How to download your Instagram data export (followers and following)

Requesting the export

The download lives in Accounts Center, which is shared between Instagram and other Meta apps. If you have several profiles connected, make sure you select the Instagram profile you actually want to analyze before requesting.

Two settings matter more than anything else on that screen: the format must be JSON, not HTML, and the date range should be All time. HTML archives are built for reading in a browser and are much harder to parse reliably; a limited date range silently truncates your follower list.

• Open Instagram → Settings → Accounts Center.
• Your information and permissions → Download your information.
• Request a download → choose the profile → Select types of information.
• Tick Followers and following (you can include more, it just makes the file bigger).
• Format: JSON. Media quality: irrelevant here. Date range: All time.
• Submit, then wait for the email with the download link.

What is inside the archive

The ZIP mirrors Instagram's internal structure. The files that matter are in the connections or followers_and_following folder, and they are plain JSON lists of accounts with a username, a profile link and a timestamp for when the relationship started.

You do not need to open or edit anything. Unfollo locates the relevant files inside the ZIP automatically, including the variations Instagram uses across regions and app versions, and it also reads the account handle from the archive so your profile can be labelled correctly.

• followers_1.json — accounts that follow you (sometimes split into several numbered files).
• following.json — accounts you follow.
• personal_information.json — your own handle, used to detect whose archive this is.

How long the export takes

A followers-and-following-only request is small, so Instagram usually generates it quickly — commonly within a few minutes, occasionally a few hours at busy times. Requests that include photos and videos take dramatically longer and can run into days, which is the main reason to keep the selection narrow.

The download link in the email expires after a few days. If you miss it, simply request the export again; there is no limit that matters for normal use.

Analyzing the archive

Upload the ZIP exactly as Instagram sent it — there is no need to unpack it first, although individual JSON files also work if you prefer. The first archive you analyze establishes your baseline and immediately reveals who does not follow you back.

From the second archive onward the comparison becomes historical: new followers, unfollowers, and the net change between any two snapshots you have collected. Requesting an export on a regular schedule turns a one-off check into a follower timeline.

Common problems and fixes

Almost every failed upload comes down to one of three things: the archive was requested in HTML instead of JSON, the date range excluded older followers, or the selection did not include the followers and following category at all. All three are fixed by requesting a new export with the settings above.

If the file is very large because you included media, it will still work, but parsing takes longer. A narrow request is faster in every respect.

Frequently asked questions