How IFT tracks Instagram growth
IFT collects publicly visible follower and engagement data once per day, stores a timestamped snapshot, and calculates growth between any two snapshots so you can see trends instead of just current numbers.
Where does the data come from?
All data comes from publicly accessible Instagram profile pages, the same numbers you would see by visiting the profile in a browser while logged out. We use Apify-managed scrapers to read the public profile response, parse the follower count and recent post engagement, and store a timestamped snapshot. We never sign in to any account, never use credentials, and never request private data.
How are follower counts updated?
Every tracked account is refreshed automatically at least once per 24 hours. Paid tiers get earlier-in-day priority refresh and an unlocked manual refresh button. All tracked accounts get at least one snapshot per 24 hours.
How is growth calculated?
Growth is a simple percentage between two real timestamped snapshots. Never extrapolated. When you ask for 7-day growth, we look up the snapshot from approximately 7 days ago and compute the percentage change to the most recent snapshot.
What is a breakout, and how is it detected?
A breakout is an account whose growth and engagement are accelerating versus its own recent baseline. IFT scores each tracked account from 0 to 100 based on momentum, engagement quality, viral signals, consistency, and cross-platform corroboration.
What are IFT's limitations?
We only track public accounts; we cannot see private profiles, deleted posts, or platform-internal metrics like impressions and reach.