Is Follow Radar safe? How your Instagram data is handled
Short answer: Follow Radar never asks for your Instagram username or password, never logs into your account and runs no automations. It reads the ZIP file you download yourself from Instagram and analyzes it on your iPhone. The app has no server that receives your data and contains no analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs.
What the app needs, and what it never asks for
Follow Radar needs one thing: the list of your followers and following that Instagram itself lets you export from Accounts Centre, as a ZIP file in JSON format.
Follow Radar never asks for:
- your Instagram username or password;
- two-factor authentication codes;
- a login through an in-app browser, cookies or session tokens;
- permission to act on your account (following, unfollowing, liking).
Where the analysis happens
Everything happens on your iPhone. When you pick the ZIP, the app copies it to a temporary folder, unzips it on the device with ZIPFoundation (an open-source library) and reads your followers, following and pending requests. The result is saved as a Snapshot in the app's local database.
Snapshots stay on your iPhone until you delete them in the app or delete the app. Like any app data, they are included in your iPhone backup if you have backups turned on.
What connects to the internet
Follow Radar has no server of its own and no code that uploads your data. It contains no analytics, advertising, crash-reporting or tracking SDKs, and its privacy manifest declares no tracking and no collected data.
- Purchases and subscriptions go through Apple's App Store. Apple handles the payment: we never see your payment details.
- Links open only when you tap them: an Instagram profile opens in Instagram, the export guide opens Instagram's Accounts Centre, this website opens in Safari.
How to check it yourself
You don't have to take our word for it. Anyone can run these two checks:
- Airplane Mode test. Download your ZIP from Instagram, turn on Airplane Mode, then import it into Follow Radar. The analysis completes with no connection, because nothing is sent anywhere.
- App Privacy Report. On iPhone, open Settings › Privacy & Security › App Privacy Report and turn it on. Use Follow Radar as usual, then open the report: you won't see Follow Radar contacting our servers or third-party trackers, because there are none.
Why apps that ask for your Instagram login are risky
Many unfollower apps ask you to sign in with Instagram. To do that they collect your password or your session and use your account automatically. That causes three problems:
- your credentials end up with a third party you can't check;
- Instagram's Terms of Use don't allow accessing accounts or collecting information by automated means without permission, so accounts can be restricted, temporarily blocked or forced to change password;
- if that service is breached, your account is exposed too.
The safe way to see who unfollowed you on Instagram
Instagram doesn't notify you when someone unfollows you. The safe method uses Instagram's official export, with or without Follow Radar:
- In Instagram, open Accounts Centre › Your information and permissions › Create export.
- Select your Instagram profile and tap Export to device.
- Tap Customize information, clear everything and keep only Followers and following.
- Set Date range to All time and Format to JSON. Instagram's defaults (HTML, last year) don't work.
- Start the export. Instagram emails you when the ZIP is ready.
- Import the ZIP into Follow Radar. The first Snapshot shows who doesn't follow you back and your pending requests. From the second one on, the app compares exports and lists who unfollowed you in between.
Without an app you can open the followers and following JSON files and compare them by hand. It works, but with hundreds of accounts it takes a long time. Follow Radar does it in seconds, on your device.
Honest limits
- Follow Radar only sees what's in the export. It doesn't work in real time: unfollowers are found by comparing two exports.
- Follow Radar has not had an independent security audit. This page describes what the app's code does and how you can check it.
- Follow Radar is not affiliated with Instagram or Meta.
- Privacy or security questions: privacy@followradar.app. Full details in the Privacy Policy.
FAQ
Does Follow Radar ask for my Instagram password?
No. It never asks for your username, password or verification codes, and it never logs into Instagram. It only reads the ZIP export you download yourself.
Can Follow Radar get my Instagram account banned?
Follow Radar never connects to Instagram and runs no automations: it only reads a file Instagram gives you. Nothing happens on your account that Instagram could flag.
Is my data uploaded to a server?
No. The export is analyzed and stored on your iPhone. Follow Radar has no server that receives your data and no analytics or tracking SDKs.
Does Follow Radar work offline?
Yes. Importing and analyzing a Snapshot works in Airplane Mode. Only purchases need a connection, to Apple's App Store.
Step-by-step guide: how to see who unfollowed you on Instagram without logging in