ICYMI: It's been 5 years since Instagram removed the creepy 'Following' tab

Remember the days when you could easily keep tabs on your ex’s every like and follow? Well, those days are long gone, and it’s been a whole five years since Instagram bid farewell to its notorious ‘Following’ tab. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit this digital relic that once dominated our social media habits.

The rise and fall of the Following tab

Back in October 2019, Instagram quietly pulled the plug on a feature that had become more infamous for its creep factor than its intended purpose of aiding discovery. The Following (aka Activity) tab, nestled inconspicuously within the app’s notification section, offered users a real-time feed of their friends’ activities—likes, comments, and new follows included. For those who’ve forgotten about it, here’s a screenshot shared by a user on X to refresh your minds:

While Instagram initially designed the tab to help users find new accounts and content, it quickly became the go-to tool for amateur sleuths and nosy parkers alike. From catching partners in the act of “micro-cheating” to exposing friends’ white lies about being “too busy” to respond, the Following tab aired out everyone’s dirty digital laundry.

Why did Instagram pull the plug?

Back then, Instagram’s head of product told BuzzFeed that the decision to remove the Following tab was based on two main factors:

1. Low usage: The company reported that only a small number of users were regularly checking the tab.
2. Shift in discovery: The Explore tab had become the primary means for users to discover new content and accounts.

However, reading between the lines, it’s not hard to see that the tab’s reputation as a “stalking tool” might have played a role in its demise. The potential for misuse and the privacy concerns it raised were likely factors in Instagram’s decision to axe the feature. That said, we recently highlighted a bug or an intentional feature in testing that was sending out notifications to users when their friends were commenting on other posts. We hope it’s the former because it brought back the Following tab nostalgia.

Fresh user reactions to its removal

Many users shared their thoughts on a post on X that highlighted it’s been 5 years since the feature went 6 feet under. While some users mourned the loss of their favorite snooping tool, others celebrated the increased privacy.

One user on X quipped, “Instagram started going downhill since the day they removed the activity tab where you could see what your mutuals were doing on the app.” Another joked, “Goodbye, Following tab, you made stalking… I mean, ‘following’… way too easy!”

Some even pointed out the tab’s unexpected role in relationship dynamics, with the LGBTQ+ dating app TAIMI commenting, “This was the best way to discover if your partner is being unfaithful.”

The legacy of the Following tab

The removal of the Following tab has sparked ongoing discussions about social media behavior and online privacy. This change emphasized the delicate balance that social media platforms must strike between connectivity and invasion of privacy. Instagram has since evolved by focusing on content discovery through its Explore page and introducing new features like Reels. However, for those who recall the days of the Following tab, using Instagram will never be quite the same. Interestingly, Instagram took away one feature but gave us the much-loved dark mode at the same time too.

So here’s to you, Following tab. You may have been creepy, but you certainly kept things interesting.