What is the Lurk Instagram Follow Index?

The Lurk Instagram Follow Index is an anonymized, aggregate look at how people follow and unfollow accounts on Instagram. It summarizes patterns across a large network of public profiles instead of exposing any single person's activity.

Where does the follow index data come from?

The figures come from Lurk's own tracking of public Instagram profiles. Lurk records when tracked public accounts gain followers, lose followers, or unfollow others, then rolls those signals up into anonymized totals.

Is the follow index data anonymized?

Yes. The Follow Index reports only aggregate patterns and never singles out an individual's private information. It is meant as public-interest research into following behavior, not a way to surveil any specific person.

Can I cite or reuse the Lurk Follow Index?

Yes. The dataset is published under a Creative Commons attribution license, so you are free to quote or reference it as long as you credit Lurk and link back to the source page.

Updated July 19, 2026 · Refreshed weekly · Free to cite (CC BY 4.0)

The Lurk Instagram Follow Index

Name: The Lurk Instagram Follow Index
Creator: Lurk
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Across 2M+ analyzed Instagram follow relationships and 550,808 tracked follow events, new follows outnumber unfollows roughly 324 to 1, the largest open dataset on Instagram following behavior, published by Lurk, the anonymous Instagram follow tracker.

Follow relationships analyzed to date	2M+
Follow-activity events tracked	550,808
Follow-activity events in the last 7 days	64,629
Follow-activity events in the last 30 days	284,947

Follow vs. unfollow breakdown

Of 550,808 tracked follow-activity events, 49.6% are new follows, 50.1% are new followers gained, and just 0.2% are unfollows. In other words, Instagram users in this dataset add accounts far more often than they remove them.

Event type	Count	Share
New follows	272,948	49.6%
New followers gained	275,912	50.1%
Unfollows	842	0.2%

Methodology

Figures are computed from Lurk's follow-edge graph (a CRDT-style store of public Instagram follow relationships) and its follow-activity log, which timestamps when a tracked public account follows, unfollows, or gains a follower. All numbers are aggregate and anonymized, they describe network-wide behavior, never an individual person. Counts refresh automatically; "last 7/30 days" windows are relative to the update date above. Lurk only tracks publicly available follow data; it requires no login from the people being researched. Figures are rounded estimates for large tables and exact for the activity log.

Cite this data

Permalink: https://getlurk.app/follow-index

The Lurk Instagram Follow Index, Lurk (2026-07-19). Retrieved from https://getlurk.app/follow-index.

Free to cite and quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

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Drop the live Lurk Follow Index into any article or dashboard. It refreshes itself, links back to the source, and is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, no signup, no API key.

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<iframe src="https://getlurk.app/embed/follow-index" title="The Lurk Instagram Follow Index" width="100%" height="300" loading="lazy" style="border:0;max-width:440px;width:100%"></iframe>
<p style="font:12px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;margin:6px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://getlurk.app/follow-index">The Lurk Instagram Follow Index</a></p>

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Lurk Instagram Follow Index?: The Lurk Instagram Follow Index is an anonymized, aggregate look at how people follow and unfollow accounts on Instagram. It summarizes patterns across a large network of public profiles instead of exposing any single person's activity.
Where does the follow index data come from?: The figures come from Lurk's own tracking of public Instagram profiles. Lurk records when tracked public accounts gain followers, lose followers, or unfollow others, then rolls those signals up into anonymized totals.
Is the follow index data anonymized?: Yes. The Follow Index reports only aggregate patterns and never singles out an individual's private information. It is meant as public-interest research into following behavior, not a way to surveil any specific person.
Can I cite or reuse the Lurk Follow Index?: Yes. The dataset is published under a Creative Commons attribution license, so you are free to quote or reference it as long as you credit Lurk and link back to the source page.

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