Open source · runs entirely on your machine

Clear out your Instagram followers.
All of them, or just the ones you name.

Instagram lets you remove followers one at a time, buried three taps deep. This does it in bulk — with a real selection UI, filters, and a throttle slow enough that Instagram doesn't action-block you.

Download extension (.zip) Install instructions

Never asks for your password. Never sends your data anywhere.

Follower Cleaner
2 · Choose who goes1,482 selected
Keep people I followKeep verified Only privateOnly default avatars
@ghost_account_4417
private
@promo.deals.dailyBest Deals
@realfriendSam
mutual
@user2938471
private
1,482queued
318removed
2failed
~9deta

How it works

The part that matters is what it doesn't do: it never handles your credentials.

1

You stay logged in, in your own browser

The extension attaches to the Instagram tab you already have open. It borrows the session your browser already holds — the same one that's authenticating you when you scroll the feed.

2

It calls the same endpoint the Remove button does

Tapping "Remove" on a follower fires one request. The extension fires that exact request, one follower at a time, from inside the page. Nothing is faked or scraped from pixels.

3

Slowly, with a queue that survives

Randomised delays, hourly and daily caps, periodic long breaks, and automatic backoff when Instagram pushes back. Close the panel and the job keeps going.

Ways to pick who goes

  • Everyone — select all, confirm by typing the count.
  • One account — search the username, tick it, remove.
  • Paste a list — drop in a block of usernames, it matches them against your followers.
  • Filters — keep mutuals, keep verified, target private accounts or default-avatar accounts (the usual bot signature).
  • Protected list — usernames that "remove all" will never touch.

What you get back

  • Live progress, remaining count, and an honest ETA (big purges take days, not minutes).
  • A per-account log of what succeeded and what failed, with the error.
  • CSV export of everything removed, so you have a record.
  • Stop and resume at any point without losing the queue.

Read this before you run it

This is not reversible

You cannot re-add a follower. They'd have to follow you again themselves — and if your account is private, request and be approved. There is no undo button, on our side or Instagram's. The CSV export is the closest thing to a record.

Bulk automation breaks Instagram's Terms of Use

Instagram's terms prohibit automated interaction with the service. Using this — or any tool like it — puts your account at risk of an action block or, at the extreme, disablement. The throttling here reduces that risk. It does not remove it. That's your call to make.

Slow is the whole point

Instagram's spam heuristics key on rate. The Safe preset does ~35/hour with long breaks; that's roughly 120 a day. If you have 10,000 followers to clear, that's twelve weeks. Turning the speed up is exactly how people get blocked.

What it never does

No password field, anywhere. No account created. No server — there is no backend to leak. Your follower list is stored in your browser's local extension storage and nowhere else. Uninstalling deletes it.

If a site asks you to type your Instagram username and password to clean your followers, close it. That is credential harvesting, and it is the single most common way Instagram accounts are stolen. A legitimate tool of this kind runs in your browser, never on someone else's server.

Install

About thirty seconds. No store listing, no sign-up, no account.

Download follower-cleaner-extension.zip

  1. Download the zip above and unzip it to a folder you'll keep — Chrome loads it from that folder every time, so don't delete it afterwards.
  2. Open chrome://extensions in Chrome or Edge.
  3. Turn on Developer mode, top right.
  4. Click Load unpacked and choose the unzipped folder (the one containing manifest.json).
  5. Open instagram.com and sign in normally.
  6. Click the extension icon. The panel opens beside the page.
Why not a one-click install? Chrome only permits one-click installs from the Chrome Web Store — a website is not allowed to install an extension into your browser, which is a good rule and the reason drive-by extension attacks aren't a thing. "Load unpacked" is the supported route for a tool you run yourself.
Requires Chrome or Edge 114+ for the side panel. Firefox needs the manifest converted to MV2 or the panel loaded as a popup — the engine code is unchanged.

FAQ

Does removing a follower notify them?

No. Instagram sends no notification. They will only notice if they go looking for your profile or your posts stop appearing in their feed.

Can I remove just one specific account?

Yes — search the username in step 2, tick it, and run. The confirmation still applies. This is also the fastest way to clear a handful of specific accounts without touching anyone else.

What's the difference between "Remove follower" and "Block + unblock"?

Remove is the normal path and is what you want. Block+unblock forcibly severs the follow and also wipes their likes and comments from your posts; it's a harder eject, it's slower, and the target may notice they were briefly blocked. Use it only if remove is failing.

It stopped and says "rate limited" or "feedback_required".

Instagram flagged the pace. The tool waits 45 minutes and retries, and gives up after three consecutive flags. If you see it, stop for 24 hours and switch to the Safe preset. Pushing through is how a temporary block becomes a lasting one.

Do I have to leave the tab open?

Yes. The engine runs inside the Instagram tab so the job survives — browser extensions get suspended when idle, the page doesn't. You can switch tabs and use the computer normally; just don't close or reload that tab.

It broke after an Instagram update.

Likely. These are Instagram's private web endpoints and they change without warning. Every URL lives in one block at the top of extension/content.js — that's almost always the only thing that needs fixing.

Is my follower list uploaded anywhere?

No. There is no server component in this project at all. Everything lives in chrome.storage.local on your machine.