How to Download Your Instagram Data and Analyze It

Published March 30, 2026 · 6 min read

Most Instagram users don't know they can download a complete copy of their account data — including their full follower and following lists — directly from Instagram, for free, with no third-party app required. This guide shows you exactly how to do it and, more importantly, what you can actually learn from that data once you have it.

What's Inside Your Instagram Data Download

When you request your account data, Instagram sends you a ZIP file. Most of it is content you already know about — your photos, comments, DMs. The analytically useful part is a folder called connections/followers_and_following/, which contains two files:

• followers_1.json — every account that follows you: username and profile URL
• following.json — every account you follow

These aren't engagement analytics (no likes, reach, or impressions). They're something more valuable: the raw, unfiltered ground truth of your follower relationships. With them you can answer questions Instagram's built-in Insights deliberately won't show you — like exactly who unfollowed you last month.

Note: If you have a large number of followers, Instagram may split your list across multiple files ( followers_1.json, followers_2.json, etc.).

How to Download Your Instagram Account Data (Step by Step)

The download is free and requires no third-party app. Instagram will email you a link when the file is ready — it usually takes between a few minutes and a few hours.

connections/
  followers_and_following/
    followers_1.json
    following.json

Need a more detailed walkthrough? See our step-by-step import guide.

What You Can Learn From followers_1.json

The raw JSON files are readable but not immediately actionable. Here's what the data reveals once you process it:

• Who unfollowed you.Compare two snapshots taken at different times — accounts in the first snapshot's followers list but not in the second have unfollowed you. Instagram doesn't notify you about this; the data download is the only official way to find out.
• Who you follow that doesn't follow you back. Cross-reference following.json against followers_1.json. Anyone in “following” but not in “followers” is a one-way relationship.
• Follower growth over time. By taking periodic snapshots — weekly or monthly — and comparing individual accounts, you build a timeline of your actual growth: who joined and who left, not just a net number.
• New followers since your last snapshot.Accounts in your latest snapshot that weren't in the previous one are new followers — useful for correlating growth with specific posts or campaigns.

How to Analyze Your Instagram Data for Free with InstaTrack

Manually cross-referencing two JSON files is tedious. InstaTrack does it automatically, for free, with no account required.

The workflow:

1. Download your Instagram data using the steps above
2. Open InstaTrack — no login, no signup
3. Upload followers_1.json and following.json to create your first snapshot
4. Repeat in a few weeks to create a second snapshot
5. InstaTrack automatically shows you: who unfollowed you, who you're not following back, and your net growth between snapshots

The privacy model is worth calling out explicitly: your data never leaves your browser. InstaTrack processes everything locally — no file is ever uploaded to a server. Most “Instagram analytics” tools require you to log in with your Instagram credentials, which carries real security risk. InstaTrack requires neither.

What Instagram Data Downloads Don't Include

To set realistic expectations:

• No engagement data — likes, comments, reach, and impressions are not in the personal data download. For those, you need a Business or Creator account and Meta Business Suite.
• No historical follower counts — the download gives you your follower list right now, not a history. That's why periodic snapshots are important.
• No competitor data — you can only download data from your own account.
• No profile visit or story view data— that's only available inside Instagram Insights.

If you need engagement analytics (reach per post, best posting times), Instagram Insights is the right tool. If you need follower relationship data — who follows you, who doesn't, who came and went — the data download is the only official source.

Common Mistakes

FAQ