Lurk Stat Drop · Following behaviour · Updated July 3, 2026
Do Instagram accounts with millions of followers follow anyone back?
68.2% of Instagram accounts with more than 1 million followers follow fewer than 1,000 accounts themselves (998 of 1,464 mega-accounts observed). The median 1M+ account follows just 599, and it keeps shrinking with fame: accounts with 1–10M followers follow a median of 622, while those above 10M follow only 503. Following almost no one back is the single most reliable signature of a genuinely huge Instagram account. Scope: this describes the accounts Lurk has observed — a set skewed toward searched, tracked and frequently-referenced accounts — not a random sample of all of Instagram.
By Lurk · Original research · CC BY 4.0 · Cite this
The largest Instagram accounts tend to maintain a distinct online presence, using their feed primarily as a platform for broadcasting content rather than engaging with other users. This approach creates a one-way dynamic, where their online influence is largely unilateral.
The bigger the account, the fewer it follows
Among the 1,464 accounts with 1 million or more followers that Lurk has observed, a clear majority keep a tiny outbound list: 998 of them (68.2%) follow fewer than 1,000 accounts. The median 1M+ account follows just 599, and even the 90th percentile only reaches 2,303. Split by size, the pattern sharpens: 1–10M-follower accounts follow a median of 622, and 10M+ accounts follow a median of just 503.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Median accounts followed (1M+) | 599 |
| 90th percentile accounts followed (1M+) | 2,303 |
| Follow fewer than 1,000 accounts | 68.2% (998 of 1,464) |
| Median following · 1M–10M tier | 622 |
| Median following · 10M+ tier | 503 |
The dataset behind this number
This figure comes from Lurk's live follow-graph — the same anti-flap store that powers the public Follow Index — which currently spans 116,719 Instagram profiles, 2,021,740 mapped follow-relationships, and 1,505 accounts under active tracking. No competitor publishes a distribution like this because no competitor has the underlying dataset.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Instagram profiles in the network | 116,719 |
| Follow-relationships mapped | 2,021,740 |
| Accounts under active tracking | 1,505 |
| Follow-activity events observed | 406,123 |
Methodology & limitations
Data source. An aggregate query over Lurk's cached_profiles store, restricted to the 1,464 profiles with a follower count of 1,000,000 or more and a known following count. The headline is the share of those accounts whose following count is under 1,000.
Sampling & scope. Not a random sample of all of Instagram — it describes the large public accounts Lurk has observed. The median is reported rather than the mean so a few outliers cannot distort the figure. Data was captured July 3, 2026.
Every figure on this page is an exact aggregate derived from Lurk’s production follow-graph — the same data behind the public Follow Index — captured July 3, 2026 and frozen in source so it can never silently drift. The sample is 1,464 Instagram profiles with 1M+ followers and a known following count. No individual account is exposed; all figures are anonymized aggregates.
Frequently asked
Do celebrities follow anyone back on Instagram?
Mostly not many. 68.2% of accounts with over 1 million followers follow fewer than 1,000 accounts, and the median 1M+ account follows just 599 — dropping to 503 for accounts above 10 million followers.
How many accounts does a 1-million-follower Instagram account follow?
The median account with 1M+ followers follows 599 accounts, and 68%+ follow fewer than 1,000. The 90th percentile follows 2,303.
Why do big Instagram accounts follow so few people?
Large accounts tend to use their feed as a broadcast channel rather than a place to watch others. Following almost no one back turns out to be the most reliable statistical signal of a very large account.
Cite this
This statistic and its underlying dataset are released free under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Reuse the figure with attribution to Lurk and a link to the permalink:
https://getlurk.app/data-drop/stat/instagram-mega-accounts-following-count
Lurk. “What share of Instagram accounts with 1M+ followers follow fewer than 1,000 accounts?” July 3, 2026. https://getlurk.app/data-drop/stat/instagram-mega-accounts-following-count
For the live time-series or a custom cut, see the Follow Index, the flagship State of Instagram Following 2026 report, or the recurring Monthly Data Drop.
Related Lurk research
- Following count by follower size (full ladder) →
- Verified accounts follow twice as many →
- The Lurk Instagram Follow Index (full live dataset) →
- Best Instagram follow trackers (2026) →
Lurk builds this dataset by tracking Instagram following activity for its users. See what Lurk tracks →