Did Instagram change the following list order in September 2026?
Short answer: several follow-tracking companies report that on September 9, 2026 Instagram changed how follower and following lists load, so the order no longer says anything about when someone was followed. At least one tracker disputes that anything changed, and Instagram has made no announcement. Either way, the order you see on someone else's Following list is not a reliable "most recent" list.
What still works is comparison: save a copy of the list, check again later, and treat names that appear in between as new. That is how every tracker that still reports new follows describes its method, and each one dates a follow by when it first noticed it, not by when it happened.
Facts checked 2026-11-04 · written by CheckFollows
| Tool | What it says happened | What it did | How it dates a follow now |
|---|---|---|---|
| IGDetective | On Sept 9 the order stopped meaning anything about time. Says this comes from its own tracking, not an Instagram announcement. | Paused follow tracking Sept 9, resumed new follows Sept 12, unfollows Oct 4. | The day a follow first showed up for it. |
| Gramlens | On Sept 9 the web endpoint began serving lists in an order ranked for the viewer, with no dates. About a week later, other accounts' lists began coming back incomplete. | Says tools that showed "newest first" had only been passing through the old order. | Not applicable (list exporter). |
| Lurk | Disputes it: "There is no announcement." Says the order on other profiles stopped being chronological years ago. | Not stated. | Not stated. |
| CheckFollows | We don't rely on list order, so we make no claim about what Instagram changed. | Kept tracking. Our method compares saved lists rather than reading order. | When our scan detected the change. Removals are reported only after a second scan confirms them. |
What people noticed
Around September 10, 2026, people who used sites to see someone's recent follows reported that those sites froze, showed "no data available", or listed accounts that weren't new. Tracker companies then published explanations. Their accounts agree on the effect, that list order no longer works as a timeline, but they come from companies that sell trackers, and Instagram has not confirmed any change.
What it means if you want to see someone's recent follows
- Don't read the top of someone's Following list as "most recent". It may never have been reliable, and it isn't now.
- The only dependable method is comparing two copies of the list taken at different times.
- Any date a tool shows is when it noticed the follow. The follow may have happened earlier.
- If lists can come back incomplete, a name missing from one copy isn't proof of an unfollow. Check again before concluding anything.
- Private accounts are unchanged: their lists are visible only to approved followers, and no legitimate tool can read them.
How to do it yourself, free
- Open the public account's Following list and save a copy (screenshots or copied usernames).
- Do the same again a few days later.
- Compare the two. Names only in the second copy were followed in between. Names only in the first copy may have been unfollowed, or the account may have been deactivated.
What CheckFollows does
CheckFollows automates that comparison for one direction: the accounts a public profile follows. The first paid scan saves its Following list, later scans compare against it, and new follows are listed with the time they were detected. A removal is shown only after a second scan confirms it. Automatic checks run about every 48 hours with the email-alerts add-on. It does not track who follows the account, and it is slower than hourly trackers.
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
Sources
- IGDetective: Can you still track someone's new follows on Instagram in 2026? (checked 2026-11-04)
- Gramlens: Instagram followers aren't in chronological order anymore (checked 2026-11-04)
- Lurk: Instagram following list order (checked 2026-11-04)
- CheckFollows: how tracking works and its limits (checked 2026-11-04)