Instagram hides this information on purpose. There's no built-in way to see who unfollowed you — no notification, no list, nothing. The number just quietly goes down.
But Instagram does give you a complete copy of your followers and following data if you ask for it. It's buried in their data export feature, and most people don't know it exists. Once you have that file, the comparison is simple.
This is the complete walkthrough — from requesting the export to reading your results. First time through takes about 10 minutes. After that, about 2.
Step 1: Find Accounts Centre on your phone
Meta moved all data settings out of Instagram's main settings into something called Accounts Centre. This trips people up. Here's exactly where it is:
Open Instagram → tap your profile photo in the bottom right → tap the three lines (☰) top right → scroll down and tap Accounts Centre. It'll show your connected Meta accounts and a list of options.
Step 2: Get to Download Your Information
Inside Accounts Centre: Your information and permissions → Download your information → Download or transfer information.
When it asks which account, pick Instagram. Then choose Some of your information (not all — you don't need your photos and DMs for this). Scroll until you see Followers and following and select it. Tap Next.
Step 3: Set format to JSON and date range to All time
This is the step most people get wrong. The format dropdown defaults to HTML — but UnfollowMeter needs JSON. Switch it.
Date range should be All time. Media quality doesn't matter for follower data. Hit Create files.
If you accidentally export as HTML instead of JSON, the upload won't work. Go back and repeat — it only takes a couple of minutes to redo.
Step 4: Check your email
Instagram emails you when the file is ready. For follower-only exports it's usually ready in under 5 minutes, occasionally up to 30. Sender is something like no-reply@mail.instagram.com — check spam if you don't see it.
Some people find the file available directly in Accounts Centre before the email arrives — look for a "Download available" option if you're impatient.
Step 5: Download the ZIP file
Open the email and tap the download link. Instagram may ask you to re-enter your password before downloading — that's normal. The file is tiny (usually a few hundred kilobytes) because it's just text data, not photos.
On iPhone, tap the ZIP in Files to extract it. On Android, use your file manager. You'll see a folder called something like instagram-username-date.
Step 6: Upload to UnfollowMeter
You can upload the original ZIP — no need to unzip it. Go to the UnfollowMeter upload page, choose your file, and the analysis runs in seconds.
Upload your ZIP and see who doesn't follow you back
Free for 5 results. Pro shows your full list and tracks changes over time.
Upload my Instagram data →No Instagram password needed · Works for public and private accounts
Understanding your results
The list shows everyone you're following who isn't following you back. That includes people who never followed you as well as people who unfollowed you at some point.
To identify specifically who stopped following you, you need to compare two uploads from different points in time — the Pro tier does this automatically. Do an upload today, another in a month, and you'll see exactly who dropped off in between.
Fixes for common problems
Upload failed — "wrong format"
The export was requested as HTML instead of JSON. Go back to Accounts Centre and request a new one, making sure to switch the format before hitting Create files.
Email never arrived
Check spam first. If it's been over an hour, go back into Accounts Centre — sometimes the download is available there even if the email didn't come through.
Can't find Accounts Centre
Older Instagram versions had this under Settings → Account → Download Data. If you're on a much older version, try Instagram on a web browser instead — the path is Settings → Privacy and Security → Data Download.