How to see who someone followed on Instagram
By the Stalkie teamUpdated · 5 min read
Quick answer
Instagram does not show who someone else followed recently: there is no history and no follow date. To find out, you have to compare the profile's public following list at different moments, by hand or with a tracker that runs the comparison several times a day.
Until 2019, Instagram had a Following tab that showed the likes, comments and follows of the people you followed. It was removed in October that year and nothing like it came back. Today, anyone who wants to know who a profile started following runs into a long list with no dates, in an order that says very little.
This guide covers what Instagram still shows, how to compare the list by hand, why the order of the list is misleading and what changes when a tracker does the work for you.
What Instagram shows today
On a public profile, anyone can tap Following and see the accounts it follows. On a private profile, that list is only visible to approved followers.
What the list leaves out is exactly what matters: when each follow happened. There is no date, no new label and no history. The number at the top of the profile only tells you how many accounts it follows right now.
- You can see: the current following list of a public profile and its total.
- You can't see: the date of each follow, who it unfollowed or what changed since you last looked.
- On your own account: you can sort the people you follow by date (latest or earliest). That option does not exist on someone else's list.
The manual method: compare the list over time
With no history, the only way to spot a new follow is to compare two snapshots of the list. It works, but it takes effort.
- Open the profile and write down how many accounts it follows.
- Open the following list and screenshot the top of it.
- Come back a day or two later and repeat the same steps.
- If the number went up, look for names in the new screenshots that weren't there before.
- If the number didn't change, there may still have been a swap: one follow and one unfollow cancel out in the total.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| The profile follows hundreds of accounts | Comparing screenshots turns into spot-the-difference; a new name slips by. |
| A follow and an unfollow on the same day | The total stays the same and it looks like nothing changed. |
| You only check now and then | You know something changed, but not when. |
| The order of the list shifts between visits | The new name may be in the middle, not at the top. |
Why the order of the list is misleading
Many people assume the first names in a following list are the most recent. Sometimes they are, but Instagram does not guarantee that for someone else's list.
- Accounts you also follow usually show up first, apart from the rest.
- The order can differ between the app and the browser, and from one visit to the next.
- Profiles that follow thousands of accounts load in chunks, so you only ever see part of the list.
How a tracker does it automatically
A tracker does this work for you: it keeps an eye on the public following list and shows what changed. Anything that appeared is a new follow; anything that disappeared is an unfollow.
On Stalkie, this happens several times a day, without you having to open anything.
- @sample.profile started following @corner.cafe.exampleToday, 2:20 PM
- @sample.profile started following @ana.exampleToday, 9:05 AM
- @sample.profile unfollowed @fictional.storeYesterday, 10:40 PM
Times show when each change was detected, not the exact minute of the follow.
Want this on your phone without opening anything? See how alerts for new follows work.
How to read what shows up
- The time is when the change was spotted. The follow itself may have happened a little earlier.
- A new username is not a new follow. When an account changes its handle, it can look like one account left and another arrived. Open the profile before drawing conclusions.
- An unfollow isn't always an unfollow. A deactivated account or a block also removes a name from the list; see when an unfollow isn't really an unfollow.
Limits that apply to every method
- Public profiles only. If a profile is private, nobody outside sees its following list: not you, not a tracker. If it goes private later, tracking pauses until it is public again.
- Instagram caps how many accounts a profile can follow (7,500). Profiles close to that limit tend to churn a lot, following and unfollowing often.
- None of this shows messages, likes or story views. The following list is the only thing being tracked.
Before picking a tool, read what separates a safe tracker from a scam.
Frequently asked questions
Can you see who someone recently followed on Instagram?
Not directly on Instagram. The following list has no dates, so the only way is to compare the list at different moments, by hand or with a tracker.
Are the first accounts in a following list the most recent?
Not always. On someone else's list, accounts you also follow usually come first and the order can change. Only your own list can be sorted by date.
Will the person know I'm tracking who they follow?
No. Viewing a public following list sends no notification to the profile owner, and a tracker doesn't show up in their activity either.
Does it work with private profiles?
No. A private profile's following list is only visible to approved followers, and no honest tracker can see what is locked.
How often are follows checked?
Several times a day, without you having to open anything. The time shown is when the change was spotted.
Will Instagram bring back the Following tab?
There is no sign of it. It was removed in October 2019 and since then Instagram doesn't show other people's activity.