InstaDiff

Diff Checker for Followers vs Following

Overview

InstaDiff is a Python-based tool that helps Instagram users analyze their followers and following lists by comparing them to detect:

• Users who don’t follow you back
• Ghost followers (people who follow you, but you don’t follow back)
• Complete following audit for Instagram accounts

This tool works for both private and public accounts and does not require API access, Selenium, or automation login—making it a safe and reliable way to track your Instagram network.

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Why I Chose the Instagram Data Download Method

Initially, I considered two main approaches:

Rejected Methods

1. Instagram Graph API

   • Problem: Works only for business/creator accounts linked to a Facebook page.
   • Limitation: Cannot fetch followers for personal/private accounts.

2. Web Scraping (Selenium)

   • Problem: Instagram detects automation, often leading to login issues or account bans.
   • Limitation: High maintenance, as Instagram frequently updates its website.

Final Solution: Instagram Data Download

I chose the Instagram data download method because:

• Works for all account types (private, public, business, creator).
• No risk of detection or account suspension (no automation needed).
• More reliable than APIs or web scraping.
• Direct JSON data from Instagram provides accurate results.

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How to Download Your Instagram Data

Follow these steps to download your followers & following list:

1️⃣ Open Instagram and go to Settings → Accounts Center → Your information & permissions → Download your information
2️⃣ Choose "Download or Transfer Information"

3️⃣ Click "Request a Download" → Choose "JSON" format
4️⃣ Under Some of your information, pick Followers and following (Or choose Complete copy if you want everything.)
5️⃣ Submit -> Wait for the email -> Download the ZIP

Note: There are some screenshots attached at available to show the steps clearly in Information-Download_Screenshots

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Expected files inside the ZIP

You should see files like:

followers_and_following/followers.json
followers_and_following/following.json

Instagram may split large lists into chunks:

followers_and_following/followers.json
followers_and_following/followers_1.json
followers_and_following/followers_2.json
followers_and_following/following.json
followers_and_following/following_1.json

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How to Use InstaDiff

Step 1: Install Requirements

Ensure you have Python installed.

Step 2: Run Extract Followers and Following Lists

export DATA_FOLDER=<FOLDER-THAT-CONTAINS-FOLLOWERS-AND-FOLLOWING-JSON>
python extract.py

Also, Please find the same working code with minute changes compared to the local script from my google colab https://colab.research.google.com/drive/13ahPYiKsUycAQbm760ojqDdbQf9P3p-M?usp=sharing

Step 3: Have fun finding out who exactly unfollowed you after some days of sending you request and unfollow them too!