TikTok users report concerns about Zefoy and other ‘like bots’
Unsplash: Oliver BergeronMany TikTok users have been reporting various instances of having their comments or videos liked on mass by bots, with others intentionally seeking out apps like Zefoy in order to channel more engagement to their account.
With social media, naturally comes the desire to get as many likes and comments as possible on whatever it is that you post. Whether it’s Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platform, bots have been a constant issue for many reasons.
As video-sharing app TikTok increases in popularity, the presence of bots in many different forms is also increasing, as are the number of people looking to appear as though they have a large platform by purchasing likes and followers.
These accounts often have women as their profile pictures, and the usernames often consist of a random blend of letters and letters and numbers, making it generally easy to identify who is a bot and who isn’t.
https://twitter.com/qucktys/status/1363650152209260545
https://twitter.com/LinaYou40376940/status/1367748497416552448
In the past, the app has had issues with accounts like ‘Peachy Bella’ managing to like people’s comments impossibly fast after being posted, with that one account targeting thousands of people at one time.
Sometimes these bot accounts can contain inappropriate or offensive content, and it’s left many worrying about the large presence of minors on the app who are also no doubt being targeted by the bot accounts, with these reports going on for months.
@tiktok_us people (including me) are bei g harassed by comment liker bots, i'm reporting some for innaproptiate links, my reports are getting ignored. do. something.
— Elektro (@ElektroAnoled) February 18, 2021
While many are sick of the incessant bots, there are of course some who use websites like Zefoy to direct traffic to their own account to appear as though they have a bigger following than they do. Though this adds to concerns that the overall amount of bots on the app are increasing as a result of this.
How to prevent ‘TikTok comment liker’ bots
Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut way to stop bots from finding you altogether if your account is set to be public. The more you comment on videos, the higher chance the bots have of finding you, as it seems they tend to target popular videos.
If you find yourself being a target of bots, it may be a good idea to put your account on private, at least temporarily, and block any accounts you find suspicious.
If you’re able to pinpoint a particular comment on a popular video that bots are finding you through, you could also try deleting that comment.
While TikTok is of course not the only app with bot problems, many users are hoping the company will find a fix for the issue soon.