Lurk Follow Index · Updated October 12, 2026
How many Instagram follows happen for each unfollow?
The short answer
Instagram users make roughly 450 new follows for every unfollow — a 450:1 follow-to-unfollow ratio (379,084 follows versus 842 unfollows across 851,782 tracked events, as of October 12, 2026).
Follow-to-unfollow ratio (October 12, 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| New follows made | 379,084 |
| Unfollows | 842 |
| Follow : unfollow ratio | 450:1 |
How this is measured
The follow-to-unfollow ratio is total new follows divided by total unfollows across Lurk's anonymized follow-edge store (379,084 follows / 842 unfollows). Public follow/unfollow transitions are recorded as an aggregate — no individual account is exposed — and figures refresh from the live get_follow_index RPC roughly every 6 hours.
Cite this
“How many Instagram follows happen for each unfollow?”, The Lurk Instagram Follow Index, October 12, 2026. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to getlurk.app/data/instagram-follow-to-unfollow-ratio.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Instagram follow-to-unfollow ratio?
About 450:1 — roughly 450 new follows for every unfollow in Lurk's anonymized dataset (updated October 12, 2026).
Do people follow more than they unfollow on Instagram?
Overwhelmingly. New follows (379,084) outnumber unfollows (842) by about 450 to one.
Related
- The Lurk Instagram Follow Index (full dataset)
- Instagram unfollow rate
- Instagram net follow growth
- Best Instagram follow trackers (2026)
See who anyone really follows on Instagram
Lurk tracks public Instagram accounts and shows who they recently followed — anonymously, with no login.
Instagram never tells them their following list was viewed.