How to compare Instagram follower changes between exports

What changed between two follower lists?

Save an older Instagram export and request a newer one from the same account. In Snapshot Comparison, provide the newer file first and the older file second. InstaScope compares normalized usernames present in each Followers and Following list, then shows accounts added to or missing from the newer snapshot.

It also separates newly followed and no-longer-followed accounts, new and lost mutuals, and the overall follower and following count differences. An increase in the total can coexist with missing followers when other accounts were added.

A second fictional example has older followers sample.cedar, sample.fern and sample.birch; the newer list has sample.cedar, sample.fern and sample.oak. Oak is added and birch is missing, while the net follower change is zero. An unchanged total alone would hide both changes.

Presence is visible; the reason is not

If a username occurs in the older Followers list but not the newer one, the precise finding is that it is missing from the newer export. The files do not establish who initiated a change, exactly when it happened or why. A rename, account deletion, deactivation or incomplete export can also affect the comparison.

Use comparable All time exports with both Followers and Following. Import time is not the export date, so check which file is older before loading it; reversing them reverses the direction of every change.

Separate added and missing accounts from the net change

One export is one snapshot; two exports let you compare the usernames present at those two points. Added followers appear only in the newer Followers list. Missing followers appear only in the older one. Newly followed accounts and removed following use the same comparison in the outgoing direction; new and lost mutuals reflect changes in accounts present in both lists.

Net follower count difference is the newer count minus the older count. Five added followers and two missing followers produce a net increase of three. Reading only that total hides the two missing accounts, so review additions and absences separately.

Comparing exports does not provide live tracking or continuous relationship history. A person who left and returned between the snapshots might appear in both. Differences in export coverage can also look like relationship changes; compare files from the same account with the same categories and date range.

Compare privately, then decide what to revisit

The two archives are processed locally in your browser; InstaScope does not need your Instagram password. Keep your original downloads private. For dated relationships still present in one export, the Relationship Timeline answers a different question about recorded follow dates rather than changes between snapshots.

Sources

• Instagram Help Center: review and export your information
• InstaScope methodology: check relationship counts and snapshot changes