Should You Unfollow Your Ex on Social Media After a Breakup?

If you’re asking yourself, “Should I unfollow my ex on Instagram?”, you should know that it depends on your sanity, your scrolling habits, and whether your heart does a little backflip every time you see their username. If your ex’s selfies are messing with your healing, it’s totally okay (and healthy) to unfollow. But if you can watch their stories without spiraling into a heartbreak rabbit hole, keeping them on your feed might not be such a big deal.

Sometimes staying connected is about emotional maturity, like when you share mutual friends or ended things on civil terms. Other times, it’s just self-inflicted torture disguised as “just checking”. Ask yourself: does monitoring them help you move on, or hit rewind?

In this article, we’ll look at both sides of the breakup, when to unfollow ex on Instagram and protect your peace, when to view blocked Instagram account stories, and when it’s okay to keep following without falling apart.

Dilemma After Breakup

Breakups used to be simple. Painful, sure, but at least when it was over, it was over. You didn’t have to see their face every day unless you accidentally ran into them at the grocery store. Now? Thanks to Instagram, your ex is basically a recurring character in your life, and your brain is doing cartwheels trying to figure out if they’ve moved on or if that cryptic quote in their story is about you:

• You start comparing: They look amazing, and you’re over here just trying not to cry in public.
• It’s hard to move on when they’re everywhere: You don’t even want to care, but there they are, smiling in your face.
• It tricks you into thinking you’re still connected: Watching their stories gives that weird illusion that you’re still part of their world.
• You overanalyze everything: One vague caption and suddenly you’re reading it like it’s your breakup thesis.

Should You Unfollow Your EX on Instagram: The Psychological Impact of Staying Connected

Staying connected with your ex online is a trap. You might tell yourself it’s “no big deal” or that you’re just curious when the question “Should I unfollow my ex on Instagram?” plagues you at night.. But fast forward a few days (or hours), and suddenly you’re three months deep in their tagged photos, zooming in on someone’s hand in the background like you work for CSI. Yes, social media gives you this illusion that you’re still part of their life. But really, you’re just watching from the sidelines while your brain turns every post into a soap opera. Plus, should you unfollow your ex on social media, you won’t have to deal with:

• Jealousy hits outta nowhere: One selfie with someone semi-attractive and your stomach’s in knots, even if you don’t want them back.
• You start feeling not-good-enough: Like, they’re glowing and thriving, and you’re…still in your hoodie stalking their likes.
• You turn into a part-time spy: Who are they following? Why did they like that post? Who’s that in the background?? It never ends.
• You lose focus: Instead of thinking about your own healing, you’re too busy decoding every move they make online.
• You stall your own progress: Every post reopens the wound. And you can’t really move on if you’re still low-key watching their life unfold in real time.

Reasons to Unfollow Your Ex on Instagram

Unfollowing ex on Instagram isn’t petty. It’s self-preservation. You’re not trying to be salty. You’re just trying not to lose your mind every time you open the app, and the “Should I unfollow my ex on Instagram?” idea fights for its life with “I should totally block them?. If any of these hit home and make you want to view private IG without human verification, it might be time to do yourself a favor and unfollow ex on Instagram:

• You’re still not over it: Seeing their face makes your chest ache. And no, that’s not “fine”.
• You keep creeping… a lot: Like, their name is permanently burned into your search history at this point.
• Their posts make you feel like crap: They’re out partying, glowing, posting thirst traps, and you’re over here just trying to get out of bed.
• You’re low-key hoping they’ll notice you: Watching their stories, posting something “accidentally hot”, you’re not fooling anyone (especially not yourself).
• They’ve moved on: And yeah, it still stings. No shame in that, just don’t let it linger on your feed too.

Should I Unfollow My Ex If I Want Him Back?

You might think, if he sees my stories, maybe he’ll remember how amazing I am. And hey, maybe he will. But also, you’re probably gonna drive yourself nuts checking if he watched, liked, commented, blinked at your post, etc. It becomes a game, and you end up losing sleep over a double-tap and the ever-painful debate of “Should I unfollow my ex if i want him back?”.

• You get your brain back: Space = clarity. You might even realize you miss the idea of him more than the actual guy.
• He gets a little mystery: If you’re always on his feed, he doesn’t get a chance to wonder what you’re up to.
• You flip the energy: Pulling back shows confidence. Sometimes it’s what snaps people out of their “meh” phase.
• You protect yourself: Hope is fine, but not if it means putting yourself through mini heartaches every day.

When You Might Not Need to Unfollow

Okay, not every breakup calls for a dramatic Instagram cleanse. Sometimes things end on chill terms, and keeping your ex on your feed doesn’t feel like getting punched in the chest every time they post. In that case, you might not need to unfollow ex on Instagram.

• You’re genuinely over it: Like, no knots in your stomach, no overanalyzing their captions. You’re good.
• You ended things on good terms: Maybe you’re still friends, or maybe you just don’t have beef. Either way, it’s drama-free.
• They barely post (or you barely scroll): If they’re not constantly in your face and you’re not actively checking in, it’s not a big deal.
• You share mutual friends or work stuff: Sometimes unfollowing ex on Instagram just makes things unnecessarily awkward, especially if you’re in the same circle.

If Your Choice to Stay Anonymous

So maybe you’re not ready to unfollow ex on Instagram… but you also don’t want them seeing your name in their story views like clockwork. Been there. Sometimes curiosity wins, but you still want to keep things low-key. That’s totally fair.

If you’re trying to keep tabs without looking like you’re still emotionally invested, there are tools for that. And no, you don’t need to log into a fake burner account or do anything sketchy.

• Peekviewer: You can see exactly who’s been liking their posts (and how often – hi, serial liker), who they just followed, who’s commenting heart eyes, all of it. You can even creep on their profile if they blocked you. Like, it’s made for moments of weakness at 1 a.m.
• Anonymousstoryviewer: This is your best friend if all you want is to watch their stories without getting caught. So if they’re out with someone new and you just have to know but don’t want to seem pressed? This is your move.
• Account Viewer: It goes deeper , especially useful if their account’s private now, or if you used to follow each other and don’t anymore. You can still see private posts, likes, and even who’s tagging them.

Peekviewer – The Best Instagram Like Viewer

Peekviewer is like Instagram’s secret back door, as is told by the Peekviewer review. It lets you creep without leaving fingerprints, and the stuff you can see? Kind of wild.

• Anonymous profile viewing: You can scroll their feed like a ghost.
• Access even if you’re blocked: Even if your name is on their no-fly list, you’re still getting in.
• Recent followers: See if they suddenly followed three new girls named “Liv”, “Lex”, and “Ashley”.
• Recent comments: Perfect for catching flirty little “lol stoppp” replies from random accounts you’ve never seen before.
• Who’s liking their posts and when: Because yes, there’s a difference between a like 10 minutes after posting and one that hits at midnight five days later.
• Hot likes tracker: That one person who hasn’t missed a post since your breakup? Exposed.

Anonymousstoryviewer

Sometimes you want to check your ex’s stories without showing up in their viewer list. Or maybe your teen is suddenly hiding their IG activity, and you’re side-eyeing their “Close Friends” posts. Whatever the reason, Anonymousstoryviewer has your back. This private viewer is packed with features that make staying incognito feel almost… luxurious. You can view stories, reels, and posts without ever creating an account, and if they’ve blocked you or tried hiding content, it still works:

• Invisible ghost: You can watch stories, scroll posts, and creep around completely undetected. Your name won’t pop up anywhere.
• Time guardian: This one’s wild. It saves content from accounts you follow for up to three months, so even if they delete it, you can still see it later.
• Device chameleon: This anonymous Instagram like viewer works on literally anything: phone, tablet, computer or whatever you’ve got in your hand during your late-night lurk sessions.
• Blocked account viewer: Got blocked after the breakup? Doesn’t matter. You can still see everything.
• Hidden account viewer: If they’re only hiding content from you (hello, Close Friends list), this tool lets you get around that too.
• Deep Scan: It shows you who they’ve recently followed and who’s been liking their posts.

Account Viewer

You know that feeling when your ex suddenly makes a private Instagram account right after the breakup, like they’ve got something to hide? Or your husband’s been weirdly protective of his phone and swears he “barely uses Instagram”, but somehow his notifications are blowing up every night. Yeah, that feeling. Account Viewer is for when you’re tired of wondering and just want to have an anonymous view and know what’s actually going on:

• Private account viewer: If your ex blocked you or your wife made her page private out of nowhere? You’ll still see it with this Instagram private account viewer app.
• Advanced analytics dashboard: You’ll get the full scoop: how often they’re posting, who they keep tagging, and which usernames are blowing up their comments. If there’s someone new in the picture, you’ll know.
• Premium support: Something not working at 1 a.m. while you’re spiral-scrolling? There’s someone in chat, ready to help.
• Security: Your info stays yours. They don’t save anything without account, don’t ask for your IG details, and don’t leave a trail.
• Personalized content hub: Everything you uncover gets saved in your own dashboard. That post they deleted? That weird comment from their coworker? It’s all there, waiting when you need it.

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