COMPARISON · NOVEMBER 2026
CheckFollows vs IGDetective
Short answer: IGDetective does more. It covers recent follows, followers, unfollows, likes and comments, refreshes daily, and costs about $30 a month. CheckFollows does one thing: it keeps a dated record of who a public account follows and confirms each removal on a second scan before showing it. It checks about every 48 hours with its email-alerts add-on and starts at $8.99 a week.
Choose IGDetective if you want the broadest picture or the lowest monthly price. Choose CheckFollows if your question is only who one account is following, and you want removals confirmed before they're shown.
Facts checked 2026-11-03 · written by CheckFollows
| Tool | What it tracks | Instagram login | How often it checks | Time shown | Cheapest paid option | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CheckFollows | Who a public account follows: new follows and confirmed removals from its Following list. Not incoming followers, likes or stories. | No | About every 48 hours with the email-alerts add-on; manual scans otherwise (scan credits) | When the change was detected; removals confirmed on a later scan | From $8.99/week (+ alerts add-on for automatic checks) | Web |
| IGDetective | Recent follows, followers, unfollows, likes, comments, story viewing | No | Daily refresh on Premium | Day the follow was first seen | $30/month; free plan for 1 profile | Web |
Where IGDetective is better
- It tracks followers as well as follows. CheckFollows doesn't track who follows an account.
- It covers likes and comments. CheckFollows covers follows only.
- It refreshes daily. CheckFollows checks about every 48 hours with alerts on.
- It's cheaper per week: about $30 a month versus CheckFollows' $8.99 a week.
Where CheckFollows is different
- It's built around one question: who does this account follow, and what changed?
- A removal is reported only after a second scan confirms it, which filters out deactivated accounts.
- Each change is shown with the time it was detected, in a timeline you can export.
- Weekly billing with no long commitment.
What both have in common
- Neither needs your Instagram password, and neither notifies the account you track.
- Both work only on public accounts.
- Both date a follow by when they first noticed it, not when it happened. IGDetective says so after Instagram's reported September 2026 change, when it paused follow tracking from September 9 to 12.
Check the public profile first
Look up the handle for free. You only pay if you want CheckFollows to start a saved Following record.
Frequently asked questions
Not overall. IGDetective covers more and costs less per week. CheckFollows is the narrower choice if you only want a confirmed record of who one public account follows.
Sources
- IGDetective: homepage and pricing (checked 2026-11-03)
- IGDetective: September 2026 tracking update (checked 2026-11-03)
- IGExport: Recent Follow (checked 2026-11-03)
- Recent Follow on the App Store (checked 2026-11-03)
- The Ick: pricing (checked 2026-11-03)
- The Ick: what it is (checked 2026-11-03)
- Lurk: FAQ (checked 2026-11-03)
- Lurk on the App Store (checked 2026-11-03)
- Red Flag Follows: how it works (checked 2026-11-03)
- Dolphin Radar: plans (checked 2026-11-03)
- Snoopreport: homepage (checked 2026-11-03)
- CheckFollows: how tracking works and its limits (checked 2026-11-03)