Methodology
This page explains where the data on this website and in the app comes from, how often we fetch it, where AI helps with writing and who reviews texts before they are published.
Who is behind it
- SocialChecker is a product of OnlineBuilders LLC. Texts on this website come from the SocialChecker editorial team, the people who build and run the app. We do not list invented authors with names or photos.
Data sources
- Instagram: first the official Graph API by Meta. It only knows creator and business accounts. What it does not return, such as following lists or the stories of some profiles, we get from a specialised data provider.
- TikTok: a data provider for public TikTok profiles, videos and stories.
- Snapchat: the public profile page of the account. Snapchat shows a selection of stories there, so we never mark Snapchat stories as deleted.
- We only fetch public profiles. There is no login to other people’s accounts and no access to private profiles.
How often we check
- Stories: every 30 minutes.
- Posts and following lists: hourly.
- Instagram highlights: once a day (Ultra plan only).
Our own measurements, last 30 days
Measured across all profiles watched in SocialChecker. Totals only, no profile names. A platform only appears from 100 stories.
| Platform | Stories | Median until saved | saved within 35 min | later than 2 h | gone before 23 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,761 | 18 min | 91 % | 3 % | 4 % | |
| TikTok | 627 | 78 min | 49 % | 48 % | 8 % |
| Snapchat | 444 | 84 min | 16 % | 15 % | — |
Following changes: 627 detected changes across 101 profiles.
Why TikTok is slower: the provider often delivers new TikTok stories hours late. A story that reaches us more than 12 hours after posting is saved, but no longer sent as a push, because it expires soon after.
What we measured
- Instagram does not return following lists sorted by follow date. In a sample on 24 Sep 2026, real new follows were at positions 1 to 4 for some profiles and at position 258 of 556 or 1,909 of 2,971 for others. “Recently followed” can only be read from our own history, not from the order.
- Providers do not always return long lists in full. If several entries are missing from a list at once, we check again with a second fetch before the app reports an unfollow. If an entry is missing from only one of the two fetches, it counts as a gap.
- A story that is missing from one fetch is only marked as deleted if it is still missing in the next fetch.
Where AI helps and where it does not
- Blog articles: AI writes a first draft from a fixed list of facts. A draft is never published automatically.
- Translations of the interface between German and English.
- Suggestions for comments from our own Instagram account. Posting is done by hand.
- No AI in tool results: IDs, follower counts, stories and lists come straight from the fetches.
Who reviews
- Before approval an automatic pre-check runs: length, marketing filler, dashes, numbers without a source, overused search terms and promises we cannot keep.
- Then a person from the editorial team reads the text and checks every number against its source. Only then is it published, with “reviewed on” and a date below it.
- If a text has no review date, it has not yet been reviewed this way.
What we never do
- No invented authors, testimonials, ratings or user numbers.
- No private profiles, no login to other people’s accounts.
- No advertising for watching partners, ex-partners or other private individuals.
- Example views on this website show invented profiles and are labelled as examples.
Report an error
If something on this website is wrong, write to us through the contact form. We correct the text and set a new review date.