FollowMeter vs Peekd: which Instagram tracker is better?

The short answer

• Pick Peekd if the account you care about isn't yours. Say you want to know who your partner, your ex or a rival brand started following this week. FollowMeter can't do that. Peekd gives you a dated list of new follows and unfollows for any public account, plus an alert the moment it changes, and you never hand over your Instagram password.
• Pick FollowMeter if you only care about your own account and want engagement stats: top likers, ghost followers and who watches your stories. It does that from inside your account, which is also why it needs you to sign in.

If you mostly want to know who unfollowed you, both can help, and Peekd's free unfollowers checker does it from your Instagram data export without connecting anything.

FollowMeter vs Peekd at a glance

For context, FollowMeter has 4.1 stars from about 24,000 ratings on the US App Store and 3.1 stars from about 157,000 ratings on Google Play, as of October 2026. Neither app can see private accounts, DMs or who viewed your profile. FollowMeter says so on its own site, which we respect.

What Peekd does that FollowMeter can't

It watches accounts that aren't yours. This is the big one. FollowMeter's features all point back at the account you signed in with. Peekd starts from a username. Add a public account, Peekd takes a snapshot of who it follows and who follows it, then checks again on a schedule. A week later you have a list like "followed @someone on Tuesday, unfollowed @someone_else on Thursday". Our guide on how to see who someone recently followed explains why Instagram's own following list can't tell you that.

No Instagram login, ever. Peekd only reads public profiles, so there is no session to break, no verification prompt, and nothing that can lock you out of your own account. The person you track isn't notified either.

Alerts that arrive on their own. FollowMeter's site says data refreshes when you open the app or pull to refresh. Peekd re-checks in the background and pings you when a tracked account follows or unfollows someone, so you don't have to remember to look.

Anonymous story viewing. FollowMeter shows who watched your stories. Peekd lets you watch someone else's public story without landing in their viewer list. Try it with the story viewer.

It runs in a browser. FollowMeter is an app for Apple devices and Android. Peekd works at app.peekdapp.com on any laptop, and on iPhone and Android with the same account.

Peekd has real limits too, and we publish them on how Peekd works: public accounts only, no verified accounts or accounts above 10,000 followers, no history from before you start tracking, and no likes, comments or DMs.

Where FollowMeter is better

Credit where it's due. FollowMeter has been around for more than a decade and claims over 5 million users. For your own account it reports things Peekd doesn't try to: top likers, "secret admirers" (non-followers who like and comment a lot), ghost followers who never engage, which posts performed best, who viewed your stories and who blocked you. It also lets you follow and unfollow from its lists, which helps if you want to clean up your following. If those engagement numbers are what you're after, FollowMeter is the more complete tool for that job.

Is FollowMeter safe?

FollowMeter asks you to connect your Instagram account by signing in. Its site says it only reads data you can already see, never posts, follows, likes or messages for you, and never sells your data. Its site does not explain the sign-in method, and its privacy policy (effective June 2019) doesn't mention Instagram logins at all.

Here is what we found when we read the most recent US App Store reviews. Some reviewers say the app logged them out of Instagram, triggered "suspicious activity" warnings or repeated verification prompts, and a number say their account was locked or disabled afterwards. These are user reports, not something we tested. The developer has said in replies that Instagram's new protocols make it hard for apps like theirs to work, and version 7.0 (July 2026) says it rebuilt the engine to stop unexpected logouts. Plenty of other reviewers say it works fine.

Two more facts from the listings. FollowMeter's App Store privacy label says it collects purchase history, identifiers and usage data that can be used to track you, including for third-party advertising. Its Google Play data safety section says data may be shared with third parties and that you can't request deletion.

The general rule we'd give for any tracker: an app that signs in as you behaves like a second device on your account, and Instagram watches for automated activity. If you want to avoid that risk entirely, use a tool that never needs your login. Our guide to Instagram stalker apps has a checklist.

FollowMeter pricing vs Peekd

FollowMeter is free to download, and its site says core tracking is free. In practice many features sit behind payments. The US App Store lists these in-app purchases:

• FollowMeter Plus: $3.99 weekly, $4.99 monthly, yearly at $23.99 or $39.99
• Followmeter PRO: $8.99
• One-off add-ons at $1.99 each: Secret Admirers, Ghost Followers, Blockers, Insights Pack and Discover Spot

Prices differ by country and change over time, so check your own store. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you turn them off at least 24 hours before the period ends, and you cancel in your App Store or Google Play account, not by deleting the app.

Peekd's free plan tracks one public account with dated follows and real-time alerts, and you don't need a card to try it. Paid plans add more accounts.

Who should use which

• You want to see who your boyfriend, girlfriend or ex follows: Peekd. FollowMeter can't look at someone else's account. See how to see who your boyfriend follows.
• You run a brand and watch competitors or creators: Peekd, for dated follow activity on public accounts.
• You want your own top likers and ghost followers: FollowMeter.
• You just want your own non-followers: skip the login and use the free not-following-back checker.