IG_FOLLOW_CHECKER

Project Overview

This first started as an idea because my girlfriend wanted to check who hasn't followed her back or unfollowed her on Instagram. There were some popular services for this, but I'm guessing Meta/Instagram cut off access to their APIs. After digging around a bit, I found a lot of solutions requiring the user to paste in some javascript code into the devtools console.

However, it is not easy for a non-technical person to run these scripts. I thought it would be a lot nicer to convert it into a bookmarklet and have some UI that displays the results.

Features

• Simple one-click run
• Modal UI
• Tabs for various follower/following comparisons
• Search for logged in user or specify username
• Copy list as JSON, string list
• Export to CSV

Demo

Step 1: Login to Instagram and click on the bookmarklet

Step 2: The script runs...

Step 3: Done!

How to Use

1. Drag the bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar
2. Open Instagram and log in to your account
3. Navigate to any Instagram profile (or stay on your feed)
4. Click the bookmarklet in your bookmarks bar
5. Wait for loading: The script will fetch your followers and following lists
6. View results: A modal will appear showing:
   • Who doesn't follow you back
   • Who you don't follow back
   • Mutual followers
   • All followers/following lists
7. Export data (optional): Use the copy/download buttons to save results as JSON or CSV
8. Search other users: Click "Change user" to analyze any public Instagram account

Security & Privacy

Privacy: This bookmarklet/JavaScript runs entirely in your browser - no data is sent or stored anywhere. View the source code by visiting the GitHub link.

Permissions needed: You must be logged into Instagram for this to work, as it uses your existing session to fetch your follower data.

Technical Details

This code uses the Instagram GraphQL endpoint to scrape the followers and following list and compares them into some useful lists. I found the source code on some Stack Overflow post, which just had the user scraping logic. I improved the code, converted it to a bookmarklet, and added some useful features.

Script Overview

Here's a breakdown of the bookmarklet's operations:

1. Gets your Instagram username: Either detects it from the current page URL or prompts you to enter one
2. Fetches user ID: Makes a request to Instagram's search API to convert username → user ID
3. Retrieves followers: Uses Instagram's GraphQL API to fetch your complete followers list (paginated in batches of 50)
4. Retrieves following: Uses the same API to fetch your complete following list
5. Compares lists: Performs set operations to find:
   • People who don't follow you back
   • People you don't follow back
   • Mutual connections
6. Displays results: Creates a modal overlay with tabs to browse different lists
7. Provides export options: Allows downloading data as CSV or copying as JSON/text

Rate limiting: The code includes 150ms delays between paginated requests to avoid overwhelming Instagram's servers.

Limitations

• Instagram's terms: This bookmarklet uses Instagram's internal APIs, which may change without notice
• Rate limits: Instagram may limit how quickly you can fetch data
• Private accounts: You can only see followers/following for accounts you have permission to view
• API changes: Instagram occasionally updates their GraphQL query hashes, which may break the bookmarklet until updated

Challenges

• Displaying information without user needing to open devtools
• Sharing bookmarklet in a drag & drop format
• Building trust: Distributing JavaScript that is safe for users to run

Solutions

• Modal UI, never requiring the devtools to be opened
• React workaround for bookmarklet drag-and-drop
• Comprehensive documentation with security explanations and code transparency