Frequently Asked Questions

Enter any public Instagram username into Lurk and we'll start tracking their following list. Whenever they follow or unfollow someone, you'll get a push notification and see the change in your activity feed — all without needing to log in to Instagram.

Instagram removed the "Following" activity tab in 2019, so there's no native way to see recent follows. Lurk fills that gap by scanning public profiles hourly and showing you exactly who they followed or unfollowed, with timestamps.

Yes. Lurk never connects to your Instagram account. We scan public profile pages the same way anyone browsing instagram.com would. The person you're tracking has no way to know you're using Lurk.

No. You never enter your Instagram username or password. Lurk only monitors public profiles, so no authentication is needed. Your Instagram account stays completely untouched.

Lurk takes hourly snapshots of a public account's following list. By comparing each snapshot to the previous one, we detect new follows (accounts that appeared) and unfollows (accounts that disappeared). You're notified instantly when a change is found.

No. Lurk can only monitor public Instagram profiles. If an account is set to private, their following list isn't visible to anyone outside their approved followers, so we can't scan it.

Lurk starts at just $1 for your first week. After that, choose weekly or annual billing — whatever works best for you. Cancel anytime, no contracts. There's also a one-time Profile Shield add-on for $49.99.

Yes. Lurk includes a built-in anonymous story viewer. Enter any public username and watch their stories without appearing in their viewer list. No Instagram login required.

No. Lurk reads publicly available profile data — the same information anyone can see by visiting that profile on instagram.com. We never interact with their account, send them requests, or leave any trace.

Lurk scans tracked profiles once per hour. When a change is detected, you receive a push notification within minutes. This makes Lurk one of the fastest Instagram follow trackers available.

Both apps track Instagram follows and unfollows, but Lurk offers more: a full web app, unlimited profile tracking, an anonymous story viewer, and story notifications — all starting at $1/week. The Ick is iOS-only (recently Android), caps you at 5 profiles, charges $9.99/week, and has no web version or story features. See our full comparison at getlurk.app/compare/lurk-vs-the-ick.

Yes, you can cancel anytime through your App Store, Google Play, or Stripe account settings. After cancellation, you'll retain access until the end of your current billing period. We don't lock you in.

Lurk stores minimal data. On mobile, all tracking data is saved locally on your device in SQLite — we don't have cloud accounts. On web, we use your Stripe email for billing only. We never collect or store your Instagram credentials because we never ask for them.

Yes. Lurk only accesses publicly available information on Instagram — the same data anyone can see by visiting a public profile in their browser. We don't hack accounts, bypass privacy settings, or violate Instagram's terms. Monitoring public data is legal.

Lurk is available on iOS (App Store), Android (Google Play), and the web (getlurk.app). You can start tracking from any device — no app install required if you use the web version.

Yes. With a Lurk subscription, you can track unlimited public Instagram accounts simultaneously. Add as many profiles as you want and get notifications for all of them.