They never followed you
You followed them and they did not follow back. Many people follow back only accounts they know.
Tools / Your own account
Who doesn't follow me back on Instagram
Two lists, compared: the accounts you follow and the accounts that follow you. This guide shows how the comparison works, how to tell a large account you follow for its posts from a person, and what to do in the app.
- No password
- Both lists compared
- Every choice stays in the app
Following486
Followers512
You follow Not following you back · 3
- LLena Hoff@studio.lena · A person you knowPerson
- MMaison Claire@maison.claire · A shop you follow for posts18.2K
- AAtelier Nora@atelier.nora · An artist you follow for posts92K
UnfollowingNo notice is sent
How do you see who doesn't follow you back on Instagram?
Compare your following list with your follower listEvery account on your following list that is missing from your follower list does not follow you back. Both lists are public on a public account, so the comparison needs only your username. Then sort the result into accounts you follow for their posts and people you know.
Key points
- 1
Instagram shows both lists and never compares them for you.
- 2
Names on Following and not on Followers do not follow you back.
- 3
Large accounts, shops and creators rarely follow back. That is expected.
- 4
Unfollowing sends no notice. Every decision is yours, made in the app.
Two lists
What each list holds, and what the app does with them.
Your profile header has a count for each list. Tap either count and the names open.
FollowingFollowers
Who is on itAccounts you chose to followAccounts that chose to follow you
Who decidesYouEach follower
Public on a public account Yes Yes
Search by name in the app Yes Yes
Compared with the other listNot by InstagramNot by Instagram
One profile at a time
On the profile of an account that follows you, Instagram shows a Follows you label. Checking that label account by account is the slow way to the same answer. This check is one of the follower tools for your own account, and each of them starts from your username.
How the comparison works
Three groups from two lists.
Set the two lists side by side and every account falls into one of three groups.
41Following only445Both67Followers only
- Following, 486. Every account you follow, on the left.
- Followers, 512. Every account that follows you, on the right.
- Example account. The 41 on the left alone are the names people search for.
- 1On both lists
Mutual follows
You follow them and they follow you. Friends, family, colleagues and accounts that followed back.
- 2On Following only
They do not follow back
You follow them and they do not follow you. This is the list people search for.
- 3On Followers only
You do not follow back
They follow you and you do not follow them. Readers, customers, and accounts you may not know.
2 lists
Following and followers, both public
3 groups
Mutual, theirs only, yours only
0 notices
Sent when you unfollow
Three steps
See who doesn't follow you back in three steps.
Your username is the only thing you type. Both lists are read as Instagram shows them to anyone.
- 1
Enter your username
Type your own public Instagram username. No password and no login are needed.
- 2
Both lists are read
Your following list and your follower list are read in full, as Instagram shows them publicly.
- 3
See who is on one list
The accounts you follow that are missing from your followers are listed, with each one's own counts.
Accounts or people
Large accounts you follow for posts, and people you know.
The not-following-back list mixes two kinds of account. They call for different decisions.
An account you follow for its postsA person you know
Followers against followingMany followers, few followingsCounts of a similar size
Who runs itA shop, a brand, a news outlet, an artistA friend, a colleague, a classmate
Expected to follow backRarelyOften
Why you follow itIts posts, offers or newsThe person
What a missing follow back meansNothing; that is normalWorth a look, and maybe nothing
Sort by the account's own counts
An account followed by many and following few is almost always one people follow for its content. Setting those aside leaves a much shorter list of people. Followers that are not people at all are marked on the Instagram bot followers page.
Before you unfollow
Five things a missing follow back can mean.
A name on the list is a fact about two lists, not a message. These are the common reasons behind it.
They followed and left
They followed you once and stopped. The who unfollowed me guide shows how two readings name who left and when.
They rarely open Instagram
Some people have an account and almost never use it. Your follow request or follow may be sitting unseen.
They keep a short list
Some people follow only close friends and family, and follow back nobody else.
Their account is on a break
A deactivated account leaves every list while it is off and returns when the owner logs back in.
What to do in the app
Four choices for each name.
The list reads and reports. Each choice below is a tap you make in Instagram.
- Step 1
Unfollow
Open the profile and tap Following, then Unfollow. No notice is sent.
- Step 2
Mute instead
Mute their posts or stories to keep following without seeing them. They are not told.
- Step 3
Keep following
If you follow them for their posts, a follow back was never the point.
- Step 4
Say hello
If it is a person you know, a message may do more than an unfollow.
Pace your unfollows
Instagram limits activity that looks automated. Unfollowing a long list in a few minutes can trigger a temporary limit, so spread it over several sessions. Before paying an account for a post, an Instagram fake follower check estimates how much of its count is real.
Doing it by hand
Compare the lists from your own data.
Instagram lets you download a copy of your information from Accounts Center, and the download includes your followers and the accounts you follow. Open both lists and look for names that appear on your following list only. Comparing two readings of the follower list in the same way shows who unfollowed you.
It works on private accounts as well, because the file comes from Instagram to you. The exact menu names change between app versions.
By hand, in four steps
- Open Accounts Center from your settings
- Choose to download your information
- Select your followers and following
- Find the names on Following and not on Followers
Four situations
Four people and their not-following-back lists.
Emma CarterA long list
Example- The situation
- Emma's list of accounts that did not follow her back was long, and she wanted to tidy it.
- What they did
- She set aside the shops, news outlets and artists she follows for their posts, and was left with a few people she had met once.
Daniel MoreauOther cafés
Example- The situation
- Daniel follows several cafés from his café account to see what they post.
- What they did
- Most did not follow back. He kept following them, because their posts were the reason he followed.
Claire DuboisA friend from school
Example- The situation
- Claire saw an old school friend on the list.
- What they did
- She checked the friend's profile, saw no posts in years, and kept following in case the friend came back.
Lena HoffFollow-for-follow accounts
Example- The situation
- Lena had followed back several accounts that later stopped following her choir's account.
- What they did
- She unfollowed them over a few days, with no notice sent to any of them.
Can and cannot
What a not-following-back comparison is for.
A comparison can
- List every account you follow that does not follow you
- Show each account's own counts so large accounts stand out
- List the followers you do not follow back
- Work from your public username alone
It cannot
- Say why someone did not follow back
- Say when someone stopped following, from one reading
- Read a private account's lists from outside
- Unfollow anyone for you
Stay safe
Three rules for any follow-back tool.
- Never type your Instagram password
Both lists are public on a public account. A page that wants your login wants your account, not your lists.
- No mass unfollowing by outside apps
An app that unfollows for you signs in as you, and Instagram limits activity that looks automated.
- Nothing automatic
The comparison reads and reports. Unfollowing, muting and messaging stay in the app, done by you.
Quick answers
Smaller questions about follow backs.
Does a pending follow request count?
No. Until a private account approves your request, you are not on its follower list, and it is not on your following list.
Can someone see that I checked?
No. Reading your own lists, or opening a profile, sends no notice to anyone.
Why does the list change from day to day?
People follow, unfollow and deactivate all the time. Each reading shows the lists on that day.
Related pages
More about followers.
Questions
About follow backs.
Short answers to what people ask when they compare who they follow with who follows them.
01How do I see who doesn't follow me back on Instagram?
Compare your following list with your follower list. The accounts that appear on your following list and not on your follower list are the ones that do not follow you back.
02Does Instagram show who doesn't follow me back?
Not as a list. You can open each account you follow and look for the Follows you label, one profile at a time. A comparison of the two lists does the same in one pass.
03Will someone know if I unfollow them?
No. Instagram sends no notification for an unfollow. They can notice only by looking at their own follower list or your profile.
04Should I unfollow everyone who doesn't follow back?
Not by default. Large accounts, shops, news and artists rarely follow back, and you follow them for their posts. The list is most useful for people you know.
05Do I need my password to compare the lists?
No. Both lists are public on a public account, so a comparison needs your username and nothing else. Never type your Instagram password into a third-party page.
06Can I do it without any outside tool?
Yes. Instagram's own Download your information option includes your followers and following lists as a file. Compare the two lists in it by hand.
07Why did someone who followed me back stop?
They may have unfollowed, blocked you, or deactivated their account. The who unfollowed me guide explains how to tell these apart.
08Does it work if my account is private?
Your lists, inside the app and in your data download, work as usual. Outside pages cannot read a private account's lists.
09Is there a limit to how many I can unfollow?
Instagram limits activity that looks automated, including many unfollows in a short time. Spread a large clean-up over several sessions.
10Is this site part of Instagram?
No. ProfileScanner is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Instagram or Meta.
11Does PeekViewer show who doesn't follow back?
Its pages list followers and followings of a public account and how they change; comparing the two lists is left to you. The same comparison works on your own export at no cost. Read what PeekViewer charges in our review.
Ready when you are
Look first. Stay unseen.
Type a public username and open the viewer. No Instagram login on your side, no name on theirs.
