Want to Buy Aged Instagram Accounts? Here’s What to Know

Let’s be honest: building an Instagram following from scratch is far from easy. With millions of people posting content to the platform daily and Instagram allocating a significant portion of its real estate to ads, it can take time for new accounts’ content to reach new audiences. Unfortunately, this means slowed account growth.

Luckily, you don’t have to build your audience from scratch; you can buy aged accounts. Aged Instagram accounts are typically months or years old. They come with established followers, engagement, and, best of all, algorithmic trust, saving you time and a whole lot of effort.

However, as appealing as they sound, aged accounts are not a silver bullet. Sure, they can help you progress faster. But, they also come with risks that could see you lose money, or worse, your reputation.

This guide takes an in-depth look at aged Instagram accounts. We explore why they might be a worthwhile investment, their risks, and how to buy and manage them safely.

Is Buying Aged Instagram Accounts Legal?

Legally speaking, it’s not illegal. So, don’t expect the cops to come knocking.

However, Instagram explicitly prohibits the buying and selling of accounts. So, while you may not get into trouble with the law, you just might with the platform — if you get caught.

Why Buy Aged Instagram Accounts?

Given that Instagram prohibits account sales, it’s normal to be on the fence about buying aged profiles. Should you cancel your purchase? No — at least not before you get all the facts.

Here are some key benefits of buying aged accounts:

• Algorithm trust: Instagram tends to favor older, active accounts over brand-new profiles. So, your chances of reaching a broad audience organically are high.
• Established audience: Aged accounts have existing follower bases, saving you the hassle of building your own.
• Social proof: Accounts with established followers and active histories appear more credible than new accounts. They’re likelier to attract new followers and brand partnerships.
• High action limits: Aged active accounts can post, follow other accounts, and send messages regularly without raising spam red flags. Typically, you need to warm up new accounts before introducing a lot of activity to prevent bans.

Where to Buy Aged Instagram Accounts

There are various places to get aged accounts, including:

Directly From Owners

Some owners look for buyers directly by advertising accounts on their social media platforms and through friends. This typically happens when they need quick cash or if they’re unable to actively manage their accounts.

However, getting aged accounts through this route is rare, especially if you want multiple profiles.

Specialized Marketplaces

Account-selling platforms are the primary source of aged Instagram accounts. They offer a wide range of options, which is great if you want multiple accounts or profiles focused on a specific niche. Some marketplaces also provide a degree of buyer protection by vetting sellers and offering escrow.

Here are some popular specialized marketplaces:

• Sebuda: The marketplace provides filters to help you find what you’re looking for quickly. You can filter search results by factors such as follower range, price, demographics, and niche.
• Social Tradia: A dedicated Instagram account marketplace that serves as a broker for all transactions. The platform is relatively safe because it claims to screen all listings and holds payments until buyers receive account login credentials. Still, it’s important to do your own due diligence before finalizing payments to avoid nasty surprises.
• Accs-Market: If you’re in the market for multiple aged accounts, Accs-Market might be the place for you. It provides bulk access to accounts, often at lower prices than other marketplaces. The downside, however, is that you may encounter high-risk accounts, such as those with bot followers.

Risks of Buying Aged Instagram Accounts

While aged Instagram accounts can be beneficial, they come with risks, such as:

Potential Bans

As mentioned earlier, Instagram does not support account sales. You may not be breaking the law, but you’ll definitely be violating the platform’s Terms of Use.

If Instagram finds out about your transaction, it might ban your account without warning, causing a loss of investment even before you get your money’s worth.

Verification Issues

Instagram asks users to upload copies of their IDs if it suspects account abuse. The platform also requests ID uploads in age-restricted jurisdictions, such as Australia, to verify that account owners meet specified minimum age requirements.

How is this risky for aged accounts? Well, you need the original creator’s ID to verify your account. And, the truth is, some aged accounts change hands so frequently that it’s nearly impossible to reach the OG owner.

If you’re unable to verify your identity, Instagram may shadowban you or even lock your account.

Fake Followers and Engagement

Selling aged accounts, especially those with high follower counts, has become lucrative. So lucrative, in fact, that some unscrupulous sellers pump bot followers into their accounts to raise their prices.

Unfortunately, this means there’s a chance of encountering accounts with fake followers and engagement. Such profiles typically have limited reach, despite their many followers, because the Instagram algorithm penalizes attempts to manipulate its system.

Ghost Followers

This is a common problem for old, inactive accounts. They may have actual followers, but register minimal engagement due to inactivity. This signals to the Instagram algorithm that their content isn’t valuable, which can lead to shadowbanning.

What’s more, the mismatch between followers and engagements can impact your credibility — many people see high follower counts and few likes or comments as red flags.

Read also: A Guide to Getting Real Free Instagram Followers

Account Recovery Scams

Some unscrupulous sellers may provide login details during your transaction only to reclaim their accounts after you finalize payments. This is especially common when they retain accounts’ Original Registration emails (OG emails) or linked phone numbers.

Instagram typically sides with whoever controls the email addresses and phone numbers, so you may end up losing both your money and your accounts.

Loss of Followers and Engagement

This often occurs when there’s a niche mismatch. Say you buy a lifestyle-focused account and change its theme to crypto. A significant chunk of followers is likely to unfollow you because you no longer serve their interests. Others may stick around but fail to engage with your content, resulting in wasted investment.

Red Flags to Look Out for When Buying Aged Instagram Accounts

You can protect yourself from most of these risks if you know how to spot red flags. Some things to be on the lookout for include:

• Unrealistic prices: If a deal seems too good to be true, it is. Accounts with large follower counts are expensive, with prices ranging in the thousands. Those priced for a couple of hundred bucks may be filled with bots or inactive followers.
• Follower-engagement mismatch: Accounts with high follower counts and low engagement typically have bots.
• Inconsistent niche: Accounts with a history of switching niches have poor follower retention and low engagement. So, they may not give you your money’s worth.
• Refusal to provide the OG email address: Sellers who refuse to provide the original email addresses may try to reclaim their accounts.

How to Buy Aged Instagram Accounts Safely

Is buying aged accounts risky? Yes. However, people do buy the accounts and get value for their money. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do so as well:

1. Find a Reliable Seller

If you choose to buy directly from an individual, verify their account ownership, history, and reviews. Ideally, you should buy directly from account owners (or brokers who can connect you with owners) with a track record of selling high-quality aged accounts. The last thing you want is to buy stolen or fake profiles.

If you choose to buy from an online marketplace, consider factors such as:

• Reputation: Choose a platform with positive customer reviews.
• Buyer protection measures: Find a marketplace that verifies all listings and offers escrow.
• Support: Choose an option that offers warranties and reliable customer support.

2. Evaluate Potential Accounts

Make a list of all potential accounts and look into them to make sure they align with your needs and goals. Some key factors to analyze include:

• Follower count: Search for the accounts on Instagram to verify that the follower counts provided by your chosen sellers or marketplace match.
• Follower authenticity: Compare each account’s follower count and engagement. Look for a 4.6% engagement rate for accounts with 1k to 5K followers; a 4.1% rate for those with 5K to 10K followers; a 3.7% rate for 10k to 50K followers; and a 3.1% rate for 50k to 100K followers. Note: These are the average engagement rates for legitimate accounts at these levels.
• Niche consistency: Confirm whether potential accounts align with your niche. If you’re a pet content creator, your accounts should be in this niche. Similarly, if you’re a crypto trading company, potential options should have a long history of posting crypto content.
• Posting frequency: Instagram may flag sudden changes in account activity, leading to bans. So, make sure all your potential accounts are active. Ideally, they should have a history of posting as frequently as you’d like to after finalizing your purchase.

3. Get in Touch With Potential Sellers

After confirming general details such as follower counts and engagement rates, contact potential sellers for additional information. Request screenshots of each account’s:

• Demographic information to make sure it aligns with your target audience.
• Follower growth data over the course of a few months — sudden spikes could point to bot followers.
• Engagement data (such as video views, likes, and reach) to cross-check against what you can see on your end.

4. Complete Payment

Once you confirm the authenticity of all potential accounts, finalize your transaction. However, don’t send money directly to sellers; use an escrow service. This reduces your risk because you can inspect accounts without directly putting your money on the line.

How to Keep Your Accounts Secure

Buying precautions is just one piece of the puzzle. Here’s what else you need to do to keep your accounts safe in the long run:

Log In With Antidetect Solutions

Logging in to multiple accounts on the same device can trigger Instagram’s system, potentially resulting in bans across all accounts.

Here’s how: Instagram uses advanced device fingerprinting to identify devices. If it flags one of your accounts for a suspected ownership transfer, it can link it to all other accounts on your device, causing issues across the board.

That’s why antidetect solutions like GeeLark are so crucial in account management. GeeLark offers antidetect browsers and cloud phones, allowing you to isolate your accounts at both the web and app levels. Each browser and cloud phone profile has a unique fingerprint, so you never have to worry about detection. What’s more, you can customize each profile’s proxy settings to mask your IP address. This isolates accounts even further.

Change Account Credentials

Once you log in to your accounts, change their passwords to prevent sellers from regaining access. Then update their recovery email addresses.

After a few days, change your username and phone numbers as well. It’s important to wait a few days because changing everything at once can result in “unusual activity” flags, potentially jeopardizing your accounts.

After updating all pertinent details, enable two-factor authentication (2FA). This reduces the risk of sellers or hackers gaining access to your accounts.

Maintain Niche Consistency

Stick to aged accounts’ original themes. For example, if they posted travel content, continue to do so. This makes it easier for the algorithm to categorize your content and recommend it to targeted audiences. It also helps maintain follower loyalty and trust.

The easiest way to maintain niche consistency is to buy accounts that already align with your brand. When you do, you’ll only need to adjust small details, such as content format and tone, to meet your needs.

Safe Alternative to Buying Aged Accounts: Create and Grow Your Own

Aged Instagram accounts are great. That said, the safest and most sustainable way to make a name for yourself on Instagram is to create your own accounts. It’ll take a lot of work and patience, but it reduces your risk of falling victim to scams, account bans, and follower loss.

To consistently grow your accounts:

Start With Warmup

Think of account warmup as setting up your store before opening the doors to customers. It shows Instagram that there’s a real user behind your account, helping you build algorithmic trust. The result? Your content may have a broad reach once you start posting.

Warmup entails logging into the platform, browsing through content, liking posts, leaving comments, and gradually following accounts — things you’d typically do as a new Instagram user.

If you’re creating a single account, warmup is easy to do manually. However, it can be incredibly taxing if you create multiple accounts. That’s where GeeLark comes in.

GeeLark offers an Instagram AI account warmup template that automates these tasks. The automation tool mimics actual user behavior by naturally browsing content and pacing engagements, so you don’t have to worry about raising red flags.

Post Consistently

After warming up your accounts, maintain a regular posting schedule. Consistency increases overall account engagement, sending positive signals to the algorithm. It also trains your audience to look forward to your posts, boosting engagement even further. The more your engagement, the more Instagram recommends you to new audiences.

GeeLark can promote consistency as well. It offers posting automation templates that help you stay on schedule even when managing multiple accounts.

To automate Instagram posting with GeeLark:

1. Set up your cloud phone profiles. Go to New profile and choose your preferred device models and settings. Also, customize each profile’s proxy settings.
2. Go to Applications and search for Instagram.
3. Head to Team’s applications to install the app across all your cloud phones.
4. Log in to your accounts.
5. Go to Automation to open the GeeLark Marketplace.
6. Search for the “Instagram publish Reels gallery” or the “Post Reels video on Instagram” template.
7. Select Create a regular task.
8. Select the Instagram accounts (cloud phone profiles) you want to post to.
9. Upload your content (including captions) and schedule your posts.
10. Tap Confirm publication when you’re done. GeeLark will take it from there.

Engage With Your Audience and Other Creators

Keep your engagement numbers up by regularly interacting with your audience. Ask questions that encourage them to engage with your account, reply to their comments, respond to DMs, and browse and like their own content.

Also, partner with other creators on the platform. You can host Lives together, collaborate on content, or even reshare each other’s posts. This introduces your account to new audiences, resulting in follower growth.

Be Careful When Buying Aged Instagram Accounts

Aged Instagram accounts can save you a lot of time and effort by providing an established audience. However, they’re also pretty risky. Be sure to weigh the pros and potential cons of buying them before making your decision.

If your priority is access to a ready audience, they’re worth the risk. However, if you’re more focused on sustainability, it’s better to create your own accounts.

Whether you decide to buy aged accounts or create your own from scratch, GeeLark can help. The platform offers antidetect solutions that isolate accounts, reducing the risk of raising red flags. It also automates account warmup and post-publishing, which makes it easier to consistently grow new accounts.

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