Upload the data export Instagram gives you. Everything is read inside your browser, nothing is uploaded, and we never see your account.
Almost every tool in this category asks you to log in to Instagram. Do not do that. Instagram’s public API for follower lists was shut down in December 2024, so any site still offering an instant answer is either signing in as you with credentials you handed over, or driving a browser session on your behalf. Both are against Instagram’s terms, both risk your account, and one of them hands your password to a stranger.
There is a supported way to get the same answer, and this tool uses it. Instagram will give you a complete export of your own data, including your full followers and following lists, on request. You download that file and drop it here. The file is opened and read by JavaScript running on your own device: it is never sent to us, we never see your account, and no password is involved at any point.
How to use the Instagram Unfollowers
- In the Instagram app, open Settings, then Accounts Centre, then Your information and permissions, then Download your information.
- Request a download for your account. Choose Some of your information, tick Followers and following, set the format to JSON and the date range to All time.
- Instagram emails you a link, usually within a few minutes to a couple of days. Download the ZIP file.
- Drop the ZIP into the box above. The lists are compared in your browser and the result appears immediately.
Why this is the only version that is safe
Instagram removed the endpoints that let an outside app read a follower list in December 2024. Everything you can still find that promises an instant answer is working around that removal, and the workarounds all involve your account rather than public data.
The two common ones are asking for your username and password directly, or asking you to paste a session token from your browser. A session token is not less dangerous than a password: it is a key that unlocks your account until it expires, and it usually skips two-factor authentication entirely. Instagram’s own rules treat both as automation on your account, and the usual outcome for a caught account is an action block or worse.
What the tool shows you
- Does not follow you back. The list most people came for: accounts you follow that do not follow you.
- You do not follow back. The reverse, which is where your quiet supporters are.
- Mutual. Everyone in both lists. The number here is a much better measure of your real community than your follower count.
- Pending requests you sent, where your export includes them, so you can see requests that were never accepted.
Before you go on an unfollowing spree
Instagram limits how fast you can unfollow and does not publish the number. Accounts that unfollow in bulk get action-blocked routinely, and the block usually arrives after a few dozen in quick succession. If you are going to prune, do it slowly, over days, and stop the moment anything feels throttled.
It is also worth asking whether the pruning is worth doing at all. A one-sided follow is not a slight, and your following count is not a number anyone else judges you on. The genuinely useful output of this tool is the mutual count: that is the number of people you actually have a relationship with, and it is usually far smaller and far more valuable than either raw figure.
If your export does not parse
Instagram has changed the export layout several times and there are at least three shapes in circulation, plus an HTML variant. This tool tries all of them and, if none matches, it lists the files it actually found inside your ZIP rather than just failing. If you hit that, the fastest fix is usually to re-request the export with the format set to JSON rather than HTML. If it still will not open, tell us what the file list said and we will add that shape.
Frequently asked questions
Do you see my data?
No. The ZIP is opened by JavaScript in your browser, the lists are compared on your device, and nothing is transmitted. You can confirm it by opening your browser’s network tab while you use the tool: there is no upload.
Why can it not just check instantly like other sites?
Because Instagram removed the API that made that possible in December 2024. Sites still offering it are using your login or your session token to do it as you, which puts your account at risk. We are not willing to ask you for that.
How long does the export take to arrive?
Usually a few minutes to a couple of days, depending on how much data your account holds. Instagram emails you when it is ready and the link stays valid for a few days.
Should I choose JSON or HTML?
JSON. This tool reads both, but JSON is smaller, faster and far less likely to have changed shape.
Can I use it for a Business or Creator account?
Yes. The export is the same for all account types.
Will unfollowing people get me blocked?
It can. Instagram limits unfollow speed and does not publish the threshold. Spread it over days rather than doing it in one sitting.
Other free tools
- Live Follower Count – Pick a platform, paste a username or a profile link, and see the public count with the moment it was read.
- Fake Follower Checker – Enter a public account. We read the patterns an inflated audience leaves in the public numbers, and explain each one.
- Engagement Rate Calculator – Look up a public Instagram or TikTok account, or enter your own numbers by hand. Either way you get the rate and the benchmark it should be judged against.
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