Lurk Follow Index · Updated July 4, 2026
How many Instagram follows happen for each unfollow?
The short answer
Instagram users make roughly 257 new follows for every unfollow — a 257:1 follow-to-unfollow ratio (216,503 follows versus 842 unfollows across 409,605 tracked events, as of July 4, 2026).
Follow-to-unfollow ratio (July 4, 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| New follows made | 216,503 |
| Unfollows | 842 |
| Follow : unfollow ratio | 257:1 |
How this is measured
The follow-to-unfollow ratio is total new follows divided by total unfollows across Lurk's anonymized follow-edge store (216,503 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, July 4, 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 257:1 — roughly 257 new follows for every unfollow in Lurk's anonymized dataset (updated July 4, 2026).
Do people follow more than they unfollow on Instagram?
Overwhelmingly. New follows (216,503) outnumber unfollows (842) by about 257 to one.
Related
- The Lurk Instagram Follow Index (full dataset)
- Instagram unfollow rate
- Instagram net follow growth
- Best Instagram follow trackers (2026)
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