Long-time Instagram users still remember the Following tab. Swipe over in the activity feed and you could see what the people you followed were liking, commenting on and following, almost in real time. It was addictive, a little nosy and genuinely useful. In October 2019, it was gone.
Since then, people have been looking for a replacement. The closest thing today is an Instagram likes viewer that tracks public activity and collects it in one place. This overview explains why the tab disappeared, what’s still possible, and how Snoopreport recreates the useful parts of it in a more organized way.
What the Following Tab Did
The Following tab showed the activity of accounts you followed: posts they liked, comments they left and new accounts they followed. It was the easiest way to discover content through friends and to see what people you cared about were into.
Instagram removed it in 2019. According to reporting at the time, the company said people didn’t always know their activity was being surfaced to others, and that simplifying the app was a major reason for the change.
What Didn’t Change
The tab disappeared, but the underlying information didn’t become private. Likes on public posts are still visible to anyone who opens the list of likes. Following lists of public accounts are still visible on their profiles. What’s missing is a feed that collects all of this for a specific person.
That’s the gap an Instagram likes viewer fills: it does the collecting, so you can read the result.
Snoopreport: The Following Tab, Reimagined
Snoopreport has been doing this since 2017, and more than 500,000 people have used it. You add a public profile, and Snoopreport builds weekly or monthly reports covering:
- Liked posts and reels, with the accounts that published them;
- New follows and unfollows, with dates;
- Active hours, when the profile is most active;
- AI Summary, a plain-language description of interests and habits, plus ideas such as gifts and conversation starters.
In some ways it’s better than the old tab. The Following tab was a fast-scrolling stream: blink and you missed something. Snoopreport keeps history, so you can scroll back weeks and compare how someone’s interests change.
Old Following Tab vs Snoopreport
| Old Following tab | Snoopreport | |
| Whose activity | Accounts you followed | Any public profile you add |
| Likes | Yes | Yes |
| Follows | Yes | Yes, plus unfollows |
| History | Short scrolling feed | Weekly and monthly reports |
| Interpretation | None | AI Summary |
| Visible to the tracked person | Your activity appeared in others’ feeds | Your account isn’t involved |
Why Likes Deserve This Much Attention
Likes are Instagram’s quietest form of expression, and also one of its most honest. People rarely think about who might see them, so likes reflect real interests better than curated posts. They show:
- the creators someone keeps returning to;
- hobbies they never post about;
- brands they’re considering;
- how their attention shifts over a season.
That’s why gift givers, fans, marketers and parents all find likes data useful, each for their own reasons.
Who Misses the Following Tab Most
Fans of creators and celebrities
The tab used to be the easiest way to see which accounts famous people were liking. With a likes viewer, you can follow the public activity of your favorite creators again, in one tidy report.
Friends looking for ideas
Birthdays, anniversaries and holidays are easier when you know what someone has been liking lately. The AI Summary turns a month of likes into concrete gift suggestions.
Marketers and small brands
The tab was an informal market research tool: which content did your audience engage with, which competitors caught their eye? Snoopreport reports bring that back, with history you can compare over time.
Parents
Parents of teens with public accounts often want to understand the communities their kids engage with. A likes report shows the creators and topics they’re spending time on, which can be a good starting point for an open conversation.
What a Good Likes Viewer Should Never Do
As a rule of thumb, a trustworthy likes viewer should never ask for your password, never promise private data and never hide its price. It should show you where its data comes from, which for any legitimate service means public activity, and let you see a sample before you pay. Snoopreport meets all of these, with a sample report on its website and pricing listed upfront.
How to Use Snoopreport as Your Likes Viewer
- Create an account on snoopreport.com with your email. You never sign in with Instagram.
- Add the public profiles you want to follow, such as friends, favorite creators or brands.
- Read the first report, starting with the AI Summary, then explore the liked posts.
- Check back weekly; history makes patterns obvious within a month.
Everything works in the browser, and there’s an iOS app if you want reports on your phone. Plans start at $0.99 a week.
Reading Likes Reports Well
A likes report is most useful when you read it for patterns. Start with the AI Summary to get the big picture, then look for accounts whose posts appear again and again; those are the creators and brands that matter most to the person. Compare one month with the next to see what’s new. And keep in mind that some likes are social courtesy, such as liking a friend’s photo, so focus on repeated engagement with topics rather than individual hearts. Read this way, a few weeks of reports tell you more about someone’s interests than years of scrolling their own posts.
Avoiding the Wrong Kind of Viewer
Search for an Instagram likes viewer and you’ll find plenty of apps that ask you to log in with your Instagram account or promise to show private profiles. Both are red flags. A tool that logs in as you can take over your account or get it restricted for automated activity, and no legitimate tool can see what private accounts like.
Snoopreport doesn’t need your login, never connects to your account and works with public data only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Instagram bringing the Following tab back?
- There’s no sign of it. Instagram removed the tab in 2019 and hasn’t reintroduced it, which is why third-party likes viewers exist.
Will people see that I’m viewing their likes?
- No. With the old tab, your own activity showed up in other people’s feeds. With Snoopreport, your account isn’t involved at all.
Can I see likes on posts from private accounts?
- Only if you’re an approved follower, and then only inside Instagram. Third-party tools, including Snoopreport, work with public data.
How is this different from the old tab?
- The old tab showed a short, fast-moving feed limited to accounts you followed. Snoopreport works for any public profile you add and keeps weekly and monthly history, so nothing scrolls away before you see it.
Do I need to follow the profiles I track?
- No. You don’t follow, like or interact with tracked profiles in any way. Snoopreport collects public activity independently of your account.
Conclusion
The Following tab is gone, but the curiosity it satisfied isn’t. Snoopreport is a complete Instagram likes viewer for bringing it back: likes, follows and unfollows for any public profile, with history and an AI Summary, without your login, from $0.99 a week. Add your first profile at snoopreport.com and get your own personal Following tab back.
