How to See Who Someone Recently Followed on Instagram (2026 Update)

One of the most common questions people ask about Instagram is simple: how do I see who someone recently followed? It sounds like it should be easy — Instagram shows a following list right on every public profile. But actually figuring out who was recently added to that list is a completely different challenge.

The Problem: Instagram Hides Recent Follow Activity

When you visit someone's Instagram profile and tap on their "Following" count, you see a long list of every account they follow. But here is the critical issue: Instagram does not sort this list by date. There is no "recently followed" option, no chronological order, and no timestamps. The list is arranged algorithmically, mixing accounts they followed yesterday with ones they followed three years ago.

This means that even if you check someone's following list every single day, you would have no reliable way to spot the newest additions. You would need to memorize every account on the list — or take screenshots and compare them manually — to catch a single new follow.

Instagram deliberately designed it this way after removing the "Following" activity tab in 2019. Back then, you could see a real-time feed of what people you follow were doing on Instagram. The feature was removed because it was causing too much social tension. Since then, there has been no native way to track someone's follow activity.

Method 1: Use Lurk for Instant Results

The fastest and most reliable way to see who someone recently followed is to use Lurk's free web tool. It works by taking regular snapshots of a public Instagram profile's following list and comparing them to detect changes.

How to do it:

Open your browser on any device

Go to getlurk.app/username

Type in the Instagram username you want to check

See their recent follows displayed instantly with profile pictures and timestamps

The entire process takes less than 30 seconds. You do not need to log in with your Instagram account, download an app, or create any kind of account. The person you are checking will never know.

Method 2: Manual Screenshot Comparison

If you prefer a no-tool approach, you can try the manual method. Visit the person's Instagram profile, tap "Following," and take screenshots of their entire following list. Wait a few days, then repeat the process and compare the two sets of screenshots to find new additions.

This method is completely free but has serious drawbacks. It is extremely time-consuming for accounts following more than a few hundred people. It cannot catch quick follow-and-unfollows between your checks. And it requires meticulous attention to detail since the list order changes between visits.

Method 3: Set Up Ongoing Monitoring

For continuous tracking rather than one-time checks, download the Lurk app from the App Store or Google Play. Add the username you want to track and enable push notifications. Lurk will check their following list every hour and send you an alert the moment they follow someone new.

This is ideal if you want to know about every new follow as it happens, rather than checking periodically. Each notification includes the username, profile photo, and detection timestamp of the newly followed account.

Why People Want This Information

The demand for this feature is massive, and the reasons are diverse:

Relationship monitoring — Partners want to see if their significant other is following new accounts that raise questions. This is by far the most common use case. For a dedicated guide on this topic, see our article on tracking your boyfriend's Instagram activity.

Competitive intelligence — Business owners and marketers track which accounts their competitors follow to discover potential partners, influencers, or industry contacts they might be missing.

Influencer research — Brands want to see who influencers are connecting with before and after partnership deals. Seeing who an influencer starts following can reveal upcoming collaborations.

Simple curiosity — Sometimes you just want to know what someone is into. The accounts a person follows say a lot about their current interests, hobbies, and social circles.

Is This Really Anonymous?

Yes, completely. Lurk accesses publicly available data — the same following list that anyone can see by visiting a profile on instagram.com. It never logs into your Instagram account, never interacts with the target profile (no likes, follows, or views), and never leaves any trace.

The person whose profile you are checking will never receive a notification, see your name in any list, or have any indication that their following activity is being monitored. For additional anonymous browsing options, you can also use our anonymous Instagram viewer.

Does This Work on Private Accounts?

No. If someone has set their Instagram account to private, their following list is hidden from everyone except approved followers. No external tool can access this data for private accounts. This applies to Lurk and every other tracking tool — it is a limitation of Instagram's privacy settings, not the tool itself.

What About Instagram's API?

Instagram's official API does not provide endpoints for tracking follow activity on other accounts. Even apps that use the official API cannot access this data. Tools like Lurk work by reading the publicly visible profile page, which is the same data you see when you visit instagram.com in your browser.

Start Checking Now

Stop scrolling through randomized following lists trying to spot changes. Check who someone recently followed — it takes seconds, it is free for instant checks, and it is 100% anonymous. For a deeper dive into the topic, read our complete guide to seeing who someone followed on Instagram.