How to See When You Started Following Someone on Instagram
Reading Time: 4 minutesWant to now how long you’ve been following someone on Instagram? There are a few things you can try.
Do you ever wonder when you started following someone on Instagram? Maybe you followed them a long time ago and forgot, or maybe you want to see how long they’ve been following you. It can be hard to keep track of all of your followers, and it can be challenging to remember when you first started following someone if you have a long list of followers.
Whatever the reason, it’s pretty easy to find out when you first followed a person on Instagram.
Why You May Want to See When You Started Following Someone on Instagram
There can be a few reasons you’d want to know when you first followed someone on Instagram. You may want compare the amount of time they’ve been following you versus how long you’ve been following them.
You may also want to check if someone is a new account or if you’ve been following them for quite some time. Finally, you may just want to refresh your memory and see how long you’ve been following someone.
How To See When You Started Following Someone on Instagram
There are several tricks to see when you first followed someone on Instagram. We will discuss them one by one.
1. From the Feed Post
Whenever you see someone’s Instagram post on your feed and want to know from when you have been following them, there is a pretty simple way to know that.
Here are the steps for that:
- Launch Instagram on your phone.
- Tap on the three vertical dots at the top-right corner of the post.
- A menu will appear. Select ‘Why you’re seeing this post‘ from the menu.
- Next, Instagram will list the reasons why this post is shown on your feed. One of those reasons will give you the the length of time you have been following that account.
That’s it! You can now know how long you have been following someone on Instagram.
2. Using the ‘Sorted by’ Option on Instagram
Instagram allows you to sort your followers’ list by Date Followed: Latest or Date Followed: Earliest options. This will give you an idea which accounts you have been following for the longest.
Here are the steps to use the ‘Sorted by’ option on Instagram:
- On your phone, launch Instagram and open your profile by tapping on your profile picture at the bottom right corner.
- Now tap on the Following tab to open your Instagram following list.
- Under your following list, look for the Sorted by option.
- Tap on the sort icon and select the Date followed: Earliest option. This will sort your following list in the order of which profile you started to follow first.
- If you remember when you joined Instagram, this sorted list will give you a vague idea of when you started following someone on Instagram.
That said, there is another way to find out when you first followed someone on Instagram.
3. Check the Likes and Comments
Almost everyone likes or adds comments on the latest post of whom they started following recently. You can use this to your advantage.
Go through the posts of that person whose following date you want to know and check for the first post on which you have put a like or comment. The date of that post will be the approximate date when you started following that particular user on Instagram.
Similarly, you can also check when the other person started liking or commenting on your posts. This might not be completely accurate but can give you an approximate idea of when the two of you started interacting and following each other on Instagram.
4. Scroll to the Top of Your DMs With Them
Another trick to find when you started following someone on Instagram is by scrolling up to the top of your direct messages (DMs) with them. However, this will only work if you have already interacted with that person via Instagram DM.
The date of your first DM with that person will be the approximate date when you started following them on Instagram.
- Open Instagram and go to your direct messages section.
- Now open the conversation thread between you two and scroll up all the way until it shows ‘followed each other.’
- That’s it! The date of the first message in your conversation is the approximate date when you both started following each other on Instagram.
5. Ask the Person
Lastly, if none of the above techniques works for you, then there is one more way to find out when you started following someone on Instagram. All you have to do is ask the other person directly. If you know the person in real life, you can ask them in person or DM them.
If you don’t know the person, it will be odd to ask them when you both started following each other on Instagram. To make things less awkward, you can take the indirect route.
You can send a general message like ‘Hey, I just wanted to know if we have known each other for long?’ or something similar and find out how they respond.
This will give you an approximate idea of from when you are following that person on Instagram.
Should You Use Third-Party Apps?
If you search on the app stores, you will find several third-party apps which claim to show when you started following someone on Instagram. However, we would advise you not to use these apps as they can contain malicious code and risk your Instagram account’s privacy and security.
Such apps are prone to data theft, and since it involves your personal information, it’s very risky to use them. Rather focus on making your Instagram account more private.
Also, a lot of these apps are just fake and won’t work as promised. You can find that through user ratings and reviews. Therefore, it’s better to use the methods mentioned above or wait for Instagram to add this feature to their official app.
Start Finding Out When You Started Following Someone on Instagram
By following these steps, you will be able to know when you started following someone on Instagram. However, remember that all the methods are approximate, and there might be a slight difference in the actual date from what you have found out through these techniques. So, use them as reference points only.
Also, you don’t need to use third-party apps to find out this information as they can be dangerous for your account’s security. Stick to the methods that are mentioned in this article, and you will be safe.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/instagram-how-to-see-started-following-someone/