How to Check If Someone Unfollowed You on Instagram (2026)

You noticed your follower count dropped. Or maybe you searched for a specific person in your followers list and they were not there anymore. Instagram does not send any notification when someone unfollows you, so the only way to know is to check — and checking is not as straightforward as it should be.

Here is every method to find out who unfollowed you on Instagram in 2026, from the simplest manual check to automated tracking that catches every unfollow in real-time.

Why Instagram Does Not Tell You About Unfollows

Instagram made a deliberate design choice: they notify you when someone follows you, but never when someone unfollows you. The reasoning is that unfollow notifications would create social tension and potentially toxic interactions. Imagine getting a push notification every time someone decided they no longer wanted to see your content — it would be anxiety-inducing.

While the intention is good, it leaves people in the dark about changes to their audience. For creators, businesses, and anyone who cares about their follower relationships, knowing who unfollowed is genuinely useful information.

Method 1: Manual Search (Quick but Limited)

If you suspect a specific person unfollowed you, you can check directly:

Go to your own Instagram profile

Tap on your "Followers" count

Use the search bar to search for their username

If they do not appear, they unfollowed you (or blocked you)

Limitations: This only works if you already suspect a specific person. It does not help you discover unknown unfollowers, and it cannot distinguish between an unfollow and a block.

Method 2: Track Your Own Account with Lurk

You can use Lurk to monitor your own public Instagram account, just like you would monitor anyone else's. This lets you detect new follows automatically.

How to set it up:

Go to getlurk.app/username and enter your own username for a quick check

For ongoing monitoring, download Lurk from the App Store or Google Play

Add your own username as a tracked account

Enable push notifications

Receive alerts whenever someone follows you

This approach catches every unfollow automatically — you do not have to manually check or wonder. Each alert includes the username of the person who unfollowed, so you know exactly who it was.

Important note: This only works if your own account is public. If your account is set to private, external tracking tools cannot monitor it.

Method 3: Compare Follower Counts Over Time

A simple but imprecise method: note your follower count at regular intervals. If the number goes down, someone unfollowed you. The problem is that this does not tell you WHO unfollowed — just that someone did. And if someone follows you on the same day someone else unfollows, the count might not change at all, masking the unfollow.

Method 4: Use Instagram's Built-In Tools (Limited)

Instagram offers some basic tools that can help indirectly:

"Least Interacted With" list: In your followers list, Instagram shows accounts you interact with least. This is not directly about unfollows, but it can help you identify followers who might soon unfollow (since low interaction often precedes unfollowing).

Following/followers comparison: You can manually compare your "Following" and "Followers" lists to find accounts you follow that do not follow you back. While not the same as detecting unfollows, it reveals one-sided relationships.

Understanding Unfollow Patterns

Once you start tracking unfollows, patterns become visible:

Post-content unfollows — If you lose followers consistently after posting certain types of content, that is feedback about your content strategy. This is especially useful for creators and businesses.

Mass unfollow events — If multiple people unfollow on the same day, it might correlate with a controversial post, a change in your posting frequency, or Instagram's periodic removal of bot accounts.

Individual unfollows — A single unfollow from someone you interact with regularly is more personally significant than losing a random follower you never engaged with.

For the flip side of this — tracking who someone else unfollowed — read our detailed Instagram unfollow tracker guide.

What If Someone Blocked You Instead of Unfollowing?

From the outside, a block and an unfollow look similar — the person disappears from your followers list. But there are differences:

They unfollowed you if:

You can still see their profile and posts

You can still search for their username and find it

Their profile shows "Follow" (not "Unblock")

They blocked you if:

You cannot find their profile via search

Visiting their profile URL shows "User Not Found"

All previous interactions (likes, comments) have disappeared from your view

If you suspect a block rather than an unfollow, try searching for their profile while logged out or from a different account. If the profile appears when you are not logged in but does not appear when you are, you have been blocked.

Can They See That You Checked?

No, regardless of which method you use. Instagram does not notify users when someone views their profile, checks their followers list, or searches for their username. Checking whether someone unfollowed you leaves zero traces.

If you use Lurk to track your own account, the tool monitors publicly available data and does not interact with anyone's account. No one — neither the unfollower nor anyone else — will know you are tracking.

Tools to Avoid

Be cautious of apps that promise to show you who unfollowed you but require your Instagram password. These are security risks. Legitimate unfollow tracking does not require your Instagram login credentials. For a full breakdown of which tracking apps are trustworthy, see our best Instagram tracking apps comparison.

Also avoid Chrome extensions that claim to track unfollowers. Many of these have been caught harvesting browsing data. The Chrome Web Store has removed numerous such extensions for privacy violations.

Protecting Yourself Going Forward

Once you know who unfollowed you, you have the information. Here is what you can do with it:

For personal accounts: Decide whether you want to keep following people who do not follow you back. Many people do periodic "following list cleanups" based on this data.

For creator/business accounts: Analyze unfollow patterns alongside your content calendar. This can reveal what types of posts drive unfollows so you can adjust your strategy.

For peace of mind: Sometimes just knowing is enough. If you were worried about a specific person unfollowing you, confirming or denying it lets you move on.

Start Tracking Now

Stop guessing about who unfollowed you. Check your own account's recent changes — enter your own username and see both new followers and unfollowers. For ongoing alerts, download the Lurk app and never miss another unfollow. Visit our FAQ for answers to more common questions about Instagram tracking.