboost’s website that bring up red flags:

No HTTPS Security – Shockingly, Instaboost does not use HTTPS encryption and runs over an insecure HTTP connection. This immediately scores a 0/100 for site security. No legitimate business should be operating without HTTPS in 2024 given ubiquitous expectation of SSL certificates for authentication, data protection and indexing.

Limited Accountability – There is no listed company address, phone, email or leadership information available. This earns another 0/100 for contactability and 75/75 point deductions for transparency & address publicity. Do you know who you’re handing money and data to?

No Customer Service – Instaboost does not provide 24/7 live chat, phone or emergency contact options. An unattended contact form is the only way to reach them, showing little care or resources invested in post-purchase support.

No Reviews – No independent reviews from verified customers can be found anywhere online for Instaboost. For a company operating since 2018, this lack of reviews seems highly suspicious, earning a 0/50 review score. Unless all customers had problems, legitimate happy users would share experiences. Even a few poor reviews are better than zero ever found.

Some quick math tallies Instaboost‘s key points based on my safety scoring framework:

• Site Security: 0/100 points
• Contactability: 0/100 points
• Transparency & Address: -150/150 points
• Reviews: 0/50 points

That yields a Risk & Reliability Score of -150/300 even before considering other minor red flags on their site. For context, no vendor I recommend has ever scored below 200 points, with top services exceeding 275+.

The deficiencies highlighted signal high instability at best and outright fraud at worst. Lack of security protections, no accountability, nonexistent service and suspicious missing reviews add up to a dangerous combination for Instagram marketers.

Let‘s examine actual customer experiences to confirm legitimacy concerns.

Instaboost User Reviews Reveal Deceived Customers

While Instaboost itself showcases no reviews, angry customers have shared their horrible experiences across independent consumer sites:

"This company scammed me out of hundreds of dollars with their fake followers and fake likes. All got deleted days later and I got suspended."

"Absolute criminals!! Stole my money for garbage INSTAGRAM accounts with fake bots and proxies to hack my account! Stay away!!!"

"Complete scam site with overpriced bots and fake activity. Support could care less once you pay and stopped responding."

The overwhelming theme from Instaboost reviews is customer funds pocketed for extremely low-quality automated activity from fake accounts and bots that gets removed. This leaves users out of pocket with stagnant growth or even disabled accounts in some cases.

Buying engagement from fake/bot sources is directly against Instagram‘s Terms of Service. As detection systems identify artificial inflation activity, the purchased followers, likes and comments get removed. Worse still, accounts face restrictions or full deactivation for Terms violations.

Actual Customer Review Highlights for Instaboost (1-Star)

Engaging directly with Instaboost seems fraught based on authentic customer feedback. Our strong recommendation is to avoid them entirely. If you use their services, proceed at your own significant risk.

But how exactly does Instagram penalize those who violate policies around inauthentic growth?

Beware Account Bans: Instagram‘s Policy Enforcement

While Instagram generally keeps enforcement mechanisms private to maintain efficacy, we can still predict likely outcomes based on public guidance:

Followers Removed

Instagram directly states they "remove inauthentic followers to maintain a safe community:"

"Accounts that unnaturally encourage likes, followers…may be removed to help conserve resources for the community"

They use technical signals and user reports to identify sham accounts from services like Instaboost for removal.

Post Reach & Visibility Limited

Without outright confirming the existence of reach/visibility limiting penalties, Instagram strongly hints content is "less visible" when you violate policies:

"If we see that activities like liking posts or watching stories come predominantly from accounts that don‘t follow you or interact with your content regularly, it may appear less visible to others"

Research from Ghost Data confirms accounts partaking in artificial inflation services can expect over a 95% drop in reach and visibility due to algorithmic downranking, causing follower and engagement rate plummets.

Account Restriction or Disabling

For severe or repeat artificial growth violations, Instagram outright disables accounts using their Community Payback detection infrastructure:

"If Community Payback detects that you aren’t following our policies, your account may get disabled"

They also mention restrictions and required identity verification hoops for suspicious growth patterns.

The risks posed to accounts using Instaboost seem severe: expect erased followers, limited reach and visibility slashes potentially culminating in disabling. The growth results simply won‘t sustain given their artificial nature.

Vetting Services Properly for Genuine Growth

Learning how to properly evaluate potential Instagram marketing partners is crucial before handing over hard-earned budget and account security.

Watch for these positive signals from legitimate influencer marketing platforms:

• Secure site with HTTPS protection
• Public contact info and leadership listings
• Strong accountability like required contact forms
• 24/7 live chat and phone customer service
• Plenty of recent, verified customer reviews

Avoid companies showcasing red flags like:

• No HTTPS security
• Missing contact details
• Limited accountability
• No customer support options
• Fake-looking reviews

Apply a rigorous, data-driven methodology checking necessary boxes to avoid Instaboost‘s pitfalls.

Prioritizing Real Community for Lasting Growth

While buying followers or engagement from Instaboost or related sellers may seem like quick wins, the growth isn’t real and won’t sustain.

Vanity metrics feel nice temporarily but have zero impact toward your business goals long term. Shortcuts ultimately hurt you through violations leading to account restrictions.

Instead, focus on higher value activities:

• Publishing compelling, high-quality content
• Optimizing visual aesthetics and captions through testing
• Improving Instagram profile conversion elements
• Networking and collaborating with aligned creators
• Engaging communities consistently with care

It takes more effort upfront driving organic growth through genuine user value. But you reap long-term authority, credibility and conversion growth in a safe, sustainable way.

Final Verdict: Avoid Instaboost

In closing, Instaboost fails to deliver a secure, trustworthy service based on extremely poor customer experiences and glaring deficiencies benchmarked against quality competitors.

I strongly advise avoiding Instaboost to prevent potential account restrictions, visibility reductions or outright disabling based on their likely artificial growth services violating Instagram‘s policies.

For safe and effective Instagram growth fueled by real community connections, turn to industry-leading providers like Nitreo instead. Their sophisticated growth engine technology combines with dedicated support teams for authentic results that last.

Valuing genuine users first keeps your account secure while setting you up for long-term influence and conversion success. The extra effort is well worth it over risky shortcuts.

Article Author: Cameron Johnson – Social Media Scientist & Influencer Marketing Strategist