Why Am I Losing Followers on Instagram?

Most drops come from one of these causes. Each one comes with a way to check it.

• Instagram removed accounts. Instagram says it "routinely" removes disabled accounts, and removes follows that came from accounts creating inauthentic activity. Your follower total can change "even within a short time" as a result (Instagram Help Center). Check: the missing profiles no longer open.
• People deactivated or deleted their accounts. Instagram hides a temporarily deactivated profile until its owner logs back in (Instagram Help Center), so it can drop out of your list and come back later. Check: the profile won't load now and may reappear later.
• Bought or follow-for-follow followers leaving. Accounts that followed you to get a follow back, or that were paid for, tend to leave or be removed. Check: the missing names are accounts you never interact with.
• Real people unfollowed. People clear out who they follow, lose interest after you change what you post, or come across you through a giveaway or a viral post that brought the wrong audience. Check: the profile still loads, but they no longer follow you.
• You removed or blocked someone. Removing a follower or blocking someone lowers your count too, and that's easy to forget.

Look at the pattern before you look for a reason.

• A handful here and there is normal for any account people can find. Accounts get deactivated, people clear out who they follow, and Instagram removes fake accounts all the time.
• A large drop on one day, especially a day you didn't post, usually points to Instagram removing accounts. Lots of accounts in your niche often report it the same day. Search the date along with "Instagram followers" to see whether others noticed it too.
• Steady losses that started on a date you can name usually follow something you did: a new posting schedule, a change of topic, or a giveaway that brought in people who were never interested.

If your account is public, Instagram gives you free Insights, including New followers. You can pick any timeframe within the past 90 days (About Instagram insights). Use it to answer one question: did the loss happen on one or two days, or is it spread out?

Insights shows numbers, not names. To find out who left, you need the follower lists themselves.

Instagram's official data export includes your followers list. You don't need a third-party login and you never give anyone your password.

1. Download your Instagram data with Followers and following selected. Keep the ZIP as your starting point.
2. When you notice a drop, request a second export.
3. Compare the two exports. Any username in the older followers list that's missing from the newer one is an account that's gone.

Already have a drop and no older export? Request one now anyway. It becomes the starting point for your next comparison, because a single list only shows who follows you today. Meanwhile, one export is enough to see who doesn't follow you back.

A name missing from your list doesn't prove the person unfollowed you. Open each missing profile and compare what you see:

If a page won't open, check again in a few days. A deactivated account can come back, and so can its follow.

• Stay consistent with what people followed you for. If you're changing direction, tell your audience instead of switching overnight.
• Don't buy followers or join follow-for-follow. Those accounts are the first to leave or be removed, and Instagram removes inauthentic activity.
• Keep a steady posting pace so followers know what to expect from you, rather than going quiet for weeks and then posting a lot at once.
• Don't give your password to follower apps. To see who left, use your own export instead.