Instagram sent follow requests: what your export can show

Where can you see the requests you sent?

InstaScope can show the sent follow requests recorded in a copy of your own Instagram information. Open the Pending Requests tool with an export that includes the optional sent-requests category. You can search those records and, when dates are supplied, review older requests first.

A request in that file was recorded as pending when the export was prepared. It may have been accepted, declined or cancelled afterward. The file cannot confirm today's status, so check the account on Instagram before deciding what to do.

Request the right data, then check what is missing

When downloading your Instagram information, include Followers and Following plus the optional sent follow requests category. Choose All time and JSON when available, then select the ZIP in InstaScope. The two basic relationship lists alone do not contain your sent-request records.

If that optional list is absent, the tool says it was not included rather than reporting zero requests. The export guide explains how to request another copy with the relevant category. A new download is also the way to inspect a later snapshot.

Pending requests and recent request records are different

A supported pending_follow_requests file supplies the Pending Requests view. A recent_follow_requests file is a separate optional record of recent sent activity; it is not interchangeable with a pending list. InstaScope keeps supported recent-request extras separate rather than treating them as proof that a request is still open.

Fictional example: sample.cedar appears in the pending file prepared on May 12. That establishes its presence in that export. If you open the file on May 20, the same row cannot establish that the request remains pending on May 20. A recorded request date describes the source entry, not a later acceptance or cancellation date.

How to see who you requested to follow

You can inspect supported pending_follow_requests records in your own downloaded information, or use Pending Requests to search and sort them. A record was pending at that time; InstaScope does not check the account's live status.

1. Request your Instagram information in Accounts Center. Include the optional sent follow requests category as well as Followers and Following; choose All time and JSON when available.
2. Save the prepared ZIP privately, then open it in Pending Requests. For extracted files, select the optional request file and both core lists together.
3. Search for a recorded username. If the pending category is missing, request it again rather than reading the missing category as zero.
4. Review available dates and request ages. An age is measured against your chosen reference date, not evidence that the request is still open.
5. Check the profile on Instagram before cancelling anything. InstaScope does not withdraw requests automatically.

A fictional pending_follow_requests.json file

This minimal supported container supplies two sent-request records. sample.cedar has a recorded request date of May 12, 2025 in UTC; sample.fern has no source date. The calculated table below reads this exact snippet through the real parser.

{
  "relationships_follow_requests_sent": [
    {
      "string_list_data": [
        {
          "value": "sample.cedar",
          "timestamp": 1747008000
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "string_list_data": [
        {
          "value": "sample.fern"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Keep the review in your hands

Archive analysis happens in your browser; InstaScope does not need your Instagram password or upload the archive to inspect it. Open a profile for context and make any account changes yourself on Instagram. The tool does not cancel requests automatically.

What the parser reads from the fictional request file

Using May 20, 2025 as a chosen reference date:

These are parsed historical records, not a live status check. An empty supported list returns no rows; a missing file supplies no category evidence.

Sources

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