How to unfollow someone
on Instagram.
Short answer
Open the person’s profile, tap the button that says “Following”, and choose Unfollow. You can also do it from your own following list, where each account has the same button. Instagram doesn’t notify them. If the account is private, you will have to send a new follow request to see it again.
Updated
From their profile
Go to the profile, tap “Following” under the bio, then Unfollow in the menu that opens. The button goes back to “Follow”. That is the whole process on iPhone, Android and the website.
From your following list
Open your own profile and tap “following”. Every account in the list has a “Following” button next to it; tap it and confirm. This is the quicker way when you want to clear several accounts in one sitting, and Instagram offers two useful filters at the top: the accounts you interact with least, and the ones that appear most in your feed.
Will they know?
Not from Instagram. There is no notification and no list of people who unfollowed. They can find out only by opening your profile and seeing “Follow” or “Follow back”, by noticing the follower count drop, or by using an app that compares their follower list over time.
If you don’t want it noticed: mute
Muting keeps the follow in place and removes the person’s posts, stories, or both from your feed. From their profile, tap “Following” → Mute. They are never told, and you can undo it the same way. It is the usual choice for family and colleagues.
Unfollowing many accounts
Instagram has no button to unfollow everyone, and it limits how many accounts you can unfollow in a short time. Doing it by hand in batches is the only safe method; apps that promise to do it in one tap need your password and get accounts restricted.
Related questions
- Does Instagram notify someone when you unfollow them?
- No. They are not told, and Instagram has no screen that lists unfollows.
- What happens if I unfollow a private account?
- You lose access to its posts and stories right away, and to see them again you have to send a new request and be approved.
- Is unfollowing the same as removing a follower?
- No. Unfollowing means you stop following them. Removing a follower means they stop following you. They are separate, and you can do either without the other.
- How many people can I unfollow per day?
- Instagram doesn’t publish a number and it changes with the age of the account. A few dozen per hour, spread over the day, is the pace that doesn’t trigger a temporary block.
See who an account follows, and who it stopped following
Type a public username. LikePatrol reads its following list, and with a plan it compares the list every week and shows who was added and who was dropped.
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