Instagram Data Export Not Working? 6 Fixes That Actually Solve It (2026)
Instagram Data Export Not Working? 6 Fixes That Actually Solve It (2026)
You did everything right. You found the menu (which Instagram buries deeper than it should). You selected the options. You tapped the button. And then... nothing. No email. No file. No data.
Or worse — the email came, you downloaded the file, tried uploading it to FollowCheck, and got some cryptic error that told you absolutely nothing useful.
I've run into every single one of these problems at least once. Instagram's data export feature works most of the time, but when it breaks, the error messages are useless and Instagram's support is basically nonexistent. So here's the real fix for each scenario.
The Email Never Showed Up
This is the one everybody hits. You submitted the request 30 minutes ago, you've checked your inbox six times, and there's nothing there.
Here's the thing most people don't realize: you don't actually need the email.
Go back into Instagram. Navigate to the same place where you submitted the request — Settings → Accounts Center → Your Information and Permissions → Download Your Information. Look for a section called "Available downloads" or "Recent requests." Your file is usually sitting there, ready to download, before the notification email even sends.
Instagram's email system is slow. Their download system isn't. I've had files ready within 8 minutes that didn't trigger an email notification for another hour.
If you don't see anything in that screen after two hours, the request probably failed silently. Just submit a new one. It happens roughly 1 in 10 times, in my experience.
(By the way — also check your spam folder. Gmail in particular loves filtering these into the Promotions tab or straight into spam.)
You Picked HTML Instead of JSON
You downloaded the file, uploaded it to FollowCheck, and got an error saying it can't be read. This happened to me the first time I ever tried it, and I felt like an idiot when I figured out why.
During the export setup, there's a small dropdown that says "Format." Instagram defaults it to HTML. HTML is designed for reading in a browser — it looks nice but it's not machine-readable. FollowCheck needs JSON.
The fix is simple but annoying: you have to redo the entire export. Go through the process again, and this time explicitly switch the format from HTML to JSON. The dropdown is small and easy to miss, which is why I think Instagram defaults to HTML — they want casual users to get a pretty webpage, not a data file.
Once you submit a new request with JSON selected, wait for the download, and try uploading that version instead.
You Downloaded the Wrong Data Category
Your file is JSON. FollowCheck opens it. But instead of showing follower data, it's showing... your comments? Or your photos? Or some random metadata that has nothing to do with followers?
This means you selected the wrong categories during the export. Instagram lets you pick what data to include, and if you chose "All available information" or checked random boxes, you'll get a huge file full of stuff you don't need.
The fix: submit a new request. This time, choose "Some of your information" and check only the "Followers and following" box. Uncheck everything else. The resulting file will be tiny — probably under 1MB — and it'll contain exactly what FollowCheck needs.
The ZIP File Is Corrupted
You got the file, you tried to open it (or upload it), and your computer says it's corrupted. Can't unzip it. Can't read it. Dead file.
This almost always happens when you download the file on your phone over a shaky mobile connection. The ZIP doesn't fully transfer before the connection drops, and you end up with half a file that looks valid but isn't.
Here's what I do: download the file on a laptop or desktop using WiFi. The link Instagram sends in the email works in any browser — you don't have to use the Instagram app. Right-click the link, "Save link as," and let it fully download before you try to open it.
If it's still corrupted after a clean desktop download, the export itself probably broke on Instagram's end. It happens. Request a new one and try again in a day.
Instagram Says You Have to Wait
You tried submitting a new request and Instagram hit you with "you've already made a recent request" or something similar. Cool, very helpful, thanks Instagram.
They rate-limit data export requests to roughly one every 48 hours per account. This is to prevent abuse of their servers — fair enough, but frustrating when your first request failed.
The fix: wait 48 hours and try again. In the meantime, go check the "Available downloads" screen. Your previous request's file might actually be sitting there, ready to download. Instagram keeps completed exports available for a few days before deleting them. I've found files from three days ago that I assumed had failed.
The Follower Count Doesn't Match
You uploaded the file to FollowCheck and the number of followers it shows is different from what your Instagram profile says. Missing a few hundred. Or a few thousand.
Don't panic — this is normal for larger accounts. Instagram splits big follower lists into multiple JSON files: followers_1.json, followers_2.json, followers_3.json, and so on. FollowCheck is built to read all of them automatically from inside the ZIP file.
The problem only happens if you unzipped the file manually and uploaded just one of the individual JSON files. If you did that, you're only seeing a partial list.
The fix: upload the original ZIP file directly. Don't unzip it first. FollowCheck reads the ZIP and automatically finds and combines all the follower files inside it. If you've already unzipped everything, just re-zip the entire folder and upload that.
When Nothing Works
If you've tried everything above and still can't get a working export... here are two more things that have worked for me when I was stuck:
First, try from a different device entirely. Sometimes the Instagram app on your phone has a caching issue that corrupts the export process. Logging into instagram.com on a desktop browser and requesting the export from the web version sometimes bypasses app-specific bugs.
Second, try a different browser for the download link. I once had a download fail repeatedly in Chrome but work perfectly in Firefox. Browsers handle ZIP downloads differently, and sometimes one just cooperates better than another.
Once you finally have your working ZIP file, go to FollowCheck and upload it. The analysis takes seconds. You'll get your unfollowers, non-followers, fans, and mutuals — all processed locally in your browser, no login required, no data sent anywhere.
Instagram's export tool isn't the most reliable thing they've ever built. But when it works — and it works most of the time — the data you get is genuinely powerful.
Getting the file is the hard part. Everything after that is easy.