What Happened to Boostgram? The 2020 Facebook Suit
Boostgram sold Instagram likes and followers until Facebook sued its operators in October 2020. What Facebook said, what it cost, and boostgram.com today.
Boostgram sold Instagram likes and followers from its own site, and in October 2020 Facebook sued the two New York operators behind it. "Boostgram used a network of bots to automate the delivery of likes and followers of Instagram accounts," Facebook said when it filed the suit on October 20, 2020. Within two days the site showed a closing message. Today the domain's record points to Facebook's own name servers.
Quick Answer: Boostgram stopped taking customers in October 2020, right after Facebook sued its operators in federal court. Facebook said it had sent them cease-and-desist letters since 2017 and was suing "to obtain a permanent injunction against the defendants, who have continued to violate our Terms," in its words. By October 22, 2020, the site read "Boostgram website is closed, we are no longer accepting new customers," Bitdefender reported. In 2020 it cost about $30 a week. We found no public record of how the case ended.
"Boostgram" gets about 8,100 Google searches a month and "boostgram instagram" about 6,600, by Google's Keyword Planner on October 24, 2026.
Boostgram's timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 2014 | The domain is set up |
| 2017 | Facebook's first legal letters |
| October 20, 2020 | Facebook sues in federal court |
| October 22, 2020 | The site says it's closed |
| December 11, 2020 | The defendants answer the complaint |
| October 2026 | Domain on Facebook's name servers |
Facebook's announcement of October 20, 2020, Gizmodo's and Bitdefender's reports, Justia's docket listing as a web search showed it on October 24, 2026, and Verisign's registry record, read through our server on October 24, 2026.
What was Boostgram?
Boostgram's website offered users a way to "increase Instagram exposure," by Facebook's account. Gizmodo said it had "spent the past five years building up a bot empire" that could deliver thousands of automated likes and follows "to any Instagrammer who was willing to pay a weekly fee of about $30." Bitdefender gave the same figure: "as little as $30 per week." That's the 2020 price. After Facebook's letters, the operators took the word "automation" off the site and kept selling, Gizmodo said.
Why did Facebook sue Boostgram?
Facebook filed two suits that day. They targeted "four individuals providing services intended to artificially inflate likes and followers of Instagram accounts, a practice known as fake engagement," it said. One was the New York pair behind Boostgram. The other was the pair behind Instant-Fans in Dubai, which "also used a network of bots and automation software" and sold fake engagement for Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and more, by Facebook's account.
In both cases, Facebook said it had already sent cease-and-desist letters telling the defendants their activities broke Instagram's Terms of Use. Facebook had also shut down accounts tied to the two firms, Gizmodo said. The case is number 3:20-cv-07345 in the Northern District of California. Justia's docket listing, as a web search showed it on October 24, 2026, ends with the defendants' answer to the complaint on December 11, 2020. We found no ruling or settlement after that.
What does boostgram.com show now?
The registry dates the domain to March 2, 2014, and it's paid up to March 2, 2027. On October 24, 2026, the record listed Facebook's own name servers, A.NS.FACEBOOK.COM through D.NS.FACEBOOK.COM, and locked the domain so it can't be deleted, moved or changed. The record doesn't say how that came about, and we didn't find a court record that does. The site itself and its archive copies don't answer our reader's robots check, so we couldn't open them.
What else uses the Boostgram name?
A web search on October 24, 2026 still turned up market data listings that show Boostgram as a live marketing tool, from sites like 6sense and Saleswhale. They're made by software, and the service they list closed in 2020. Similar names belong to other products: InstaBoostGram is a follower seller, and "Boostargram" is a Chrome extension. None of them is the old Boostgram.
Our history of Instagram bots that got shut down covers other services Facebook and Instagram went after, and our roundups of SMM panels that shut down in 2025 and 2026 cover newer closures.
Where does HCLOUT fit?
We sell followers, likes and views, so read this as a seller's pitch. Nothing runs on your account, and we never ask for your password. Our Instagram followers cost $2.88 per 1,000 on our price list of October 24, 2026, with a 30-day refill on that service. Our free tier gives 12 free Instagram likes or 100 free Instagram views on a public post, with an email.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Boostgram?
Facebook sued its two operators on October 20, 2020, and by October 22 the site said it had closed to new customers.
Is boostgram.com still working?
No. The old service is gone, and the domain's record now lists Facebook's own nameservers.
Why did Facebook sue Boostgram?
For selling fake engagement. Facebook said Boostgram used bots to deliver likes and followers and kept going after cease-and-desist letters that started in 2017.
How much did Boostgram cost?
About $30 a week in 2020, by Gizmodo's and Bitdefender's reports.
How did the Boostgram lawsuit end?
We found no public record of the outcome. Justia's docket listing, as a web search showed it, stops in December 2020, after the defendants answered the complaint.
What was Instant-Fans?
The other service Facebook sued that day. It was run from Dubai and used bots to sell engagement on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and more, by Facebook's announcement.
Sources
- Meta Newsroom, "Taking Action Against Fake Engagement and Ad Scams," October 20, 2020, read through our server on October 24, 2026
- Gizmodo, October 20, 2020, and Bitdefender, October 22, 2020, read October 24, 2026
- Justia's docket listing for case 3:20-cv-07345 (N.D. Cal.), as a web search showed it on October 24, 2026
- Verisign's registry record for boostgram.com and the Internet Archive's capture list, read October 24, 2026
- A web search on October 24, 2026, and Google Ads Keyword Planner, October 24, 2026
- Hclout's service list and free tier, read October 24, 2026
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