Start with the original Instagram ZIP containing your followers and following data. ZIP mode opens the relationship files in your browser and builds a complete snapshot comparison. It is separate from the limited username preview and does not require website sign-in for local analysis.
Quick answer
On the homepage, choose Use ZIP upload mode, then Upload my ZIP. Click Choose ZIP or files, or drop the archive onto the upload panel. Keep the ZIP compressed. Local analysis completes when the report appears with your followers, following, non-followers and mutual counts.
If you are signed in and viewing a saved account preview, choose View all or another full-report action to open the ZIP workspace. Back to analysis results returns you to that preview. The five-screen export walkthrough below the workspace shows how to request the file if you do not have it yet.
What the upload accepts
- The downloaded ZIP — the recommended option, because it still contains every numbered followers file.
- JSON relationship files — the
followersandfollowingfiles, or the numbered followers parts. - HTML relationship files — if you requested your export in HTML instead of JSON.
You can select several files at once. If you add loose files rather than the archive, include both sides of the relationship: a comparison needs followers and following together.
Upload with the button
- Open the workspace. On the homepage, select Use ZIP upload mode, then Upload my ZIP.
- Choose your files. Click Choose ZIP or files and pick the ZIP in your file browser. You can select more than one file if you are uploading loose JSON or HTML instead.
- Wait for the report. Parsing happens locally and finishes in a moment for a normal export.
Upload by dragging and dropping
You can drop the archive onto the tool panel instead of using the button. The panel highlights while a file is held over it, so you can see when the drop will land.
Two things are worth knowing about dragging. First, drop the file, not the folder that contains it — a dropped folder arrives with an empty file list and nothing happens. Second, if you are on the guide panel rather than the upload panel, dropping a file switches to the upload panel automatically.
Keep the ZIP compressed
It is tempting to unzip the archive and pick out the files you recognise. Resist it. Instagram splits large follower lists across numbered files such as followers_1.json and followers_2.json, and manual extraction is the most common way one of them gets left behind.
When a numbered file is missing, the accounts it contained are not treated as unknown — they are treated as people who do not follow you. That produces a confident but wrong answer. Our followers export guide explains the numbered files in more detail.
What happens to your file
The original ZIP is opened and read inside your browser, without being uploaded. Local parsing and CSV downloads do not require website sign-in. The tool does not ask for your Instagram password, session cookie or two-factor code, and it does not follow, unfollow, remove, restrict or block accounts for you.
Cloud features are separate: saving a report, or requesting a server-based feature that needs a saved report, can send normalized usernames, relationship lists, available timestamps and source metadata to the report service. This does not upload the original ZIP or unrelated archive contents. Username previews also use a third-party API and server caching; they are not part of local ZIP parsing.
See the privacy policy for the full description of what is and is not collected, or read is Instagram Cleaner safe for the checks worth running on any follower-cleanup tool.
What a successful upload shows
When the archive is read correctly, the report opens with four counts:
- Followers — accounts that follow you
- Following — accounts you follow
- Non-followers — accounts you follow that do not follow you back
- Mutual — accounts where the follow goes both ways
You can switch between the lists and download the result as CSV. Every count reflects the snapshot inside your export, not the state of your account right now.
When the upload does not work
- Nothing happened at all. A folder was probably dropped instead of a file. Drop the ZIP itself, or use the choose-file button.
- The report is empty. The archive likely lacks the relationship data. Check that the export included Followers and following.
- One side is missing. Only followers or only following was requested. Make a fresh export with both selected.
- The file is rejected. Use the original archive. A re-compressed or edited ZIP may no longer match what the parser expects.
The export troubleshooting guide works through each of these in order.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to unzip the Instagram export first?
No. Keep the archive exactly as Instagram delivered it. Extracting it by hand and re-compressing it is the easiest way to lose one of the numbered followers files, which makes genuine followers look like non-followers.
Which file formats can be uploaded?
The downloaded ZIP, or the individual relationship files inside it: JSON and HTML. If you select loose files, pick both the followers files and the following file, because a comparison needs both sides of the relationship.
Is my export uploaded to a server?
The original archive is read in your browser and is not uploaded. Choosing optional cloud report saving or a server-based feature that requires a saved report can send normalized usernames, relationship lists and timestamps to the report service. Local analysis and CSV downloads do not require uploading the original file.
Do I need to sign in to analyse a ZIP?
No. Local ZIP analysis is free and available without website sign-in. From the homepage, choose Use ZIP upload mode, then Upload my ZIP. If you are already signed in and viewing an account preview, its full-report actions also lead to the ZIP workspace.
How large a ZIP can I upload?
A followers and following export is small, because it contains usernames and timestamps rather than media. If you requested your full account information instead, the archive will be much larger than the tool needs and you should request the narrower export.
Why does the upload say no file was received?
This usually means a folder was dropped rather than a file. Dropping a folder gives the browser an empty file list, so the upload never starts. Open the folder and drop the ZIP itself, or use the choose-file button.
Should I select all relationship files together?
Yes. Select every numbered followers file plus the following file together in one selection, or use the original ZIP containing them all. This helps avoid analysing an incomplete relationship list.
The short version
Keep the ZIP as Instagram delivered it, add it through the button or by dropping the file onto the panel, and wait for the four counts to appear. If nothing happens, check that you dropped a file rather than a folder. If the result looks wrong, check that every numbered followers file came along.