Kylie Jenner just lost over 5 million Instagram followers overnight
Celebrities around the world have woken up to a massive chunk of their Instagram followers missing, including none other than Kylie Jenner, who is the second most-followed woman on the social media platform behind Selena Gomez.
Jenner, 28, has reportedly lost over 5 million of her followers overnight and is currently sitting on an account which boasts 385 million followers, which is still a hefty number, but considerably less than what she had at the start of this week.
And, no, it's not some Instagram glitch; it's actually down to what people are coining the 'Great Purge of 2026' after the platform reportedly wiped millions of fake and other bot accounts from follower lists.
Bot accounts act like humans but instead run entirely independently and are commonly used for fake engagement, spam and automated posting online.
Advert
Meta's cull of bot accounts on Instagram
In a statement to Tyla, a Meta spokesperson shared information regarding Instagram’s removal of followers from some accounts.
The statement reads: "As part of our routine process to remove inactive accounts, some Instagram accounts may have noticed updates to their follower counts."
The spokesperson assured: "Active followers remain unaffected, and any restored suspended account will be added back in after verification."
How many followers exactly did Kylie Jenner lose?
According to data from Social Blade, Jenner lost 5,071,791 followers on Wednesday (6 May), while her older sister Kim Kardashian suffered a 5,109,246 decrease on the same day.
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, however, lost a staggering 6,622,220 followers, making him one of the celebrities most hit by the 'Great Purge'.
And it's not just Hollywood A-listers who are dealing with the aftermath of the IG purge, as many other people have rushed online to share their bewilderment after waking up to a bunch of randomly lost followers.
"I lost 300 followers right after getting to 11K," one person hit out, while a second penned: "My page is private and I rarely ever accepted people I hadn’t at least interacted with once in real life and tell me why I lost 21 followers."
A third chimed in: "I deada** lost like 30 followers overnight, I thought I accidentally posted something bad."
And a fourth commented: "Lost 1.5K followers, wanted to complain, then I came here to confirm it wasn’t only me."
"Did Instagram just do a 'clean up'?? I just lost a good amount of followers. Anyone else?" questioned another.
And a final person echoed: "Apparently, the bot purge arrived on Instagram."
It sure did.
The most followed people on Instagram
As of May 2026, these are the most followed people on Instagram:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Still reigning supreme is the Portugese footballer, currently boasting 664 million followers.
2. Lionel Messi
The Argentine footballer currently has 505 million followers.
3. Selena Gomez
The former Disney Channel star has 406 million followers right now.
4. Kylie Jenner
As we've outlined, the Kylie Cosmetics owner now boasts 383 million followers.
5. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Tying in with Jenner, the former WWE wrestler now holds 383 million followers.
6. Ariana Grande
The Wicked star currently holds 363 million followers.
7. Kim Kardashian
The reality star has 345 million followers following the Meta cull.
8. Beyoncé
Queen Bey currently has 300 million followers on the platform.
9. Khloé Kardashian
293 million followers is what the Kardashian sister currently holds.
10. Justin Bieber
The 'Baby' hitmaker currently boasts 287 million followers.
Topics: Kylie Jenner, Celebrity, Instagram, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle