What's Inside Your Instagram Data Export? (2026)
Updated 13 August 2026
When you request your data from Instagram, you get a ZIP file. If you selected only “Followers and following”, the two files that matter are followers_1.json and following.json, inside a folder called connections/followers_and_following/. Here's what everything is.
The files that matter
- followers_1.json — everyone who follows you, with the date they followed and a link to their profile. Large accounts get the list split into
followers_2.json,followers_3.jsonand so on. - following.json— everyone you follow, with the date you followed them. Comparing this list against your followers is how you find who doesn't follow you back.
The other files you might see
Depending on your account activity, the same folder can also contain files for blocked accounts, close friends, pending follow requests you've sent, accounts you've recently unfollowed, hashtags you follow, and accounts whose stories or posts you've hidden. They follow the same structure — lists of profile links with timestamps. If you exported your entireaccount instead of just Followers and following, you'll also see folders for messages, media, comments, ads data, and more — which is why the full export takes hours or days while the followers-only export takes minutes.
JSON vs HTML format
Instagram offers the export in two formats. HTML (the default) gives you pages you can open in a browser and read; JSONgives you the same data in a machine-readable structure. For comparing lists, JSON is the better choice — it's unambiguous and complete. UnfollowChecker reads both, but JSON is the format we recommend selecting.
A note on what the export can't tell you
The export is a snapshot of the moment Instagram generated it. It doesn't include accounts that have since been deactivated or renamed, and it can't tell you whensomeone unfollowed you — only who follows you right now. That's also why a dropping follower count needs a fresh export to investigate.
Turn the export into answers
You could open the two JSON files and compare them by hand — or upload the ZIP to UnfollowChecker and see every account that doesn't follow you back in seconds. Everything runs in your browser; the export never leaves your device.