I composed an in-depth Social Envy review for people who are surprised that Social Envy shut down and are wondering if all there was to it was a Social Envy scam.
I’ll also tackle:
- What was Social Envy?
- How did Social Envy work?
- Was it worth it or not?
- What are Social Envy alternatives?
I know that some people are busy and don’t have the time to read the whole article. For your convenience, I’ve created this summary below.
Social Envy Key Points:
- Social Envy was an Instagram automation service
- They ultimately shut down due to unethical business practices
- If you are in the market for services that can actually help you grow your account organically then Nitreo, Upleap, and Kenji are my recommendations for you.
- In case you decide to give any of these a chance, use the discount code GROW20 to get 20% off FOR LIFE.
Most Popular Instagram Growth Tools Rated
| Service | Our Grade | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nitreo.com | 4.6 | $49 |
| Upleap.com | 4.3 | $39 |
| KENJI.AI | 4 | $49 |
| Flock Social | 4 | $49 |
| Stellation Media | 3.9 | $99 |
| Jumper Media | 3 | N/A |
| Kicksta | 2.3 | $49 |
| Trusy Social | 2.3 | $97 |
| Ampfluence | 1.8 | $129 |
What is Social Envy?
As you can see, Social Envy is no more.
When it entered the market of Instagram automation services, though, it was a breath of fresh air.
Their service offered an account manager who would help attract the followers from your niche to your account and boost your engagement.
It seemed too good to be true – because it was.
So, what happened to Social Envy?
Reviews started coming out where people complained that it didn’t seem that their account manager was a real person. They believed that it was a bot.
The company eventually shut down due to being sued by Facebook, Instagram’s parent company.
Taking into account the lawsuit against them and all of the negative reviews on TrustPilot, I am inclined to believe that they were doing something they weren’t supposed to.
Today, you can find them under the name Social Steeze because they were forced to rebrand.
How Did Social Envy Work?
Social Envy used to offer services for Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
For Instagram, they supposedly offered you an actual account manager. All you needed to do was set your follower niche, connect your account, and sit back and enjoy.
The account manager would use advanced search technology and hashtags to find the right people, interact with them, and spark their interest in following your account.
Turns out it was all fake.
People were really appreciative of how easy it was to use, so I’ll give them that.
Social Envy Features
Social Envy offered a plethora of features for Instagram.
With all of this information you were providing to your “account manager”, it seemed that they had all of the tools to find your target audience and boost your engagement.
All of the promises they made seem amazing, but it seems that they didn’t stay true to their word.
Username Targeting
Username targeting was a bonus feature, but it was something that could help.
You would list the usernames of big accounts with many followers. These could be your competition or people whose account you liked and who shared the same interests as you.
Your account manager was then supposed to direct their followers towards your account.
Location Targeting
It is really important to set your location demographic, especially for businesses.
This feature would help grow your business by interacting with people who would be near enough to be interested in purchasing what you are selling.
Gender Targeting
This feature would target followers by gender.
For example, if you were selling women’s clothing, you would want your account to attract potential buyers, of course.
Automated Activity
Social Envy offered to perform like, follow, and comment instead of you.
Likes and follows were too aggressive at times. You were offered to draft comments, but they were difficult to set up.
Blacklisting
Blacklisting was a feature that allowed you to list accounts that you definitely did not want to interact with.
Pricing of Social Envy
Before getting the tool, Social Envy advised you to have a consultation with their team of experts and decide which of their two plans you should choose.
Here they are:
As you can see from the image I was able to retrieve, the Regular package cost $15, and the Pro one cost $25 per week.
Usually, the subscriptions for these services are paid monthly. If you calculate these weekly prices, they would add up to quite a sum of money.
The difference between the two tariff plans was that, with the Regular package, you would have less traffic and engagement than with the Pro.
Both options offered a dedicated account manager and the option to cancel your subscription anytime.
I couldn’t find information about a free trial or refunds, but from the reviews I read, I am inclined to believe that they didn’t offer refunds.
Is Social Envy Legit?
Social Envy seemed to be legit at first, but before they rebranded, a lot of information came out about the company.
It turns out that they did not, in fact, offer account managers. Instead, it was all bots performing automated actions.
They violated Instagram’s Terms of use to the extent that they were sued by Facebook.
Is Social Envy Safe?
Social Envy wasn’t safe to use for many reasons.
Firstly, many customers were complaining about unauthorized charges being made by Social Envy after they canceled their account and they couldn’t get a refund.
Secondly, the service required access to your passwords and phone number, which they didn’t need. So, who is to say what they used that information for?
Best Social Envy Alternatives
As I said in the beginning, Social Envy had a phenomenal idea for increasing your Instagram engagement, but they didn’t deliver what they’d promised.
However, there are some Social Envy alternatives I can recommend:
| Service | Our Grade | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nitreo.com | 4.6 | $49 |
| Upleap.com | 4.3 | $39 |
| KENJI.AI | 4 | $49 |
| Flock Social | 4 | $49 |
| Stellation Media | 3.9 | $99 |
| Jumper Media | 3 | N/A |
| Kicksta | 2.3 | $49 |
| Trusy Social | 2.3 | $97 |
| Ampfluence | 1.8 | $129 |
Social Envy Pros and Cons
What were the main pitfalls and benefits of Social Envy? Take a look:
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | Doesn’t work anymore |
| Expensive | |
| Required personal information | |
| Misled its users | |
| Didn’t offer refunds | |
| Made unauthorized charges | |
| Violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by using aggressive bots |
Social Envy Review: Final Words
Social Envy was not safe or reliable to use, though it didn’t seem like that at first. That’s why many people fell victim to what we now know to be a scam.
At the risk of sounding rude, I have to say that I am glad a tool with such illegal and scammy practices is no longer operating. In an ideal world, all of them would be canceled.
That said, I have listed a few reliable and ethical tools that grow your account organically below.