Instagram is a great app used for many different things. For example stalking. Only joking, but this is probably why you’re here today. You want to see who your friend or that special someone has just followed on Instagram or, who just followed them.
You’ve tried to go on their following list but you can’t seem to see anyone they have recently followed. All you can see are mutual friends at the top of the list which can be frustrating if you guys have a lot of mutual friends.
Their following list doesn’t seem to be in order so now you’re wondering if this is even possible. The answer to that is yes and no.
Here’s where it gets a little bit complicated. Instagram used to let you see who someone recently followed in chronological order but now they don’t due to user experience issues.
Luckily I have found a few ways in which this can be possible so you don’t have to.
The best way to see who someone recently just followed on Instagram is to use third-party software. This isn’t possible to do on the Instagram app anymore as their following list will be shown to you in random order.
This probably isn’t what you wanted to hear but it’s the most straightforward answer you will find to your burning question as throughout the internet you will be given other outdated methods. The methods below are for 2021/2022 and onwards.
How is The Instagram Following List Ordered
I think I should start with how Instagram orders its following list. You may notice that when you go on someone’s following list it is not in order anymore. This was this case back in 2019 as Instagram used to order things in chronological order.
After a while of doing this, they decided to change things up and see how it was affecting the user experience.
They found out that ordering the list in terms of most recently followed or followers wasn’t giving users the best experience. You’re probably wondering how this may be the case but let me tell you how.
Instagram now puts it in order of you you would most likely want to see based on your interests and likes. These would be mutual followers.
If you guys have no mutual followers then it would be people you would be most likely interested in.
When you go onto someone’s following list, the first thing you would see is who you guys are mutually following.
This is because in most cases than not, most people do not care about who someone recently just followed. They would be more inclined to see who their mutuals are.
Now you know why you aren’t able to see the following or followers list in order anymore and why it’s even harder to someone’s most recently followed.
Use a Third-party service Like SnoopReport
If I was in your position and I wanted to see who someone recently just followed, the first thing I would start with is using third-party software like SnoopReport.
Snoop Report allows you to spy on Instagram on anyone of your choice. This can be up to 10 or 100 people depending on your subscription plan.
SnoopReport practically gives you all the information you would want when trying to spy on someone such as seeing who they recently followed or whose picture they just liked.
Now you’re wondering whether or not this is ethical. Well since it is public information I would see why not but someone would say it is an invasion of privacy.
All the information collected is legal and is only collected from public accounts. If you’re trying to see the following list of someone who has a private account then you’re out of luck and I would suggest you go on the next step.
You don’t have to worry about a data breach of your information as you don’t even have to sign in to your own Instagram.
I would start by heading over to the website and signing up. Then I would choose a plan tailored for me. For you, this would most likely be the personal plan which is just under $6 a month.
There are bigger plans which let you see up to 100 accounts but I doubt you would need this unless you.
From here you will now be able to see reports. This is what a report looks like. Bear in mind there is a lot more to it and everything in this snippet is just a sneak peek into what you’re getting.
Screen Record Their Following/Followers List
If you don’t want to pay for a third-party service and you just want to go about seeing who someone recently just followed or the most recent follower then your next best bet is to screen record their following list. Now you may be thinking how would this work.
It may not be the most practical idea but it works seemingly well. The idea behind it is that you now have a record of who they are currently following so when you see that their following or followers list has increased by 1 or two, you can now cross-reference to that screen recording and more easily notice who has been newly following.
This method can be a bit more tedious but you have to do what you have to do. I would suggest that you only do this on someone who has under 500 – 1000 followers. Anything over this would take an incredible amount of time and would be much harder.
If you guys have plenty of mutual friends then I would scroll past all of this until where the mutual friend stopped showing then I would start screen recording. Here’s how you screen record on an iPhone and here is how you screen record on an android.
Once you have two screen recordings, one before they followed someone and one after they have recently followed someone you can compare who the new person is that has been followed.
Keep Going On and Off Their Following Page
This is a method that I was recommended by a friend who was going through some troubles in his relationship and wanted to see if his girlfriend was following or getting followed by anyone new. So if I would listen to anyone, it’s him.
This works by going on and off someone’s following page multiple times until it seems to be in order. I have tried this method but it didn’t seem to work but maybe that’s because I didn’t try long enough. You just have to keep repeating it until it works.
You would need to have someone faint idea of you they may have recently followed to be able to tell if it’s in order. If you don’t then this will be very tricky.
The only reason this seems to work may be due to an Instagram glitch that hasn’t been updated and I don’t think will be updated soon. If it does, I’ll update you guys. This is because I don’t think many people know about it, so don’t update your Instagram anytime soon.
By now you should be able to see who someone recently just followed. If not then you’re out of luck. If you’re desperate then I would suggest you refer to the third-party software method as it will work.
How To View Who You Recently Followed on Instagram
If you’re curious about finding out who you just followed or who most recently just followed you then there’s a very easy way to do this on the Instagram app. There was a very easy solution to the problem you have today by just using the Instagram website. The following and followers page was in chronological order. This was updated back in 2020 and now it’s not possible.
If you want to sort out spam or anything of that nature amongst your followers then I would suggest you SpamGuardApp. This software removes all ghost, non-mutual, Spam followers, spy features such as seeing who someone just recently followed, and a lot more. We are partnered with them so rest assured your privacy is safe.
From here, you can add your account and choose a plan based on your needs. There are a lot more cool features and I have just scratched the surface.
To see who you just recently followed, you would need to update Instagram to its latest version, by going into your app store. Once you have updated it, you can carry on below.
You would need to go onto your profile and click following or followers. Here at the top, you will see a section that says Sort by Default with two arrows next to it. Click on the arrows and here you will be presented with two options.
You can either sort by Latest followers date or Earliest Followers date. Choose the one you would like to see and it will be automatically updated for you.
Once you have found what you are looking for you can change it back. It would be changed back regardless as you can’t keep it on permanently.
How Can I Check Who My Girlfriend Recently Followed on Instagram
For those of you who may have boyfriends or girlfriends, you may be curious ad to how to find out who your girlfriends recently followed on Instagram.
As I have mentioned previously, the best way to find out who your girlfriends recently followed on Instagram is to use a third-party application like SnoopReport.
If for whatever reason you don’t want to pay for a service like that then you could simply just ask her for her password. If show trusts you then you would give it to you with no hesitation.
Another way you could find someone she has just followed is to gain asses to the email she used that is connected to her Instagram account. Just make an excuse as to why you need to log into her email.
If you can gain access to the email account then you can reset her Instagram password without her knowing. It’s best to do this while she is sleeping. The same goes for your boyfriend.
Sign out of your account on Instagram and click on forgot password. Now put in her email address once you have access to it. Instagram should send you a link to reset her password.
From here you will need to click the link and choose a new password. Now you can log in using that new password and sort the following list based on the latest person she followed.
Do this by clicking the arrow in the top right corner of the following list. When your girlfriend tries to sign in again they will need to reset their password.
Just make sure you deleted the Reset Email password in her email account so she doesn’t get suspicious.
Using Third-Party Application
As you know one of the best ways to see who someone recently followed on Instagram is to use a third-party service.
Now it’s important to remember that you need to be careful when using such a service as some may be harmful to your account.
When using a third-party service to find out who your friend just followed, you must use a trustworthy service.
The ones I have recommended above are trusted so you won’t have to worry about your Instagram account getting hacked. Other services on the internet may take your Instagram login information and intercept your account.
You must log out once you have finished stalking your friends just to reduce the chance of your account getting hacked.
If you don’t know if a service is trusted, you can just look at the reviews and see what other people say about them.
You can also turn on two-factor authentication so when someone tries to log into your account you will be notified and can verify whether it’s you or not. If it’s not you the hacker will not be able to log into your account.
Will Someone Know You’re Stalking Them?
If you’re worried about whether or not someone will know you’re having a look at their account then you don’t need to worry. In most cases, your friends will not know when you’re stalking their accounts.
This is because Instagram will not notify anyone when you are trying to check their following or followers list.
The only time someone may know that you’re stalking their account is if you accidentally like a post from a while ago.
You may be wondering whether third-party service will let people know that you’re checking their account. This is understandable but I can assure you that someone will know you’re using a third-party service to stalk them.
This software does not notify anyone when you post their username into their database so you can freely have a snoop on anyone you like.
This only goes for the reputable services out there. If you’re using an untrustworthy service to check someone’s following then they may be notified but I have never seen this happen.
Will Instagram Go back to Chronological Order?
This has been a common question since Instagram stopped showing the following list in chronological order. Many users were outraged as they couldn’t see who close friends were following.
The main reason people wanted the following list in chronological order is to see who others recently followed. It came as a huge surprise when you couldn’t do this one day.
After this, people resorted to using a browser as the browser still showed the following list in chronological order. Unfortunately, Instagram stopped the ability to do this a few months later but it still works for some users.
It is unclear whether or not Instagram will bring back the following list in chronological order however I think that there is hope. Recently Instagram just brought back the ability to see your feed in chronological order.
This may seem like their listening to their users for once. It wouldn’t surprise many if they bring out a feature where you can have the option to see the following list the whichever order you want.
We will just have to wait and see in the upcoming months whether or not Instagram brings this feature back but I wouldn’t hold my breath anytime soon.
Try Using a Browser
As you might already know, using Instagram on a browser was a way people could see the following list in chronological order. However, back in 2021, Instagram stopped this from being possible,
Some users have reported saying that they are still able to use the browser version of Instagram to see who someone recently followed.
To see the following list in chronological order you don’t have to do anything special. The following list will automatically show up in order.
All you have to do is log into your Instagram account on a browser like Safari or Chrome. Just go to Instagram.com and go to your friends’ following list.
Expect this not to work as Instagram patched this method a while back but you can try your luck. Make sure you try a few times to make sure for certain it doesn’t work.
For some reason doing this on the app is just not possible. Your only chance of it working is to use Instagram on a browser.
If this method doesn’t work for you then you’re pretty much out of look, however, you can always bet on using a third-party service like snoop report.
Can You Check Someone’s Activity on Instagram
If you want to know who someone just recently followed on Instagram then you might also be interested on check someone’s activity on the app.
Seeing things like which posts your friends like gives you a good insight into who their crush might be. A few years ago there was a tab that would show you someone’s activity.
This tab on your notifications will show you who someone recently just followed and what posts they have just liked. This was a great way to spy on your friends.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to see this now as Instagram removed this feature as it was deemed as a breach of privacy.
There aren’t any other ways to see someone’s activity on Instagram apart from using third-party apps.
One app I would recommend to check someone’s activity is SnoopReport. They will show you what posts your friends have liked recently and many more.
Unfortunately, you do have to pay to see all of these reports but at least you won’t waste your time searching for something practically impossible to do anymore since it’s hard to replicate after Instagram removed this feature.
The Following List Order
There are a few things that will determine where someone is placed on your following list. Some of these things can include things like how many posts someone has.
Mutual friends and people you follow will take up the majority of the first few people you will see when you click on someone’s following list.
The people you follow will always appear at the top of someone’s following and followers list but I will be getting into this further detail down below.
The more you go down the list the fewer things you will have in common with these accounts. To know about what the following list means on Instagram check out our article. You can also check out the order of likes on Instagram.
Mutual Friends
Mutual friends will always appear at the top of someone’s following list. This is usually the case when you and that person barely follow the same people.
If someone you follow follows that person, they will usually appear close to the top or at the top of someone following the list.
This is what you would see instead of who someone followed recently as it’s not in chronological order.
The reason Instagram just this to go near the top is because you and this person might have a few things in common even though this is rare.
Instagram also thinks you may benefit from seeing this person at the top of someone’s following list.
This may not be ideal for stalking purposes as you may not want to see the person and you may not be interested in seeing that person.
If the user on the following list has no mutual friends then it will show anyone who is followed by someone you follow. Remember that this only comes into effect on someone else’s following list and not your own.
People You Follow
The people you follow will always be the most important factor when it comes to you you’re going to see at the top of someone following list.
You should always notice that when you want to go and see who someone recently followed you will always see the people you follow first.
This is very frustrating as for some reason Instagram thing you will want to see these people at the top of someone’s following list when in fact you don’t, you just want to see who they just followed.
The reason Instagram may think you want to see someone you’re following at the top of someone’s following list is because you will have the most in common with that person.
Especially if you’re following someone who you barely have mutual friends with. Once you start to scroll down this list you will start to see people you have the most in common with but don’t follow.
Remember that this has nothing to do with the person you’re stalking. This list is only based on you. It is very hard to spot a pattern when trying to figure out if your friend just followed someone.
Interactions
Another big factor that comes into play when looking at the order of someone following is the number of interactions you have had with said person.
Once you scroll past the list of people you follow you will start to see people you don’t follow and here you will be able to see people you have interacted with the most and who have interacted with you.
By interactions, I’m talking about things like how many posts you have liked and how many of your posts they have liked. If you have also commented on some of these persons’ pictures then this will also count as an interaction.
The more interactions you have with this person the higher they will show up on someone’s following list but they will never beat the people you follow as this always takes priority.
If you don’t want this person appearing at the top of any list then you can unlike their post and stop interacting with them. This is if you don’t want your girlfriends or boyfriends getting suspicious.
These are some of the reasons why you see certain accounts at the top of someone’s following list.