Frequently Asked Questions

Enter any public Instagram username into Lurk and we'll start tracking their following list. On the iOS or Android app you'll get a push notification the moment they follow someone new; on the web you'll 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, with timestamps.

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.

Lurk scans tracked profiles once per hour. When a change is detected, the iOS and Android apps push a notification within minutes; on the web the change appears in your activity feed on next visit. This makes Lurk one of the fastest Instagram follow trackers available.

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.

Yes, for any public account, including your own. Add the account to Lurk and we snapshot its follower list hourly; when someone drops off, we flag the unfollow with a timestamp. Instagram has no built-in unfollower list, so a tracker like Lurk is the only reliable way to catch them.

Install the Lurk iOS or Android app and add the account you want to watch. The instant our hourly scan detects a new follow, you get a push notification, usually within minutes of it happening. No need to keep refreshing their profile yourself.

Yes. Unfollow detection works the same way as follow detection: we compare each hourly snapshot of a public account's following list to the previous one. Anyone who disappears is logged as an unfollow, with the date and time it was first detected.

Lurk starts building history from the moment you add an account, we can't retroactively see follows from before then, because Instagram doesn't expose that timeline to anyone. The sooner you start tracking an account, the more complete its follow-and-unfollow record becomes.

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.

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.

No. Instagram has no profile-view feature for personal or creator accounts, and any app claiming to show "who viewed your profile" is guessing or worse. Lurk doesn't pretend to, it tracks concrete, verifiable public actions like follows, unfollows, and story posts.

Yes, as long as their account is public. Everything Lurk reads, their following list, new follows, unfollows, and stories, is already visible to anyone who opens their profile. You never send a follow request and they're never notified.

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 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.

The honest answer: most "free" follow trackers either stop working within days, cap you at one check, or harvest your login. Lurk's anonymous story viewer is free to use, and full follow tracking starts at $1 for your first week, cheap enough to test before you commit, with no login ever required.

Yes. Lurk works on any public Instagram profile, personal, creator, or business. The account type doesn't matter; only whether it's public. Private accounts of any type can't be tracked because their following list isn't publicly visible.

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.

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 own device, 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.