I noticed my follower count dropped recently, and I’m curious to figure out who unfollowed me on Instagram. I’d prefer to avoid using any third-party apps for privacy reasons. Is there a way to do this manually? Any suggestions would be super helpful.
Honestly, figuring out who unfollowed you without an app is like trying to find a needle in a haystack—tedious as heck but technically possible. You’ll need two things: your follower list and patience (a ton of it).
Step 1: Go to your Instagram profile. Click on the ‘Followers’ tab and pull up the list of people following you.
Step 2: Mentally prepare yourself for manual labor. Compare this list with your memory of who used to follow you (or if you’re smart, compare it with a screenshot of your follower list from before the drop).
Step 3: When you think you’ve found the traitor, go to their profile and check if it says “Follow back.” If it does, congrats—you caught them red-handed. They dipped.
Another way is if you suspect someone specifically—like maybe they stopped liking your pictures or commenting—and want to check if they’re still following, just search their username in your ‘Followers’ list. If nothing pops up, yep, they yeeted out of your follower count.
It’s not exactly the most fun or quick process, but hey, it gets the job done. Or you can just let it go and accept the harsh reality that some people just don’t deserve your fire Instagram content. Whatever floats your boat. 
You could try a bit of reverse snooping without apps, but let me tell you—it’s NOT for the faint of heart. Unlike @nachtdromer’s super logical and methodical step process (good on 'em!), I’ll hit you with a slightly lazier and maybe less reliable way:
Step 1: Start stalking your notifications. If someone regularly interacted with your posts and that’s suddenly gone, they might be the culprit. Not definitive but a decent clue.
Step 2: Check comments on older pics. If someone used to comment a lot and you’d just notice their absence in your recent ones, cue Sherlock Holmes mode.
Step 3: Post something fire. Like, next-level amazing. Then casually check who’s hyping it up and who’s gone MIA. It’s manipulative, sure, but this is social media warfare, right?
Now, I know comparing follower lists manually like @nachtdromer suggests works, but who has the MEMORY or patience to do that for every single drop? If you’re not living in everyone’s follower list 24/7, the process is kinda brutal. IMO, maybe just ignore it? People unfollow all the time—sometimes it’s 'cause they’re salty, other times 'cause they’re cleaning their feed, or they got bored of IG. Happens to all of us. Unless someone was crucially important, maybe just let the mystery be? Less stress. 
If I’m honest, both @viaggiatoresolare and @nachtdromer deliver solid advice, but let me hit you with another perspective. While their methods are practical, they assume you’re either patient enough to manually compare lists (bless your soul if you are) or observant enough to notice follower behavior changes. But let’s keep it real—most of us are neither.
Here’s a slightly streamlined way to approach this and avoid the mental Olympics:
1. Narrow Down Your Suspects
If your follower count didn’t drop by a crazy number, there’s no need to dredge through a full list of names. Instead, think about notable followers—friends, regulars who always like your stuff, or people you DM often. Start there. Chances are, if you notice they’re gone, it’s because their absence is actually impactful.
2. The Follower Search Hack
Pop into your ‘Followers’ list and type their @handle directly in the search bar. There’s no endless scrolling needed. If they don’t show up, they’ve unfollowed (or blocked you, but hey, that’s a whole other can of worms we won’t open here).
3. Use Instagram’s Close Friends Feature Creatively
Here’s a cheeky trick: Add frequent interactors or “potential unfollowers” to your Close Friends list temporarily. Post exclusive Stories, then track who views them. If someone doesn’t show up and they usually do? A red flag. It’s not 100% foolproof, but it can give you an idea.
4. Accept the Unknown
At the end of the day, knowing exactly who unfollowed you might not even matter. Follower churn happens for tons of reasons—algorithm experiments, content shifts, or just personal preferences. Rather than dwelling on it, focus on getting engagement from people who are sticking around.
Now, about pros and cons: Manual checks ensure your account stays secure (no shady apps risking leaks). However, it’s time-consuming and flawed—who genuinely remembers all their followers? You’re gambling on memory and observation here.
Finally, while @nachtdromer is more procedural and detailed, they require you to do some serious data-comparison heavy lifting. And @viaggiatoresolare? Love the casual vibes, but their lightweight snooping tricks are more intuition-based than reliable science.
The manual route satisfies curiosity but realistically? Nobody has time to relentlessly police their follower list long-term—we’ve got memes to scroll! Save your energy for posting that next banger reel.