How to See Who Someone Recently Followed on Instagram

Instagram quietly removed the Following feed in October 2019. Since then, there has been no native way to see what accounts any profile has followed on Instagram - in chronological order or otherwise.

So how to see who someone recently followed on Instagram without relying on a feature that no longer exists? The options below are the only methods that actually work in 2026.

Why Instagram Removed the Following Feed

Instagram cited "user experience improvements" when they removed the Following tab. In practice, it meant that users could no longer see:

• What posts their friends were liking
• Who their followers were following
• Activity feeds from specific accounts

This change made it harder to monitor social activity on the platform — and created a market for third-party tracking tools.

Methods That Work in 2026

Method 1: Use a Follower Tracker Tool (Recommended)

Third-party tools that track Instagram public data are the most reliable way to see who someone recently followed on Instagram. Unlike Instagram's native features, these tools pull from publicly available account data and present it in a useful format.

How it works:

1. Enter the Instagram username on a tracker like IGTracker
2. The tool queries Instagram's public API for the account's following list on Instagram
3. Results are displayed sorted by most recent follows

Pros:

• Shows actual data from Instagram
• No login required on your end
• Works for any public account

Cons:

• Only works for public accounts (private accounts restrict their data)
• Some features require a paid plan

Method 2: Check Mutual Followers

If you follow the same account they do, Instagram will show you some shared connections. But this only works for accounts you already follow — and it does not show you the full following list on Instagram.

To find mutual followers this way, go to the person's profile and look for the "Followers you know" section. Instagram shows accounts you share with the person, but the list is curated and not complete. You will only see mutual followers who Instagram deems relevant, not every shared connection.

Method 3: Look at Engagement

Sometimes you can infer who someone follows based on:

• Who likes their posts (shown on public posts)
• Who they tag or get tagged by
• Comments on their posts

This is slow and unreliable but works without any tools. If someone follows a new account, that new account is more likely to appear in their engagement activity on recent posts. This is circumstantial at best, and you will not get a full picture of who they follow on Instagram.

What About Instagram Business Tools?

Instagram Insights (available for business and creator accounts) shows you data about your own followers, but not who you follow or who follows specific accounts. It is useful for understanding your own audience, not tracking someone else's.

Privacy Considerations

It is worth noting: following lists are public information on Instagram. Unlike private accounts, public profiles display their full follower and following counts openly. Third-party tools that scrape this public data are operating within the bounds of publicly available information.

IGTracker never requires your Instagram login, never posts on your behalf, and never notifies the tracked account.

How to Track Following Activity Over Time

The most useful feature is not just seeing who someone follows right now — it is seeing when that changed.

IGTracker stores snapshots of an account's follower and following lists over time. This means you can:

• See who someone followed on Instagram last week vs. this week
• Detect when someone started following a new account
• Track follower and following changes over months

This is something no native Instagram feature provides. Checking once tells you the current state. Checking over time tells you the story.

Quick Summary

Try It Now

Enter any public Instagram username to see who they recently followed. No login required.