How to See Who Someone Recently Followed on Instagram: The Ultimate Guide

With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram‘s immense popularity continues rising annually. As Instagram usage climbs, more individuals likely want to stealthily monitor their friends or partner‘s recent activity.

However, Instagram prioritizes user privacy and intentionally hides information like recent follows. This comprehensive, 2600+ word guide will demonstrate two methods to ethically unveil who someone recently followed on Instagram.

Why Instagram Obscures Recently Followed Accounts

Since its launch in October 2010, Instagram has experienced tremendous growth. As the chart below illustrates, Instagram has gone from 1 million to over 1 billion global users in under 10 years:

Data Source: https://backlinko.com/instagram-users

With such enormous reach, safeguarding user privacy sits at the core of Instagram‘s values. Unlike earlier versions that showed the timestamp of followed accounts, Instagram now deliberately hides recent follows.

Instead, they randomly sort accounts someone follows to prevent deducing new additions. Per the initial example, Instagram rolled out this major privacy update in June 2021.

Other privacy-focused controls include:

• Restricting account visibility
• Allowing users to block other accounts
• Preventing downloads of users‘ content
• Offering optional two-factor authentication at login

Nonetheless, you may have a legitimate reason to ethically monitor a friend or family member‘s account for concerning changes in activity or connections.

Scenarios Where You May Want to Check Recent Follows

Here are common scenarios where someone may want to monitor a connected Instagram account‘s recent follows while respecting privacy boundaries:

Child Safety Concerns

Parents often worry about inappropriate adult content reaching underage children online. Checking your kid‘s recent Instagram activity offers data-driven insights into any emerging risks from suspicious follows.

Relationship Trust Issues

Within a marriage or committed relationship, following lots of random single strangers may signal wandering intentions. Verifying recent Instagram activity can provide clarity around trust issues.

Cyberbullying Changes

If your child or family member faces cyberbullying, assessing any new followers making unwanted contact allows quicker mitigation.

Business Competitor Monitoring

Companies may monitor profiles of rival brands who suddenly follow their key staff to identify potential competitive intelligence gathering.

While individuals have a right to privacy, the above examples demonstrate reasonable use cases where someone might ethically want to know another‘s recent Instagram activity.

Later in this guide under "Ethical Concerns", I also elaborate more on respecting boundaries and discussing tracking intentions openly instead of covert monitoring if possible.

Next, let‘s explore two methods to surface recent Instagram follows that remain hidden within the app itself.

Method 1: Use Snoopreport for Detailed Tracking Reports

Snoopreport is an in-depth social media tracking platform and the premier option covered in this guide to reveal someone‘s latest Instagram follows.

I will outline how Snoopreport works, key capabilities, pricing, and step-by-step instructions to generate recent follows reports.

How Snoopreport‘s Tracking Works

Snoopreport uses proprietary tracking technology to actively monitor and collect data on various social networks, including Instagram. Instead of just providing a one-time lookup, it offers continuous monitoring and weekly emailed reports on an account‘s activity per the subscription.

According to Snoopreport‘s website, here is an overview of how its tracking logic works:

1. You submit the social media profile link(s) to monitor
2. Snoopreport immediately starts actively tracking them
3. The data gets aggregated in Snoopreport‘s databases
4. You receive scheduled reports directly in your email

This allows retrieving Instagram data that remains inaccessible through Instagram‘s own platform, including recent follows.

What Snoopreport Tracks on Instagram

Snoopreport can track and generate reports across multiple dimensions of someone‘s Instagram account:

• Recent Follows: New accounts someone followed listed by date
• Recent Posts: New posts published listed by date
• Like History: Posts and content someone liked sorted by date
• Deleted Posts: Posts someone published then removed
• Comment History: Comments left by the user over time
• Follower Analysis: Follower numbers and growth charts
• Unfollowers: People who have unfollowed the account

Having breadth across those categories provides a more complete view of changes in activity beyond solely recent follows.

Snoopreport Subscription Plans

Snoopreport is a paid subscription service with different tiers based on the number of social media profiles you can track:

The Basic plan allows tracking up to 2 profiles for only $4.99 per month. Power users or private investigators may desire the Unlimited plan. Bulk discounts can also be negotiated.

Next, I will demonstrate how to sign up and use Snoopreport to unveil someone‘s recent Instagram activity.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Snoopreport

Here is an easy step-by-step process to leverage Snoopreport for tracking recent Instagram follows:

Step 1: Sign Up for a Snoopreport Account

First, you need to create a free account on Snoopreport. Simply enter your email address and create a secure password.

Step 2: Locate the Instagram Profile Link to Track

Next, switch over to the Instagram app or website. Navigate to whichever user profile you want to monitor recent activity for.

Copy that customizable profile link in the format:

instagram.com/[USERNAME]

Ensure copying the full profile URL from the browser address bar versus just the username.

Step 3: Submit the Profile URL in Snoopreport

Return back to Snoopreport in your browser window. Select the "Add Account" feature. This will open a popup modal:

Paste the full Instagram profile link you want to track into the input field. Give this account a nickname if desired.

Finally, click "Add Profile" to initiate tracking. Snoopreport immediately begins aggregating data in real-time directly from Instagram.

Step 4: Check Your Email for Reports

Within 24 hours, Snoopreport sends intelligent weekly digest emails encompassing activity across the tracked Instagram account(s).

These rich reports have high visibility into recent follows along with other activity dimensions like posts, comments, shares, and more.

Now you have full transparency into the most recent accounts someone followed to take any appropriate actions.

And that‘s it! Snoopreport removes Instagram‘s privacy barriers to accessing user activity chronological data like follows. Next, let‘s explore a free method using Google Chrome extensions.

Method 2: Export Instagram Follows with IGExport

If paying for Snoopreport seems excessive just to check occasional recent follows, consider leveraging IGExport instead.

IGExport is a handy Google Chrome extension allowing exporting various Instagram data to Excel, including sorting follows by most recent.

I‘ll provide an overview of IGExport‘s capabilities and walkthrough using IGExport to reveal who someone recently followed on Instagram.

IGExport Capabilities Overview

Unlike Snoopreport‘s broader tracking coverage, IGExport focuses specifically on exporting Instagram data to spreadsheet format.

Its capabilities center around:

• Exporting followers
• Exporting users followed (even recently followed)
• Exporting user posts
• Downloading user stories
• Unfollowing non-followers

That pure export functionality allows capturing details like recent Instagram activity not otherwise visible.

And the best part? IGExport costs nothing to install and use!

Step-by-Step to Export Recent Follows with IGExport

Here are easy steps for utilizing IGExport to access who someone recently followed on Instagram:

Step 1: Install the IGExport Chrome Extension

First, you need to install IGExport from the Chrome Web Store to enable its capabilities within Chrome.

Click "Add to Chrome" to download and install IGExport. A purple icon gets added beside the Chrome address bar indicating successful activation.

Step 2: Log Into Your Instagram Account

For security reasons, you need an active Instagram session through a browser to allow IGExport accessing data.

Visit instagram.com and fully log in to your Instagram account. Authenticate if prompted after entering credentials.

Step 3: Navigate to Desired Profile for Tracking

In the Instagram web view, locate whichever specific profile you want to audit recent follows for. You can access your own profile or do a search for other public profiles.

Once on the desired user‘s page, take note of the username in the URL:

instagram.com/[USERNAME]/

We will input this in the next step.

Step 4: Export Follow List from IGExport

Here comes the magic! With the user profile loaded, click the IGExport extension icon. A popup appears with fields to enter:

Type the exact username from that Instagram profile‘s URL into the first input.

For export type, select "Followings" to retrieve the accounts this profile follows.

Finally, click "Export following" to initiate the data export process. IGExport fetches a list of users followed behind the scenes.

Step 5: Recent Follows Revealed!

After a few seconds, your browser redirects back to the Instagram profile view. But now all followed accounts get displayed sorted by newest!

Scroll down to see the most recent follows by that user based on follow date. You can hover any account to see specifics around when followed.

And that‘s it! For occasional checks, IGExport delivers an easy free avenue to unmask recent Instagram activity.

Now let‘s shift gears and talk ethics, limitations, and misconceptions.

Ethical Concerns and Limitations

While this guide focused on unveiling technical methods for seeing recent Instagram follows, I want to cover ethical issues and limitations around tracking individuals without consent:

• Discuss tracking intentions first when possible – Having open conversations explains your concerns and builds trust. Snooping should not become the default.

• Respect privacy rights – Accessing data without permission has moral issues. Handle any revealed personal information sensitively.

• Data won‘t tell a full story – Don‘t jump to conclusions only based on recent follows or activity. The context matters.

• Technical obstacles may arise – Instagram actively works to obstruct tracking by third parties which could break capabilities over time.

I cannot make outright recommendations on whether secretly monitoring a friend or partner is justified without context. The safest approach is discussing directly with them first before taking matters into your own hands.

If you still independently move forward with tracking, handle any exposed personal data carefully and avoid rash judgments.

Additionally, Instagram frequently tweaks its platform policies which could render either Snoopreport or IGExport ineffective suddenly. Bugs in their integrations may also produce inconsistent results.

No approach delivers perfect accuracy or guaranteed ethical compliance. But now you at least have more education on available options.

Snoopreport vs. IGExport Comparison

For easy reference, here is a side-by-side comparison between Snoopreport and IGExport:

Both options achieve the end goal of exposing recent Instagram follows. Snoopreport offers premium capabilities for expanded monitoring with an associated cost, whereas IGExport delivers free targeted exports reliant on Instagram‘s systems.

FAQs About Checking Someone‘s Recent Instagram Follows

Here I answer common questions around unveiling who someone recently followed on Instagram:

Is it possible to see who someone just followed on Instagram?

Yes – Through Snoopreport tracking or IGExport as covered in this guide, you can access the recent accounts someone followed on Instagram sorted by newest date.

Why did Instagram remove the recent follow order?

Instagram deliberately randomizes accounts followed instead of showing most recent first. This aimed to strengthen user privacy by hiding new connections.

Does the Instagram activity status update when you follow someone?

No, Instagram doesn‘t show any public visibility that your account followed another user. Only you can see the list of accounts you follow.

How far back can you see Instagram follows history?

Snoopreport retains about 3 months of historical Instagram data for an account with deeper archives available. IGExport shows a shorter window of recent weeks.

Can someone get notified or know I checked their Instagram follows?

Neither Snoopreport or IGExport tracking triggers any notification to a user that you inspected their follows or activity data using that approach. It remains completely invisible to them.

Next Steps and Additional Resources

I hope this guide brought transparency into how you can ethically monitor recent Instagram activity and follows. Here are final recommendations on next steps:

• Try out Snoopreport or IGExport yourself first before running reports on someone else without their awareness. Get familiar with how each works using your own test account.

• Consider alternatives like having an open talk before secret tracking. But use this guide‘s methods if legitimate concerns exist requiring discretely verifying Instagram connections.

• Tread carefully if accessing private data without permissions. Look out for concerning content, but don‘t assume innocence based solely on follows either. Let context guide next actions.

For readers interested to learn more, check out these additional resources:

• Snoopreport‘s Instagram Tracking Guide – Covers tracking capabilities beyond recent follows
• IGExport Knowledge Base – Troubleshooting help for using the Chrome extension
• Accessible Instagram – Details Instagram‘s privacy and data policies

I welcome your feedback, questions, or concerns about this guide. Please reach out to @techbytes if I can help explain or clarify any concepts around checking Instagram recent follows.