Guides

Plain answers about the Instagram following list, recent follows and privacy. Written and kept up to date by the team behind FollowScope.

• How to see who someone recently followed on Instagram (2026)

  Instagram no longer shows another person's following list in order. This guide explains what still works in 2026 and how to read the result.

  4 min read

• Instagram following list order explained: why it is not chronological

  Why the following list of another account looks random, what decides the order and which parts of it are still in order of time.

  5 min read

• Public and private Instagram accounts: what can be looked up

  Which information of an Instagram account is public, why private accounts cannot be searched and what to do if you do not want your own account to appear.

  4 min read

• Is it safe to check someone's recent follows? Privacy, notifications and fair use

  What the looked-up person notices, what we store, why you never need your Instagram password and where the limits of acceptable use are.

  4 min read