Home » Instagram » Why Can’t I See Who Someone Is Following On Instagram

Why Can’t I See Who Someone Is Following On Instagram

✎ Key Takes:

» If you can’t see someone’s Followers list, it might be because the person didn’t accept your follow request. When someone has a private account on Instagram, you’ll only be able to view his Followers list only if you follow his account. 
» When the user has temporarily disabled his account, the Followers list won’t be visible to you. However, after the user re-activates his account, you will be able to see the Followers list.

Why Can’t I See Who Someone Is Following On Instagram:

If you can’t see the Followers list of any user it might be because of the following reasons:

1. Follow Request Rejected

If an account is private, you won’t be able to see the Followers’ list of the account unless you follow the user on Instagram. However, you won’t be able to follow the person if he doesn’t accept your follow request.

follow request instagram

To follow a private account,  you’ll need to first send a follow request to the user of the account. It’s up to the account user whether to accept the request or deny it. If the user accepts your follow request, you’ll become a follower of the account and therefore, you’ll be able to see the Followers list from his account.

But if the user rejects your follow request, you won’t be able to follow the account nor will you be able to see the Followers list. 

But in the case of a public account, you’ll be able to see the Followers list of the account unless there’s some other underlying cause that’s preventing you from seeing it. 

2. Removed You as a Follower

If you follow a private account on Instagram, but still can’t see the Followers list of the account, it might be because the user has removed you as a follower. If you’re removed from the person’s Followers list, you’ll not be able to see the Following or Followers list of the person. 

If the person has removed you as a follower, you’ll be able to see that it no longer shows Following when you open the profile page of the user rather you’ll again find the blue Follow button in its place. 

When you’re removed as a follower by the user, you’ll not be able to see the posts and the stories along with the Followers and Following lists. Until you become a follower of the private profile again, you won’t be able to see the Followers list.

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Open the Instagram application and log into your account. 

Step 2: Next, you’ll need to click on the profile picture icon that’s at the bottom right corner of the screen. 

Click on Profile Icon

Step 3: You’ll be taken to the profile page. Click on Followers that are between the Posts and Following options. 

Click on Followers

Step 4: You’ll be able to see the list of Followers on your profile. 

Step 5: If you want to remove someone as a follower, you can just find the person from the Followers list and then click on the gray Remove button next to the person’s username on the list. 

Click on Remove

3. User Blocked You

If the account has blocked you, you won’t be able to see their Followers list nor their display pictures or posts be visible to you. The account would be shown as User not found and you won’t be able to open the Followers list. 

Even if you search for the person on Instagram, you won’t be able to find the profile anymore either.

This is the worst-case scenario where you’re not only removed from the Followers list of the user but you’re blocked from viewing the person’s posts too. Until the user unblocks you, you’ll not be able to see the Followers list of the user. 

4. Temporarily Disabled Account

If the user has temporarily disabled his account, then you’ll not be able to see the person’s Followers list.

Even if you’re a follower of the user, you won’t be able to view the Followers list when the user has temporarily disabled his account. But as soon as he will reactivate his account, you’ll be able to see the user’s Followers list. 

5. Instagram Bugs

If you’re not able to see the Followers list even if you’re a follower of a private Instagram account, it might be a glitch. Instagram often experiences bugs and glitches which most of the time get fixed on their own within a few minutes to a few hours. 

When Instagram faces an app bug, you’ll find some of its features will malfunction or won’t work at all. But as soon as the glitch gets fixed, the app runs normally and you’ll be able to see the Followers list too. 

If it’s a glitch, you can just try to restart the Instagram application to see if it gets fixed or not. If it doesn’t, then wait for the glitch to get fixed by Instagram itself. 

Why Can’t I See Someone’s Full Following List On Instagram:

These are the reasons below why you can’t see the full list:

1. For the Privacy Settings

If you see that you can’t view someone’s full following list on Instagram, it may be due to their privacy settings. This means that the person has chosen to hide the following list from public view.

So, if you want to see their full following list, you should request to follow them and wait for their approval. Once they accept your follow request, you’ll be able to view the complete list of people they are following.

2. Their Account Type

When this issue arises, it could be due to the account being a private or business account. Due to privacy concerns or professional purposes, users may choose to hide their full following list.

This can be managed in the account settings, allowing them to control who can see their following list. You must respect their choice and understand that not everyone wants their following list to be visible to everyone.

3. Restricted Access

While you find it challenging to see someone’s full following list, it could be because you have been restricted by that user. For this reason, they have limited your access to their profile information, including their following list.

Now, you can try reaching out to them and discussing the issue politely. If they remove the restrictions or grant you access, you will be able to view their complete following list.

What to do if you can’t see someone’s Followers:

There you follow the below methods to fix the issues:

1. Send the Follow Request Again

If you’re not able to view the Followers list of a private Instagram account, send the following request once again to the user. If the user has previously rejected your follow-up request it doesn’t mean that the person will reject it once again.

follow request instagram

Therefore, you can send the following request once again and wait for the user to accept it. Only after your follow request gets accepted, you’ll be able to become a follower of the private account and see the Followers list of the person. 

2. Use Instagram web or Another Mobile

When you’re unable to see the Followers list of any user whom you follow on Instagram, it might be caused due to a device issue. You can download the Instagram application and log in to your account from a different mobile device and check if you can see the Followers list of the user from there. 

If you don’t own a second mobile, you can use web Instagram to log in to your account. You can go to www.instagram.com using a web browser and then enter your username and password to log in to your Instagram account. Once you’re in your account, try to open the Followers list of the user and see if it’s opening or not. 

3. Clear Cache Data

When Instagram is facing glitches and malfunctioning issues, you can clear the cache data of the application. Accumulated cache data often causes the Instagram application to malfunction.

This kind of glitch can be easily fixed by clearing the cache data from the Settings of the device. As the cache data consists of old and miscellaneous files, you won’t have to worry about losing any kind of valuable account data from your Instagram profile. Rather it will clean off some memory space and will help Instagram to function better and properly. 

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Open the Settings app of your device. 

Step 2: Next, scroll down and click on Apps & notifications. 

First-of-all-go-to-the-Settings-of-your-device-1

Step 3: Then click on App info

Tap-on-Apps-info-1

Step 4: You’ll need to scroll down the list of apps to find Instagram. Click on it. 

down-and-find-Instagram-1

Step 5: Then click on Storage & Cache and click on CLEAR CACHE

tap-on-the-Storage-and-cache-option-1
tap-on-the-Clear-Cache-option-1

4. Restart your Data Connection

Often when the Followers list is not getting loaded, it might be due to a slow internet connection.

This can be easily fixed if you can switch to a more stable wifi connection or you can restart your data connection too. Only after the data connection gets stable and steady, the Followers list can be loaded so that you can view it.

🔴 Steps To Follow:

Step 1: Turn off the Data connection of your device and turn on the Airplane Mode. 

Turn Off Data Connection
Turn on Eroplane Mode

Step 2: Wait for a few seconds or a minute. 

Step 3: Then you’ll need to turn off the Airplane Mode and then turn on the Data connection of your device. 

Turn off  Eroplane Mode
Turn ON Data Connection

Step 4: This will increase the internet speed. 

Step 5: Try to open the Followers list of the user and see if you can see it or not. 

5. Wait It Out

If the problem is caused due to bugs or server issues in the Instagram application, it will get fixed by Instagram automatically. Most of the time, it gets fixed within a few hours.

You can just wait for the time being and then check the Instagram application frequently to see if they’ve fixed it or not. Once it gets fixed, you’ll be able to see the Followers list. 

🔯 Can I hide the Followers and Following List from Users?

If you have a public account, you won’t be able to hide the Following and  Followers list of your account. As it’s a public account, it’s visible to all the followers and the non-followers of your account. But if you want to hide it from someone specific, you’ll need to block the user on Instagram to stop him from viewing your lists of Followers and Following. 

But when you have a private account, your Followers and Following lists are only visible to your followers. The non-followers will not be able to view your Followers and Following list of your account unless they follow you. If you don’t want someone to see your Followers and Following list, you can just reject his follow request or remove him as a follower to prevent him from seeing the Followers and Following list. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How to Find Instagram Private Account Followers?

The Followers list an Instagram account that is private if only visible to the users who follow the private account.  The users that don’t follow the private profile won’t be able to open the Followers list however they will be able to see the total number of followers that the private account has as it is displayed on the profile page.

Therefore, to see the followers of an Instagram private account, you’ll need to first follow the account by sending a follow request. After the request gets accepted, you will be able to see the list of Followers by clicking on the Followers option on the profile page. 

2. What to Do if You’re Unable to Fetch Followers on Instagram?

If you’re unable to see the Followers list on Instagram, you can try different methods to fix the issue. The issue may be caused due to the usage of an outdated version of Instagram. You can update it from the Google Play Store and then check the Followers list on Instagram. Even if it’s an app glitch, you can fix it by reinstalling the application after uninstalling it.

Share This Article:

Pranab Sen is founder and author of Techniquehow.com. He is a full-time blogger, everything that gets published is from Pranab's hand. He likes to be a 'social media geek' since 2011 to understand the problems of readers more deeply and giving the solution through his writing.

Leave a Comment

error: Content is protected !!