I've been a creator for a while now. I put real time, real energy, and real heart into what I share online. And like most creators, I built my following one person at a time. Friends, family, colleagues, strangers who connected with what I was putting out.
So when I started noticing my numbers quietly dropping, it stung. Not just because of the numbers. It was because of what those numbers represented. People I knew. People I cared about. People I supported.
The worst part wasn't the unfollow itself. It was the not knowing. Instagram doesn't tell you when someone leaves. There's no notification, no explanation. Just a slow, invisible leak in something you built.
"The worst part wasn't the unfollow. It was the not knowing."
So I started checking. Manually. Going through profiles one by one. Friends, family members, people I'd supported for years. Just trying to figure out who was still there. It was tedious, it was demoralizing, and honestly, it felt a little pathetic. Why was I doing this to myself?
Because it mattered. Because when you put yourself out there as a creator, every follow is a vote of support. And when someone close to you takes that away, you deserve to know.
I looked for tools to help. Most of them required your Instagram password, connected to your account in sketchy ways, or violated Instagram's terms of service. I wasn't willing to risk my account for a list of names.
So I built my own. A tool that works entirely with your own data. Files you download directly from Instagram. Files you already own. No password required. No account access. No risk. Just the truth.
And the truth, as I discovered, was eye-opening. Family members who smiled at my face but quietly unfollowed. Friends who I'd supported through everything. Their businesses, their posts, their milestones. Gone without a word.
It changed how I moved. Not out of anger, but out of clarity. If they don't support me, why should I support them back? That's not bitterness. That's energy management. That's protecting your peace.
"If they don't support me, why support them back?"
FindTheSnakes exists for every creator, every small business owner, every person who puts themselves out there and deserves to know who's really in their corner.
It's not about revenge. It's not about drama. It's about knowing. It's about having the information to make your own choices about who you give your energy to.
Find your snakes. Protect your peace. Keep building. 🐍