How to See Likes on Instagram of Others: FollowSpy Best Alternatives (2026)

Navigating Instagram’s hidden likes: How tools like FollowSpy provide the analytics transparency marketers and parents need in a privacy-focused era.

Things aren’t always as they seem, and doing a little research can give you the peace of mind you need. Whether you’re about to go on a Tinder date with someone new or you’re a marketer considering a brand deal with an influencer, you might want to check their Instagram activity. Thanks to recent Instagram updates, it’s harder to track people’s activity, especially since public likes have been hidden, making it harder to monitor account engagement.

If you’re wondering how to see likes on Instagram of others, you’ve come to the right place! Anyone can use FollowSpy to monitor someone’s Instagram account, whether you’re a parent checking on your children, an influencer looking for strategy tips, or a marketing agency checking on your competition. Although it won’t cover all your bases, it’s a great option if you want a simple way to monitor an account’s followers, growth, and engagement. In this guide, we’re putting the spotlight on FollowSpy and sharing popular alternatives if you want to learn how to see likes on Instagram of others. 

Why FollowSpy is a Popular Instagram Activity Tracker

The FollowSpy Instagram monitoring tool interface, featuring real-time activity updates, follower tracking, and anonymous story viewing capabilities.

FollowSpy is an Instagram monitoring tool that allows you to see other accounts’ activity patterns. It’s the perfect tool for tracking followers, identifying growth trends, and learning about engagement patterns. While it’s primarily for influencers and marketers, you can also use it to monitor the Instagram activity of anyone in your life. 

It’s important to recognize that FollowSpy is primarily designed as an Instagram follower tracker, allowing you to search someone’s Instagram username to see who they’ve followed and who followed them in chronological order. FollowSpy is known for its real-time activity updates, which aren’t offered by other alternatives, and its anonymous viewing feature for Instagram stories. This affordable tool is perfect for parents to help them keep tabs on their kids’ Instagram activity, including the posts that they like, or if you need to discreetly monitor a competitor’s Instagram activity without appearing on their list of Instagram story viewers. 

Overall, FollowSpy is best suited for marketing agencies and entrepreneurs, as it provides the best results when you’re comparing your engagement rate to a competitor or trying to identify key metrics, like posting schedules. However, it can also be a useful tool to monitor the Instagram activity of family members or check for potential red flags if you meet someone on an online dating app. It has a simple setup process and an easy-to-navigate interface, perfect for anyone who isn’t familiar with more data-heavy dashboards. 

FollowSpy is great for researchers, marketers, and journalists as it offers real-time tracking, unlike most alternatives, and also supports anonymous story viewing. You can start using these features within minutes of joining FollowSpy, but it might not be what you’re looking for if you want to learn how to see likes on Instagram of others. 

The Drawbacks of Using FollowSpy To Track Instagram Activity

FollowSpy doesn’t offer more in-depth engagement metrics; instead, it is designed to assist with monitoring the accounts that a specific user follows and unfollows on Instagram. You won’t be able to monitor the content that they’re interacting with or see the posts that they like. 

Although FollowSpy has some behaviour monitoring features, its main function is to monitor the accounts that a specific user follows and unfollows. If you’re specifically looking for a tool that will help you see what someone likes on Instagram, you’ll need to download another tool. 

The Best Alternatives to FollowSpy to Track Instagram Likes

If you want to view someone’s likes on Instagram, you won’t be able to monitor this if you’re only using FollowSpy. Instead, you’ll need to use an alternative that can fill this gap. Below, we’re ranking the most popular FollowSpy alternatives to help you monitor someone’s Instagram likes without being detected: 

#1 – Snoopreport

Snoopreport: A comprehensive alternative to FollowSpy offering historical data and deep insights into Instagram interactions.

Snoopreport is one of the most popular Instagram tracking tools, including for monitoring someone’s Instagram likes. It has been used by more than 500,000 users since 2017. Unlike FollowSpy, it’s designed to offer far more comprehensive user insights, collecting a much larger volume of data regarding likes and overall engagement. It is significantly more thorough than FollowSpy, capturing a lot more data points – including a username’s exact Instagram likes, follows, interests, and the users they interact with most frequently.

Snoopreport is unique, as you can use it to look at historical data by creating a report that covers the last 12 weeks of the user’s Instagram activity. You’ll want to access this historical data if you’re looking for potential red flags when online dating or if you need to verify whether an influencer’s engagement rate is genuine. As one of the most comprehensive FollowSpy alternatives, Snoopreport also provides AI-generated reports for ongoing monitoring on a weekly and monthly basis, ideal for marketing agencies and professionals.

#2 – InsTrack

InsTrack: The Data-Driven Instagram Tracker for Influencers and Marketers.

InsTrack is an Instagram tracker designed specifically to help influencers, brands, and marketing agencies improve their posting strategy and conduct competitor analysis. It’s powered by the official Instagram API and gives you instant account insights when you search for someone’s Instagram username on their website. 

InsTrack’s data is updated hourly with a multi-functional dashboard that allows you to monitor multiple accounts at once. This is a great alternative to FollowSpy for keeping track of comments, engagement rates, and posting activity, but it’s better for gathering marketing insights than for keeping track of people’s Instagram activity. 

#3 – XNSpy

XNSpy: An All-in-One Tool for Discreet Parental Monitoring and GPS Tracking.

XNSpy describes itself as the ‘ultimate parental control’ tool and is a great alternative to FollowSpy if you want to monitor your child’s social media accounts without them knowing. While it offers Instagram monitoring, XNSpy is designed to be an all-in-one monitoring tool for parents. 

It has other features you won’t find elsewhere on this list, including GPS location tracking, photo monitoring, and phone monitoring. It works by periodically taking screenshots of your child’s Instagram activity, allowing you to track their activity time on Instagram and anonymously watch their stories. However, you may need to use XNSpy in partnership with an app like Snoopreport to get a full view of their Instagram likes and online activity. 

See Other People’s Instagram Likes Using FollowSpy Alternatives

You might want to know how to see likes on Instagram of others to check someone out before going on a date, monitor your child’s online activity, or inform your marketing strategy. While FollowSpy is a great tool for monitoring the accounts that a user follows or unfollows, you’ll need to use an alternative like Snoopreport to monitor the posts they like and interact with. 

Author:

Andrea McKinney is a social media strategist and content marketing consultant with over eight years of experience helping small businesses and creators grow their online presence. She has contributed to software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup campaigns and regularly speaks at digital marketing conferences. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring the art scene and experimenting with new social media equipment.