Safety
Are Instagram unfollower apps safe?
Many “who unfollowed me” apps ask you to log in with your Instagram username and password. That’s the part that makes them risky. Here’s why, and how to check your followers safely instead.
What happens when you give an app your password
Instagram doesn’t offer outside apps a way to read your follower list. So these apps sign in to your account as if they were you, from their own servers. That means:
- They have full access. With your password, an app can read your messages, post, follow or unfollow, and change settings. You’re trusting a company you probably know nothing about.
- Your account can get flagged. Logins from unfamiliar locations and automated activity can trigger Instagram’s security checks, which can lead to verification prompts, temporary blocks or a locked account.
- It goes against Instagram’s rules. Instagram’s terms don’t allow collecting information from the service in automated ways without its permission.
- Your password can leak. If the app’s company is hacked or shady, your login details go with it.
Warning signs of a risky app
- It asks for your Instagram password on its own screen.
- It promises real-time unfollow alerts. Instagram doesn’t provide this to anyone.
- It asks you to turn off two-factor authentication.
- It wants you to buy coins or followers.
The safer way
Instagram lets you download your own followers and following list from Accounts Center. You sign in on Instagram’s own page, so your password never goes anywhere else. Followback reads that file in your browser and shows who doesn’t follow you back and who unfollowed you. Nothing is uploaded, and it can’t do anything to your account.
Already used a password app?
- Change your Instagram password.
- Turn on two-factor authentication in Accounts Center under Password and security.
- In the same place, check where you’re logged in and log out of any session you don’t recognize.
- Remove any third-party apps you don’t use from your Instagram settings.