Why the Instagram Following List Is Not in Time Order (2026)
The order you see on another profile is Instagram's own arrangement. It is not the follow date. On your profile, Date followed: Latest puts your newest follows first.
Open someone else's Following list and the first name is not the account they followed last. Instagram arranges that list for the person looking at it. The arrangement is not the calendar.
On your own profile the choice is different. You can leave the default order, or sort by the date you followed, newest first or oldest first.
What the default order is
Default is the order Instagram sends. It is not A to Z, and it is not "most recent at the top." People you both know, and accounts tied to you, often sit higher. Come back later and the same names can move.
The sort on your own profile
Open your profile, tap Following, then the sort control. Latest puts accounts you followed most recently at the top. Earliest puts the oldest follows at the top. That control is the one that means time.
SUS uses those dates and shows them as a timeline, so you are not reading a mixed default list when the question is about you.
What you get on someone else's profile
Their Following list has the default order and a search box. It does not have Latest, Earliest, or a date on each row. Searching tells you whether a follow exists today. It does not tell you when it started.
Frequently asked questions
If I refresh, will the newest follow jump to the top?
No. Refreshing does not turn their list into a timeline.
Does this apply to the followers list too?
Yes. Someone else's followers are not laid out by the day they followed, either.
Can I sort my own list if my account is private?
Yes. Private changes what strangers see. You can still sort your own Following list.
What to take away
Their order is not a date. Your sort by date followed is. SUS shows that timeline on iPhone.