Instagram stores a surprising amount of data about your account — your posts, messages, search history, and importantly, your complete lists of followers and following. While Instagram doesn't make it obvious, you can download all of this data directly from the platform. This guide walks you through the entire process, step by step.

Why would you want to do this? For most people, the primary reason is analyzing their follower relationships. Instagram shows you a total count of followers and following, but it doesn't tell you who specifically follows you back, who doesn't, or who you've followed that has since unfollowed you. By downloading your data and using a privacy-first analysis tool like FollowerLost, you can get those exact insights without giving anyone your password.

Step 1: Open Instagram's Accounts Center

Instagram has moved most account management features into the Accounts Center, which is shared across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Here's how to get there:

Open the Instagram app on your phone (this works on both iOS and Android)
Tap your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile
Tap the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top right corner
Select Settings and Privacy
Scroll down and tap Accounts Center

On desktop, the process is similar. Click your profile picture in the top right, select Settings, then navigate to the Accounts Center from the left sidebar.

Step 2: Request Your Information

Once you're in the Accounts Center, follow these steps:

Tap Your information and permissions
Select Download your information
Tap Request a download
Choose the account you want data for (select your Instagram account)
Select Some of your information — this lets you choose specific data types

When you reach the data selection screen, you need to check two specific boxes:

Followers and following — This contains the complete lists you need

You can also request other data like your posts, messages, or search history if you're curious, but for follower analysis, the followers and following data is all you need. Requesting less data means a smaller file and faster processing.

Step 3: Choose Your Format and Date Range

Instagram will ask you to specify:

Format: Choose JSON — this is the format that tools like FollowerLost can read. HTML is also available but is designed for human reading, not tool processing.
Date range: Choose All time to get your complete follower and following history. If you only want recent changes, you can select a shorter date range, but All time gives you the most comprehensive picture.
Media quality: This doesn't matter for follower data, so you can leave it at the default.

After confirming your request, Instagram will begin preparing your data. This usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how much data you have. You'll receive an email when it's ready.

Step 4: Download and Extract the Files

When Instagram sends you the email, tap the Download information link. You'll be redirected to Instagram where you need to log in to confirm the download. The file will be a ZIP archive containing your data.

After downloading, you need to extract the ZIP file:

On iPhone: Open the Files app, navigate to Downloads, long-press the ZIP file, and select Uncompress
On Android: Open your file manager, navigate to Downloads, tap the ZIP file to extract it
On Windows: Right-click the ZIP file and select Extract All
On Mac: Double-click the ZIP file to extract it

Inside the extracted folder, navigate to your_instagram_activity → followers_and_following. You'll find two key files:

followers_1.json — your complete list of followers
following.json — the complete list of accounts you follow

Note: If you have a very large number of followers, Instagram may split the follower file into multiple parts (followers_1.json, followers_2.json, etc.). If this happens, the largest numbered file is typically the most recent, but for analysis purposes, the first file usually contains the current complete list.

Step 5: Analyze Your Data with FollowerLost

Now that you have the JSON files, you can use FollowerLost to analyze your follower relationships:

Go to followerlost.com
Click Browse Files (or drag and drop)
Select both followers_1.json and following.json
View your results instantly — the analysis runs entirely in your browser

FollowerLost will show you three categories of results: accounts you follow that don't follow you back, accounts that follow you but you don't follow back (fans), and mutual connections. Your data is never uploaded to any server — everything happens on your device.

Important Things to Know

Data freshness: The data you download is a snapshot of your account at the time Instagram processes your request. If you gain or lose followers between requesting and downloading, those changes won't be reflected. For the most accurate analysis, download your data and analyze it promptly.

Frequency: There's no strict limit on how often you can request your data, but Instagram may throttle excessive requests. For most users, downloading data once a month is sufficient for tracking follower trends.

Security: Your data export contains sensitive information about your account. Keep the ZIP file secure and delete it after analysis. Don't share it with anyone, and don't upload it to services that require your Instagram login.

Instagram changes: Instagram periodically updates its interface and data export format. If the steps above don't match your experience exactly, the general process is similar — navigate to Accounts Center, find the data download option, and request followers and following data in JSON format.

How to Request and Download Your Instagram Data Export (Step-by-Step Guide)