Those of you who have been using Instagram for a considerable time might’ve found it odd how the platform used the term Followers instead of Friends. However, now that the platform has evolved to become more content-centric, these terms make so much more sense. The essence of following someone on Instagram is not you merely know the person but that their content speaks to you; it settles something inside of you, cheers you up in your darkest days, or inspires you to do better… in any way or manner, it moves you.
But not all of us view Followers and Following lists in that light. Those who are obsessed with numbers and want to see their Followers list growing eternally are the ones who usually keep close tabs of them. If you’ve ever done the same and found some discrepancy, this blog is for you.
Below, we’re going to discuss the plausible causes of why someone might not appear on your Followers list despite following you, and what you can do about it. Let’s begin.
Following and Followers List on Instagram
Before we dig deeper into the matters at hand, let’s quickly look at what both these lists signify on Instagram:
Following List
The term following means going after someone in real life; on social media, its meaning is slightly changed. When someone follows you on Instagram, it means that they get to see any content you post – be it a reel, post, or story.
The Following list on your profile will contain the name of all the accounts – both people and pages – whose content you want to see on your newsfeed.
Followers List
In contrast to the Following list, the Followers list of an Instagram profile reflects the crowd that enjoys content created by the owner and, therefore, follows them.
Often, you’ll find the same names listed on both lists on your profile; these are generally people who know you in real life. It is more common for such acquaintances to follow each other mutually on Instagram.
Now, let’s move on to address the question that has brought you to us.
Why am I on Someone’s Instagram Following List But They Are Not on My Followers List?
Let’s get this straight:
You can find your profile listed in the Following list of a person’s Instagram profile. However, when you check your own Followers list, their profile isn’t there, right?
Well, in light of everything we’ve learned above, such a thing should ideally not be happening at all. What we’re trying to say here is that if you show up in the Following list of a person’s profile, it means one thing – they follow your profile.
And since they follow you, it’s only natural for them to be included in your Followers list. Here are a few reasons why you can’t find them:
1. Are you scrolling through your Followers list manually?
While manual scrolling is efficient, it also has more room for errors. Because as you keep scrolling down the page, it’s easy to miss out on one single profile; this becomes even more apparent if you have over 50 followers. To avoid this error, always use the search bar displayed on top.
2. What are you typing in the search bar?
Most Instagrammers generally have the usernames of their friends in memory. But because they don’t need to spell them down as often, it’s possible that the exact spelling might slip away from their mind.
If this has happened with you as well, there’s no wonder you struggle to find their profile. To avoid this, you should visit their profile once again and verify if you’ve got the spelling right.
3. Perhaps it’s an error on Instagram’s end.
If you’ve typed their username correctly, but their profile is still nowhere to be found on your Followers list, it’s time to involve professionals in the process.
By professionals here, we mean the Support Team of Instagram. When anything on the platform isn’t how it was supposed to be, and you can’t seem to get it back right, they’re the ones you can go to for help.
This case appears to be somewhat similar. To get out of it, you can write to support@instagram.com, explaining to them how your friend’s profile isn’t showing up in your Followers list even though you are included in their Following list.
Further, you can also attach screenshots of both lists; this helps them visualize the problem well to get to its bottom quickly.
Once the mail is sent, you can expect to hear back from them anywhere between 1-3 business days. Alternatively, you can also reach out to them from the app’s Help Center.
Can you hide yourself from showing up on other people’s Followers list on Instagram?
Some readers who were facing the aforementioned problem came up with their own theories for it when they couldn’t find any absolute answer. They claimed that some accounts could “hide” themselves from the lists of other profiles. If you’ve heard this rumor flying around, please don’t trust it.
Not only is it untrue, but it also makes absolutely no sense. Why would someone follow a friend but have a problem with showing up on their Followers list? Furthermore, why would Instagram feel the need to release such a feature? And if they did, why not let everyone access it?
You can take this as a lesson: When there are too many questions and not one clear answer, you shouldn’t trust it.
The bottom line
As we come to the end of our blog, let’s quickly revisit everything new we learned today.
The Following and Followers lists on Instagram was the subject of our discussion today. We began by talking about what they stand for and then addressed the queries frequently raised by our readers.
Were we able to help resolve your issue above? Please feel free to tell us how we can do better in the comments below.
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