Your Quick Answer:
On Instagram, ‘Following’ means the profiles that you follow from on Instagram. When the users of these profiles upload any new post, it appears on your profile for you to view, like, comment and share.
The stuff that you post from your profile will appear on the newsfeed of your followers.
However, on your newsfeed, you’ll be able to see the images and contents posted by the users whom you follow, and they’re in your profile’s Following list.
If your profile is private, then the images and videos that you post on Instagram can be viewed by only those users who follow you on Instagram and are on your profile’s Followers list.
Even if you follow someone on Instagram, still your post would not be visible to them if they don’t follow your private profile.
In your profile’s story section, you’ll be able to see the stories of those people whom you follow on Instagram. Your stories would be visible in the story section to those users who follow your profile on Instagram.
What does Following Mean on Instagram:
On Instagram, Following means when you’re following some users on Instagram and allowing the stuff they post on their profile to appear on your newsfeed. You follow those accounts or Instagram pages whose current content you like to see and want to see the upcoming content or post too.
Many users and professional creators create entertaining content on Instagram so that their viewers can find their accounts to be interesting. When the viewers like someone’s Instagram content or post, they usually follow that person.
After these viewers start to follow that person, whatever the person posts appear on these viewers’ news feeds. So these viewers, after they’ve clicked the Follow button on the person’s profile, have started following the user on Instagram to see the creator’s content and post.
Your account’s Following list increases when you follow more and more profiles on Instagram by clicking on the Follow button inside those profiles. However, the Followers list increases when many people follow you on Instagram.
Generally, when you know someone or like someone’s post you follow that person on Instagram and he or she comes under your Following list.
What is the Difference between Follower and Following on Instagram:
You will notice differences in many things that are explained below:
1. Stuff Posted Appear On
When somebody follows you on Instagram, the person becomes your follower and gets added to your list of Followers. These users generally are the ones who find your content to be entertaining and interesting.
Therefore, they follow you to see more of your content on their newsfeed. Whenever you post some pictures, reels, or videos on Instagram, it appears on the newsfeed of the followers of your profile and they will be able to see that post, as well as like, comment, and share it too.
However, when you’re following someone on Instagram whom you know or whose content you like, the person gets added to your profile’s Following list.
Therefore, whenever that person posts some new pictures, videos, or reels on his or her Instagram profile, it appears on your newsfeed to watch or view. So, on your newsfeed, you’ll be able to see all the stuff posted by the profiles that you’re following on Instagram.
2. Private Account’s Posts Visibility
If you follow someone on Instagram, you’ll be able to see the stuff posted by the user on your newsfeed as well as when you’re visiting the user’s profile. But if your profile is private, only those users who follow you will be able to see the pictures and reels you post on your profile and nobody else.

Therefore, even if you’re following someone on Instagram who doesn’t follow your profile which is in private mode, the user would never be able to see any of your posts and stories that you upload from your profile even if you can see all the stuff posted by the user on his profile. He has to start following your profile on Instagram to view your posts.
3. Story you Posts
When you’re posting any stories from your Instagram profile which is kept in private mode, only the users who follow your profile on Instagram will be able to view the stories and nobody else. Your story will get displayed in the story section of those users who follow you on Instagram.

If you follow someone on Instagram, you’ll be able to see his story in your story section as well as by visiting his Instagram profile. But if the person doesn’t follow you back on Instagram, he will not be able to see your Instagram account’s story.
Only the followers of your private Instagram profile will be able to see the story you post from your profile, so if anyone wants to see your story, he has to click on the blue Follow button on your profile to send you a follow request. Only after you accept the following request, will the person be able to follow you and see your story.
How do you Know if Someone is Following You on Instagram:
There are two different methods using which you can find out if someone is following you on Instagram or not.
1. Open your Followers list and Find the person
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: From your Followers’ list, you can check if someone is following you on Instagram or not. On the list of followers of your profile, you’ll be able to see the names of all those users who follow your profile on Instagram.
Step 2: On Instagram, the list of the profile Followers’ can be found on the profile page only.
Step 3: Therefore, to start, open the Instagram app and log in to your account. Then from the homepage of Instagram, click on the small profile picture icon that’s at the bottom right of the screen.

Step 4: This will take you to your profile page. Just next to your profile picture, you’ll be able to see Post, Followers, and Following options.

Step 5: To see the list of followers, click on Followers and it will show up the list of people who follow you on Instagram. You can search for the user you’re looking for by entering his name on the search box and searching it. If the person follows you, then his name will appear in the results.

OR
2. Search the Person and Find Follow back
🔴 Steps To Find:
Step 1: If you want to know whether someone is following your account on Instagram or not, you can find it by visiting their Instagram profile too. When someone is following you on Instagram and you don’t follow the user’s profile, then you’ll get a Follow back option after visiting his Instagram profile.
Step 2: But if the person doesn’t follow your account, you will not get the Follow back option but just the usual Follow option.

Step 3: Therefore, to find out for yourself, you’ll need to open the Instagram application.
Step 4: Then log in to your profile. Click on the magnifying glass icon and then search for the person by entering his username in the search box.

Step 5: From the result, click on his username to get into the profile.

Step 6: On the profile page, if you see the Follow back option, then you can be sure that the user follows you on Instagram. But if you don’t see the Follow back option but instead the regular Follow button, then it means that he doesn’t follow your profile on Instagram.
What does it Mean when Instagram Says Followed by one other:
On Instagram, you may often see Followed by 1 other on someone’s profile. When you’re seeing it, you’ll need to click on Followed by to see the name of the user. You can also try to find the account to see if you know the user or not.
On trying to find the user, if you see the error message User not found and it occurs inaccessible to you, then you need to know that the user has blocked you.
The page appears blank with the error message on it because this user has blocked your Instagram so you’re not being able to see the user’s profile or other details of the profile.
Therefore, it’s an error message that you get when the mutual followers have now blocked you on Instagram.
🔯 Can you have Hidden Followers on Instagram?
No, on Instagram, there’s no such thing called hidden followers. If someone follows your profile, you’ll be able to see their profile names under the Followers’ list. It’s all transparent and there’s no way you can have hidden followers on Instagram.
But if your profile is public, it can be stalked by unknown users who are not on your list of Followers’. These are the creepy stalkers usually who don’t follow any creators or users on Instagram but stalk their profiles.
However, if you find anything suspicious about any user and want to restrict him from bothering you or seeing your profile on Instagram, you can simply block the person on Instagram.
There is nothing called hidden followers but you can have stalkers and spammers on your profile who might send you numerous messages to your DM or can spam your post’s comment section. You can stop these spamming actions by blocking the user on Instagram.
To block someone,
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: You need to search for the person on Instagram and then from the result click on the person’s profile name to get into his or her profile.

Step 2: Next to the profile page, click on the three dots icon that’s at the top right of the screen.

Step 3: Then click on Block.

Step 4: Select the option Block (username) and new accounts they may create.

Step 5: Then click on Block.
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