If an account isn’t posting content that you enjoy, you might want to unfollow them. Unfollowing seems simple enough, but there is still plenty you can learn about it. For example, Instagram actually stops you from mass unfollowing more than 200 users a day. If you have any questions about how to unfollow on Instagram, this article can help.
After following someone’s online journey for years, you might feel bad about wanting to unfollow them. However, you should always curate your Instagram feed to fit your preferences. This may mean secretly unfollowing people you don’t interact with anymore. You might also unfollow fake, inactive, and bot accounts in order to clean up your profile.
On mobile and desktop, the unfollowing processes consist of the same three steps. There are some minor differences, however, as each platform has its own interface. With this in mind, here is how to unfollow people on Instagram for either platform:
Go to the user’s profile by clicking on their name when it appears in your feed. You can also find them via your current following list by going to your own profile. Once on their account, you’ll see the person’s Instagram posts and profile picture, with the Following button near the top.
If you decide to refollow the account later, they will get a notification. Even if you don’t, they may notice if you unfollow them. If this will cause tension, consider muting or restricting their account. Muting hides their posts from your feed, while restricting hides their comments on your posts.
The Following button shows a list of features, including Mute, Restrict, and Unfollow. If you no longer enjoy an account, any of these can help. If you definitely want to unfollow, simply click the Unfollow button. They will not get a notification about this unless they use a third-party tool.
You can even directly unfollow an account from your Instagram feed. When viewing one of their posts, click the three vertical dots (horizontal on the desktop) to the right of their name. This brings up a list of options similar to those in step three, including the Unfollow function. Unfollowing them this way will instantly remove the post from your feed.
If you’re no longer comfortable with someone following you, it’s possible to fix this. Go onto your list of followers by clicking Followers while on your Instagram profile. Next to every name, there should be a Remove button. Pressing this and confirming will remove them from your followers without sending them any notifications.
Unfollowing someone while still letting them follow you may be unfair. This would mean reaping the benefits of their follow even after removing them from your feed. In this instance, make sure that you also remove their follow. If you unfollow someone soon after originally following them, this could limit your organic growth on Instagram.
Some people choose to ‘soft block’ those they no longer want to interact with. This would mean blocking them and then unblocking them immediately after. The end result is that neither of you will be following the other. You can do this entirely on their profile, and it’s simpler than removing their followers and then unfollowing them.
You might accidentally unfollow someone you’re close with while clearing your profile of inactive or fake accounts. Alternatively, according to GoodFirms, 79% of Instagram accounts unfollow a brand if their content no longer interests them. If this is the case for you, then you might refollow them if you begin enjoying their posts again.
You are usually able to re-follow a public Instagram account whenever you want. However, there is a chance of somebody blocking you after realizing you unfollowed them. In this instance, you would only be able to follow them using another account. This is unlikely, but still worth keeping in mind, as unfollowing them might cause offense.
When you unfollow on Instagram, there is no notification to worry about. The other account can only find out about this if they use a special app or check for themselves. However, refollowing a user will alert them to the fact you previously unfollowed them. There is a chance that you’ll get lost in a sea of other notifications, but you cannot guarantee this.
When you unfollow a private Instagram account, this locks you out of the profile. Instagram does warn you before you unfollow them that you will need to request access again to refollow. If you do this, they will have to manually approve your follow request. This means you won’t be able to hide the fact you unfollowed their account.
Social media sites take notice whenever you overuse the unfollow feature. To platforms such as Instagram, using certain buttons or actions over and over is a bot-like activity. This means the app has limits that often target brand-new profiles. New accounts can unfollow up to 50 profiles each day; after four weeks, this rises to 200.
No matter how old your account is, you can only unfollow up to 200 people per day. The number of unfollows each hour also has a limit. This is 5 for new accounts and 13 for profiles older than three weeks. Once you hit an unfollow limit, Instagram stops you from unfollowing anybody else and may even issue a shadowban.
There are various third-party tools that claim to answer the question of how to mass unfollow on Instagram. However, Instagram can remove your account for good if you do this. These services border on automating the process and could breach the app’s limits. This means the platform is more likely to see you as a bot.
The only real way to unfollow every account on Instagram is to do it yourself. However, you will need to stay mindful of the platform’s follow and unfollow limits. If you have already unfollowed a lot of people that day, consider waiting until the next. This might take a lot of time, but hitting the limit will slow you down more.
Mass unfollowing is an opportunity to change your feed and fix your Instagram experience. This is vital if you want to keep enjoying the platform and all that it has to offer. Users also ask how to unfollow everyone on Instagram for a number of more practical reasons. These include:
• A fresh start: After years on the platform, you might realize you no longer like scrolling through your feed. An unfollowing spree lets you begin anew to match your current interests.
• Stop follow limit: After an update, accounts can only follow 7,500 people at maximum. If you’re close to this number, a mass unfollow will stop you from hovering near this threshold.
• Remove inactive followers: Going through and unfollowing inactive accounts can improve your following ratio. You might not realize how many of the profiles you follow are now empty.
• Building a better feed: Many people use Instagram as a way of getting inspiration for their own content. This means they need a feed that’s free of clutter and easy to scroll through.
• Better recommendations: Instagram uses the profiles you follow to decide the content it shows you. By fine-tuning this, you can make sure you only get accurate recommendations.
You do not get a notification if someone unfollows you on Instagram. You can only find this out if you look at their Following tab, and your profile isn’t there. The only other option is to see if they are on your own follower list. If they block you, you won’t be able to view their profile to check.
Some tools or apps track your follower list and can show you any changes. This means they will highlight when people unfollow you, sometimes with a notification. This depends on the app you use; some reserve this as a paid feature. Many businesses use similar tools to check for surges or falls in their followers.
Viewing your Instagram unfollowers can show you if someone breaks a mutual following. It also helps you see if your usual followers are responding poorly to your profile’s current content. You can use this to change your strategy and make sure your posts better retain followers over time.
Knowing how to unfollow on Instagram means much more than clicking a button. It also requires a full understanding of how the platform works, including the app’s limits. At snsflow.com, we can help you get a strong follower/following ratio with the help of paid organic traffic.
When you sign up, we can start boosting your profile in a matter of minutes. This lets your brand reach its full potential and get better engagement in the process. Discover how snsflow.com can help your account grow today.