Who Doesn't Follow Me Back on Instagram? Here's How to Check
Instagram has no built-in list of accounts you follow that don't follow you back. There's no toggle in your following tab, no filter, no menu option for it anywhere in the app. The only reliable way to get this list is to compare your following data against your followers data - which Instagram will hand over directly if you ask for it, and which takes a couple of minutes to check once you have it.
Quick answer
Download your Instagram data export (Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Download your information → Followers and following, JSON format), then upload both files to the Instagram Follower Checker. The Not Following Back section lists every account you follow that doesn't follow you back - computed instantly, entirely in your browser.
Already have your export? Check it now.
Open Instagram Checker →Why Instagram doesn't show this natively
Following and followers are two entirely separate lists on Instagram's side, and the app never cross-references them for you. Your following tab shows who you follow; your followers tab shows who follows you. Figuring out the difference between the two - who's in one list but not the other - is a set comparison, and Instagram simply doesn't expose that as a feature. It's the same reason a spreadsheet doesn't automatically flag mismatched rows between two columns; someone has to do the comparison.
Step 1: Request your data export
- Open Instagram and go to your profile.
- Tap the menu (three lines, top right) and open Accounts Center.
- Tap Your information and permissions, then Download your information.
- Choose your Instagram account, then select Some of your information and pick Followers and following.
- Set format to JSON and date range to all time, then submit the request.
- Wait for Instagram's email or in-app notification, then download and unzip the file it sends you.
Step 2: Locate the two files you need
Inside the unzipped export, look for followers_1.json and following.json, usually nested inside a followers_and_following folder. Instagram has changed this folder structure more than once over the years, so if you don't see them immediately, check one level up or down.
Step 3: Upload both files to the checker
Open the Instagram Follower Checker and drop both files into their respective zones - or use the paste option if you'd rather copy the contents in directly. The tool automatically detects whether you've handed it the current JSON export or the older HTML export (followers.html / following.html) that Instagram used before switching its default format around mid-2022. Either one works without any conversion step on your part.
If you don't have the full export handy - say, you only have a partial list of usernames, or you copied a list from somewhere else - the paste box also accepts plain usernames and full profile URLs, one per line, as an alternative input.
Reading your results
- Not Following Back: everyone you follow who doesn't currently follow you back - the direct answer to "who doesn't follow me back."
- New Followers: accounts that follow you but that you don't currently follow.
- Mutual: accounts where you follow each other.
Results appear instantly once both files are loaded - there's no processing delay, and each section has its own copy and download buttons so you can save the list or paste it elsewhere.
A note on privacy
Nothing you upload leaves your device. The comparison logic runs client-side in your browser - there's no server upload, no account login required, and no third-party API involved. This matters because your Instagram data export contains your full follower and following history, and the safest way to process that is a tool that never transmits it anywhere.
Want to track changes over time instead?
See how to find out specifically who unfollowed you using two exports. On TikTok instead? The TikTok Follower Checker does the same thing with your user_data.json export.