PlayInfoBox

Home /Utilities /How to Cancel a Follow Request You Sent on Instagram

How to Cancel a Follow Request You Sent on Instagram

If you have sent a follow request to a private account and changed your mind, canceling it takes seconds.

  1. Go to the person's profile

    Search their username or open their profile directly. If your request is still pending, the follow button will read "Requested" instead of "Follow" or "Following."

  2. Tap the "Requested" button

    Tapping this button, rather than any other part of the profile, brings up the option to cancel.

  3. Confirm you want to cancel the request

    A small confirmation prompt appears; tapping "Cancel Request" (or similar wording) withdraws it immediately.

  4. Alternatively, find it through your Following/Requests list

    From your own profile, tapping "Following" and switching to a requests view (where available) lists pending outgoing requests in one place, useful if you have sent several and do not remember every username.

  5. Confirm the button reverted

    After canceling, the profile button should show "Follow" again, and the person receives no notification that you sent, then withdrew, the request.

Why canceling is silent

Instagram does not notify the other account that a follow request was sent and then withdrawn -- the request simply disappears from their pending list without any record visible to them, which is different from unfollowing someone you are already approved to follow.

Requested vs. actually following

A "Requested" status only applies to private accounts, since public accounts do not require approval -- tapping "Follow" on a public profile follows them immediately with no request stage to cancel in the first place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person know I requested to follow them and then canceled?

No, Instagram does not send any notification for either the original request or a canceled one -- from their side, nothing ever appeared to request in the first place once it is canceled before they respond.

What if they already accepted before I could cancel?

If the request was already accepted, you are now following them, and canceling is no longer available -- you would need to unfollow instead, which is a different action with its own visibility.