I’ve seen the following list of my friend going up, and every time I want to know: who are they following recently? Can we get notification on our account when someone follows any user on Instagram? I have been trying to figure out if Instagram acutally notifies us about the recent follower of someone.
Seeing someone’s recent follower and whom they followed was easy in the past. In the past, Instagram notified us through the notification section about who someone followed on Instagram. But this is not the case now, as things have changed a lot on Instagram now.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through what Instagram shows today to help you clear up the confusion about whether you can see who someone followed recently on Instagram, and the options you have.
Can You See Who Someone Followed Recently on Instagram?
The short answer to this is No. Instagram now no longer show the recent following of someone. It only shows the total followers and following list but doesn’t officially show the order in which they follow users on Instagram.
You can view the users you’ve recently followed by sorting them for your account, however this is not the case when we are viewing someone’s following list. Instagram doesn’t sort the following list of someone by “default” or “most recent”. It instead shows the entire following list in a mixed order based on the interactions and algorithm of Instagram.
The user that they have recently followed may appear in the last while the user they’d follow in the beginning may apear in the beginning of the list. Therefore, there is no official way to see the user whom your connection have recently followed.
Why Instagram Removed the “Recent Follows” Order
Instagram has made a lot of changes to its privacy and security policies. Taking the privacy concern into consideration, Instagram has now remove the feature to see the recent follows in the notification section of your account.
Instagram has made it safer for users to make them feel less intrusive by hiding the follow order in the following list. People were able to track the activities of users through the chronologically sorted follow list which often led to misunderstanding and conflicts.
What You Can Still See on Instagram
Instagram limits you to see following list of a user in recent follows order. However, you can still see all the users whom they follow, through the follow list.
You can check the follow list and look for a new account if any to see whom your friend has followed lately. This doesn’t confirm that someone has followed them recently or not as these are only guesses. Instagram however, shows the mutual friend on the top of the list to give you an idea about the accounts you both follow.
Can Third-Party Apps Show Recent Follows?
The short answer to this is No. Instagram safety policy doesn’t let any third-party apps or websites to show show who someone followed recently.
There are many tools on the internet these days that claim to show the recent follows of a user. They are misleading and doesn’t provide accurate details viloating the terms or service. These apps and websites often ask you for your login details to show you whom someone followed recently, which may lead to the loss of your account.
You must avoid such apps completely to keep your account safe and secured.
Can You See Your Own Recent Follows?
Yes, you can see whom you have followed recently and early. Instagram does let you track your following list in the order you follow them unlike that of someone’s follow list.
If you want to see the new accounts that you’ve followed recently, go to the following list on your profile and sort it by tapping on latest. Instagram would show your following list in the order of the recent follows. By default, Instagram shows new accounts whom you’ve not interacted much at the top.
Instagram earlier provided a particular section called “recently followed” to help you track the recent follows of yours and others easily, but that has now been removed.
Can Someone Tell If You Check Their Following List?
Instagram doesn’t notify users when you visit their profile or view the following llist from their profile. You activities are private to you and no one gets notified about the same.
If the following list is public and visible, you can freely check their follows.
Final Thoughts
Instagram has now removed the recent follows section that allowed you to see who someone followed recently. It doesn’t have an official feature to see the following list of someone directly, however you can check thier following list and make a guess if you are curious about it.
The best option would be to ask the user directly about their recent follows. You should respect their privacy if they do not want you to know about their following activities.
