You can't see a list of what your boyfriend liked on Instagram — that feature was removed in October 2019 and never replaced. But you can check individual posts to see if he liked them, and more importantly, you can read the signal that matters more than likes: who he recently followed. Follows represent commitment; likes are usually casual scrolls. This guide covers what's actually possible in 2026, and the workflow that gives you 90% of the insight you're looking for.
Skip to the strongest signal: check his recent follows in 30 seconds — public data, no login, no notification.
The Short Answer
Instagram used to have a "Following Activity" tab that showed you every like, comment, and follow made by accounts you followed. It disappeared in October 2019. Since then, no native feature and no legitimate third-party tool has replaced it.
If you want to know what your boyfriend has been liking:
- You can check specific posts. Open a post → tap the like count → look for his username.
- You can't get a list of all posts he's liked. That data isn't accessible.
- You can check the stronger signal: recent follows. Which is what most people actually want when they ask about likes.
Why Likes Aren't the Real Signal Anyway
Likes on Instagram are cheap. People double-tap while scrolling half-asleep, hit accidentally in Reels, or like reflexively when a friend shares. A like on someone's photo doesn't necessarily mean interest — it can mean "I recognized this," "the algorithm showed me this," or "I was scrolling fast."
Follows are different. Following someone means:
- He deliberately tapped the follow button
- He wants their content in his feed regularly
- He's committed enough to opt-in to seeing more
If your boyfriend followed 3 accounts belonging to the same girl in one week, that's a signal. If he liked 3 posts by 3 different people while scrolling Reels, that's noise.
For the full pattern-reading framework: how to spot suspicious Instagram follows.
The One Thing You Can Actually Check About Likes
You can check individual posts to see who liked them.
Method:
- Open the post (belonging to whoever you're curious about — often a person you suspect he might be interested in).
- Tap the like count under the post (e.g. "1,247 likes").
- Scroll the list of accounts who liked it.
- Search for his username by scrolling or using the search box.
This works one post at a time. Practical for checking a specific suspicion, useless for browsing his likes broadly.
Limitations:
- Only works on public posts
- Doesn't scale (checking 100 posts is a nightmare)
- Shows his account when he liked, but not the timestamp of the like
The Better Workflow: His Recent Follows
Instead of trying to reconstruct his likes, check his recent follows. This is faster, more reliable, and answers the same underlying question ("who is he paying attention to?").
The 30-second workflow:
- Open the public follower tracker.
- Enter his Instagram username.
- Read the 20 most recent follows, sorted by date.
His Following list is public if his account is public. Instagram sorts it algorithmically by familiarity, but a tool re-sorts it by the date each follow was added — surfacing the accounts he just followed instead of burying them.
What you learn from this that likes wouldn't tell you:
- Whether he followed someone new in the last week/month
- Whether the recent follows form a pattern (all in one category, all connected to one person, all female accounts, all one interest)
- Whether he unfollowed and re-followed anyone
- Whether he's following accounts you'd expect vs accounts that don't fit his stated interests
Related, if you have specific "same-day" urgency: did my boyfriend follow someone new on Instagram covers the immediate 60-second version.
Comment Activity (The Overlooked Signal)
Comments are permanent and public. Every comment he's ever made on any post that's still up is still visible. This is a stronger and more searchable signal than likes.
How to check:
- Open a post from someone you suspect (his coworker, his ex, a specific person).
- Scroll the comments.
- Search for his username.
You can also check his own posts — did anyone he wouldn't normally interact with comment on his most recent photo? Sometimes the signal is directional: not him commenting on her, but her commenting on him.
Story-View Signal
Stories have their own visibility layer. If you post a story on your own account and he doesn't view it while consistently viewing everyone else's, that's a signal. Conversely, if a specific woman posts stories that he's watching every single time (visible on her viewer list if she checks), that's a signal from her side.
You can't see his story-view list directly. But indirectly, story-view patterns are frequently how people confirm suspicions.
Related: is my ex still watching my Instagram covers the story-viewer detection side.
Apps That Claim to Show His Likes
Every few months a new app claims it can show "all your partner's Instagram likes." Every one of them is fake. Here's how the scam works:
- Free tier shows 3–5 real likes (scraped from posts they picked)
- Paywall to see "the full list"
- Full list is either fabricated, or the same handful of scraped likes with fake dates
- Or they ask for your Instagram login and phish your account
Instagram's API doesn't expose per-user like history. That data would have to be scraped post-by-post across every account he's ever liked — infeasible at scale, and Instagram's rate limits and bot detection make it impossible for a public app to do reliably.
If you see an app that promises this, close the tab. Save your money and your login credentials.
When You Find Something
If you check his recent follows and find something concerning, the biggest mistake is engaging. Every action you take is a trail:
- Don't follow, like, comment, DM, or view the story of any account he followed. All notified.
- Don't ambush him with screenshots. He'll delete, deny, and reframe you as the problem.
- Don't share screenshots with your friend group chat. These leak in ways you don't expect.
- Do document (private screenshots), verify the pattern over 2–3 weeks, and if it persists, have a direct conversation.
Related: how to tell if your husband is cheating on Instagram covers the full framework and Instagram partner check guide offers a structured approach that doesn't leak.
FAQ
Can I see what my boyfriend likes on Instagram?
Not as a list. Instagram removed the feature in 2019. You can check individual posts to see if he liked them.
Are there apps that show someone's likes?
No. Any app claiming to is fake or phishing. The data isn't exposed by Instagram's API.
What's the best alternative to seeing his likes?
His recent follows. Follows represent commitment; likes are casual. Use a follower tracker to see the last 20 accounts he followed, sorted by date.
Will he know if I check his profile or the likes on a post?
No. Reading is silent. Only engagement (following, liking, commenting, DMing, story views) leaves a trace.
What if he's private?
Can't see follows or likes. Everything's gated unless you follow him.
Check his recent follows in 30 seconds
RavenTracker reads any public Instagram Following list and re-sorts it by date. The 20 most recent follows, in seconds, with no notification.
For unlimited searches, Pro is $3.99/week and cancels in one click.