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Reviewed by / developer: TrackFollows
These are the questions we hear most often while running TrackFollows. The answers are based on Instagram's official guidance and on how TrackFollows actually analyzes files, and where something cannot be confirmed, we say so. Instagram's features and menus change, so double-check anything important in the official Help Center.
Instagram does not send a notification when you unfollow someone. However, if they look at their followers list or use a follower comparison tool, they can see that you are no longer on it.
Instagram has no such feature. If you download exports at two different times and compare them, you can find accounts that disappeared from your followers list in between. See how to check who unfollowed you.
Instagram does not provide a list of regular profile visitors. You can see who viewed your Stories and some other content, but apps that claim to show profile visitors have no way to get that information, so be careful. How to choose a safe tool
Blocking removes the follow relationship in both directions, and unblocking does not restore it automatically. Exports downloaded afterwards may not include that account in your followers or following lists.
Yes. The export contains your own account's information, so you can download it whether your account is public or private. You cannot analyze someone else's account, because an export can only be requested while logged in to that account.
No. That person would have to download the export from their own account. Services that claim to get another person's account information are likely to involve password theft or scraping.
It varies. The Instagram Help Center says the ready notice can take up to 30 days and that a ready file can be downloaded for 4 days. Exports with only followers and following are usually faster, but there is no guarantee. Instagram Help Center
Usually not. Differences come from when the export was made, the date range (if it was not All time), deactivated accounts, username changes, and similar factors. Each cause is explained in how to read your results.
JSON is recommended for analysis. HTML is supported, but date formats depend on the language, so dates may not be read. JSON vs HTML
There is no right answer. Requesting exports too often means overlapping requests that are tedious to manage. If you want to track changes, keeping a dated ZIP roughly once a month and comparing them is a reasonable pace.
TrackFollows analyzes the selected file in your browser and does not send the original Instagram file, usernames, or follower lists to a server for analysis. The app version may store analysis history on your device. Information processed by usage analytics, error diagnostics, and advertising services is described in the privacy policy.
Unfollowing many accounts in a short time can make Instagram treat it as automated activity and temporarily limit actions. The exact thresholds are not published, so if you need to, spread it out over time and do not hand automatic unfollowing to an outside app.
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