Instagram TipsMarch 1, 2026

How to See What Your Crush Likes on Instagram (2026)

There's no native way to see what someone else likes on Instagram since the Following Activity tab was removed in October 2019. The only remaining options: check individual posts manually (open a post, see if their handle appears in the liker list — only works for public posts where you can scroll), look for their comments on others' posts, or notice mutual interactions in the wild. Third-party "see what they like" tools mostly don't work; the ones that ask for credentials are scams. Before going deeper, consider whether the urge to monitor is healthy — see the psych section below.

This is general information about Instagram's feature history and behavior, not relationship advice or surveillance instruction. If you find yourself extensively monitoring someone's social activity, the underlying feeling is the real signal — read the psychology section.

The "I want to see what my crush likes" question gets ranked answers full of broken third-party tools and outdated screenshots showing a feature Meta killed years ago. The honest answer is short: Instagram explicitly removed this capability. Workarounds are limited and labor-intensive. This guide covers what actually works, what doesn't, and the more useful question hiding underneath — should you even be doing this?

How to find what your crush likes on Instagram — what actually works

Native methods (2026)

Method	Works?	Effort	Notes
Following Activity tab	NO (removed Oct 2019)	N/A	Permanently gone
Their profile → liked posts tab	NO	N/A	This only shows YOUR liked posts on your own profile
Check individual posts manually	Yes — limited	High	Open public post, scroll liker list, check for their handle
Notice their comments	Yes	Low	Their comments on others' posts appear publicly
Cross-mentions / tags	Yes	Low	Tagged posts show in their tagged-posts tab
Mutual interactions	Yes — passive	None	Just notice over time who they engage with publicly

The "check individual posts manually" path works in a strict sense but quickly becomes labor-intensive for actually monitoring activity.

What "Instagram removed Following Activity" means

In October 2019, Instagram permanently removed the Activity tab feature that showed real-time likes, comments, and follows of accounts you followed. The reason given by Instagram's head of product: people often didn't realize their activity was visible to others, and surprise-discovery moments were a recurring source of social friction.

What this means concretely:

No tab shows "what your friends are liking right now"
The heart icon now shows only YOUR activity (likes / comments / follows you received)
Third-party tools that promise to recover this view either don't actually work or have safety issues

Anyone selling "see what they like" functionality is either offering manual-aggregation (you could do yourself) or asking for credentials (scam).

Third-party tools — why most don't work

Tools that claim to show someone's likes typically fall into three categories:

1. Tools asking for Instagram credentials (Tier 1 red flag)

They want your login OR theirs
This is credential phishing, regardless of marketing
Run away (see are unfollower apps safe)

2. Tools claiming to use "public data"

Public data doesn't include "what they like" — that's not exposed via Instagram's public-data layer
These often produce fake / sample data, or have stopped working since the API restrictions
Don't pay for these

3. Manual-aggregation tools

Some tools manually check individual posts and aggregate
Slow, partial, and you could do it yourself
The data they produce is the same as you'd get manually

There's no working tool that legitimately reproduces the killed Following Activity. The capability is gone.

What you CAN observe publicly

If you're trying to understand what someone is into, what's publicly visible:

Comments they leave on others' public posts (visible in those posts' comment threads)
Tags / mentions of them (their tagged-posts tab on profile)
Posts they're explicitly in (mutual photos, group shots)
Public collaborations with creators
Their own posts + stories (their profile)
Lists / collections if they share publicly (rare)

What's NOT publicly visible:

Their liked posts
Their saved posts
Their followed accounts list (well, technically visible but doesn't show what they LIKE)
Their DMs / private interactions
Their viewing patterns

The signal-to-noise ratio for "monitoring crush" purposes is low — what's public usually doesn't reveal much beyond what they want to share.

The more useful question

Step back. If you're searching "how to see what my crush likes", the actual question is probably: "How can I tell if they're interested in me?" or "How can I know them better?"

Better paths to either:

Talk to them — uncomfortable, but it's the actual evidence you're looking for
Engage with their public content — comment on their posts, react to their stories (they see this)
Find genuine shared interests — through real conversations, not surveillance
Spend time together offline if you have any access

The surveillance path produces low-quality information AND prevents you from doing the high-quality things. You're trading the latter for the former.

When monitoring becomes unhealthy

If you've found yourself:

Checking their profile multiple times a day
Refreshing-checking for any new activity
Building narratives about them from limited public signals
Feeling worse after each check
Spending an hour+ per week aggregating their data manually

...the pattern has crossed from curiosity to compulsion. See is tracking Instagram activity unhealthy for the 5-question self-test and the cue-removal protocol that disrupts the loop.

This isn't moral judgment — it's pattern recognition. The activity isn't producing what you want; the time would be better spent on the direct paths.

What about other social media?

Some platforms (TikTok, X / Twitter) DO show liked content publicly:

TikTok: a user's likes tab is sometimes public (depends on their settings)
X / Twitter: their Likes tab is publicly browseable
Pinterest: their public boards show what they save

These platforms expose different signals than Instagram. If you're interested in someone, their TikTok-likes or X-likes may give clearer signal than Instagram's mostly-private engagement layer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I see what someone likes on Instagram anymore?

Instagram removed the Following Activity tab in October 2019. Meta said many users were surprised to learn their activity was visible to others. The feature was permanently discontinued, not just hidden.

Is there any app that shows what someone likes on Instagram?

No working legitimate tool exists. Tools claiming to show this either ask for credentials (scam), produce fake / sample data, or stopped functioning after API restrictions. Don't pay for these.

Can I see what my crush comments on?

Yes — their comments appear publicly under others' posts. You can find these by scrolling through people they likely interact with, or via search if you suspect a specific post.

Does liking someone's post notify them I exist?

Yes — your like creates a notification on their account. They see the like + can navigate to your profile from it. See can someone tell if you look at their likes.

Can I see who my crush follows?

Their following list is visible if their account is public. You can scroll their following list to see what / who they're into. But "what they like" (specific posts) isn't visible there.

Is there a way to see liked posts of someone with a private account?

Only as an approved follower, and even then their liked posts aren't displayed. The "what they like" data is private to them across all account types now.

What's the healthier alternative to monitoring someone?

Talk to them. Engage with their public content. Find shared activities. Spend time together offline. Surveillance produces low-quality information AND prevents these higher-quality interactions.

Final take

So "how to find what your crush likes on Instagram" in 2026: Instagram killed the Following Activity tab in October 2019; there's no native way; third-party tools don't work or are scams. Manual per-post checking is technically possible but labor-intensive and low-value. The better path is direct engagement, not surveillance. If checking has become compulsive, see is tracking Instagram activity unhealthy. For the broader likes-and-engagement context, see Clarvio's see likes on Instagram at /see-likes-on-instagram.

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