How to download your follower data

The settings at a glance

You request the export on the platform itself, with your own login. The platform may ask for your password or a code at that point. UnfollowTool never asks for either: you only select the finished file, and it is opened in your browser.

Menu names change from time to time, and they differ a little between app versions and languages. If a label on your screen doesn't match exactly, pick the closest one. The result that matters is the same: the follower lists, in JSON, covering all time.

Instagram

• Export to device
• Followers and following
• Date range: All time
• Format: JSON

Open Instagram's export page (opens in a new tab) Open the Instagram tool

1. Open Export your information. In the app: your profile → menu ☰ → Accounts Center (on some accounts Meta Account) → Your information and permissions → Export your information. On a computer: instagram.com → More → Settings → the same path. Older versions call it Download your information.

   

2. Create the export. Choose Create export, select your Instagram profile (not a Facebook or Threads profile) and choose Export to device.
3. Select only your follower lists. Under Customize information, clear everything and tick Followers and following (in the Connections section). A small export is usually ready sooner.

   

4. Set All time and JSON. Set Date range to All time and Format to JSON, then Start export. With a shorter date range, older follows can be missing, and those people would then show up wrongly in your results.

   

5. Wait, then download. Instagram sends an email and a notification. A followers-only export often arrives within minutes to a few hours; Meta says it can take up to 30 days. Download the ZIP under Available downloads within 4 days and select it in the tool as it is.

The tool reads your followers and following files. If your export also contains pending follow requests, accounts you recently unfollowed, close friends, blocked or restricted accounts, those appear as extra lists.

Full walkthrough with iPhone, Android and desktop details: How to download your Instagram data as JSON.

Once you have your results: see who doesn't follow you back, or read how to see who unfollowed you on Instagram.

TikTok

• All data
• File format: JSON
• Request data

Open TikTok's download page (opens in a new tab) Open the TikTok tool

1. Open Download your data. In the app: Profile → menu ☰ → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data. On a computer: tiktok.com → Settings → Download your data, or use the button below.
2. Select your data. On the Request data tab, all data is the simplest choice. If you choose Custom instead, keep the category that holds your follower and following lists. In recent exports they sit under Profile and settings, but TikTok has renamed its categories before, so if no label fits, select all data.
3. Choose JSON. Under the file format, choose JSON. TXT works too. TikTok has no date range option; the lists always cover your whole account.
4. Request and wait. Tap Request data. TikTok says preparing the file can take a few days, though it's sometimes ready much sooner. While you wait, the request shows as processing on the Download data tab.
5. Download. When it's ready, open the Download data tab and tap Download. TikTok may ask you to confirm it's you. The file stays available for 4 days. Select the ZIP in the TikTok tool as it is.

The tool reads user_data_tiktok.json, or Follower.txt and Following.txt in a TXT export. Follows and unfollows that happen after you request the export are not in the file.

Full walkthrough, including where the file ends up on each device: How to request and download your TikTok data export.

X (Twitter)

• Password + verification code
• Request archive

Open X's archive page (opens in a new tab) Open the X tool

1. Open the archive page. On a computer: x.com → More → Settings and privacy → Your account → Download an archive of your data. In the app: profile icon (on some Android versions the menu icon) → Settings and privacy → Account → Your X data.
2. Verify it's you. On a computer, confirm your password. In the app, tap Send code and enter the code X sends to your email address or phone; X may ask for your password as well. If you signed up with Google or Apple and never set a password, set one first via Forgot password.
3. Request the archive. On a computer, select Request archive; in the app, tap Request data next to X. There is nothing to select: X always builds the full archive, including your media, with no format or date range option.
4. Wait for the email. X says preparing the archive may take a few days. You get an email and, if you use the app, a notification.
5. Download. Use the link in the email or the download button on the same settings page, in a browser where you're logged in to X. The download doesn't stay available indefinitely, so get it soon. Select the ZIP in the X tool as it is.

The tool reads data/follower.js and data/following.js (for large accounts, X splits these into extra -part1, -part2 files, which are read too). X only puts account IDs in these files, no usernames and no dates, so your results show IDs, each with a link that opens the profile on X.

Full walkthrough, including iPhone and Android downloads: How to download your X (Twitter) archive.

Facebook

• Export to device
• Friends and followers
• Date range: All time
• Format: JSON

Open Facebook's export page (opens in a new tab) Open the Facebook tool

1. Open Export your information. On a computer: profile picture → Settings & privacy → Settings → Accounts Center (or Meta Account) → Your information and permissions → Export your information. In the app: Menu → Settings & privacy → Settings → the same path.
2. Create the export. Choose Create export, select your Facebook profile (not a linked Instagram account) and choose Export to device.
3. Select only your connections. Under Customize information, clear everything and tick Friends and followers (in the Connections section).
4. Set All time and JSON. Set Date range to All time, Format to JSON and media quality to the lowest option, then Start export. Facebook may ask for your password.
5. Wait, then download. How long this takes varies; a small export is often ready within minutes to a few hours, and Meta says an export can take up to 30 days. When you're notified, download the ZIP under Available downloads within 4 days and select it in the tool as it is.

The tool reads your friends, removed friends, friend requests, followers and following. Facebook's export contains only names, no usernames or profile links, so the results can't link to profiles, and two people with the same name can't be told apart.

Full walkthrough, including where the file ends up on each device: How to download your Facebook friends list.

Troubleshooting

The export came as HTML instead of JSON

The format can't be changed once the file exists. What to do depends on the platform:

• Instagram: try it anyway. The tool also reads the HTML version of the followers and following files. If the result looks incomplete, request a new export in JSON.
• Facebook: the tool tries the HTML files too. If it can't read the lists, it tells you the export is in HTML format. Request a new export with Format: JSON.
• TikTok: there is no HTML option. JSON and TXT both work.
• X: every archive contains Your archive.html, a viewer for your data. That file alone isn't enough; select the whole ZIP. The lists are in the .js files in the data folder.

The download link expired

Instagram, Facebook and TikTok keep a finished export for 4 days. After that it disappears from the download page, and you need to request a new one with the same settings. If X's download link no longer works, request a new archive from the same settings page.

The ZIP is very large

A full export with photos and videos can be several gigabytes. The tool doesn't load the whole ZIP: it reads only the text files it needs and skips media, so a large file usually works. In older browsers it has to fall back to a method that can't open ZIP files over 2 GB, and then you'll see a message that the file is too large.

• Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: request a new export with only the follower data selected. It's much smaller and usually ready sooner.
• X: there is no smaller export. On a computer, unzip the archive and select just follower.js and following.js from the data folder (plus any follower-part or following-part files), or drag the whole data folder onto the upload area.

You have a folder instead of a ZIP

Safari on a Mac unzips downloads automatically, and tapping a ZIP in the iPhone Files app unpacks it. On a computer, drag the whole folder onto the upload area; the tool finds the right files inside it. On an iPhone, the original ZIP usually sits next to the new folder, so select that.

The wrong file was uploaded

• Another platform's export: the tool says which platform the file seems to be from and links to the matching tool.
• "We couldn't find follower data in your upload": the follower lists aren't in what you selected. Usually Followers and following (Instagram) or Friends and followers (Facebook) wasn't ticked, or a different profile was exported. Request a new export with the settings above.
• "Your export doesn't contain your … list": your followers or your following list is missing from the file. Export again with the full category selected.
• The export came in several ZIP files: select all of them together. The tool combines them into one upload.
• A Twitter archive from before 2018: these contain no follower lists. Request a new archive from X.
• "Could not be opened as a ZIP file": the download is probably incomplete. Download it again while the link still works.
• "Could not be read": if the file is in iCloud Drive, Google Drive or a similar folder, save it on your device first.

Still stuck? Ask on r/unfollowtool, or check the platform's own help pages for Instagram and Facebook.