Instagram Highlights Scraper (No Login)

Extract public Instagram highlights and every story item inside them without login: highlight titles and covers, image and video media URLs, thumbnails, dimensions, duration, captions, hashtags, @mentions, links, music metadata and timestamps. It runs on a guest web session (no cookies, no account) at $2.00 per 1,000 story items, with an optional archive that can serve expired highlights later.

Main Use Cases

• Instagram highlights monitoring - track the highlight reels of any public profile over time.
• Competitor content research - collect what competitors save into highlights and how often they rotate it.
• Influencer research - build a dataset of a creator's highlight media, captions and covers.
• Brand monitoring - watch highlight items that mention a brand, hashtag or account.
• Instagram story archiving - persist captured items to a reusable archive and serve them when they expire.
• Creative and content research - download image and video media URLs for editing or analysis.

How It Works - Build An Instagram Highlights Dataset Without Login

Instagram renders public profile and highlight pages on the server (SSR) for guests, and exposes the highlight tray as JSON inside the page. The Actor:

1. Boots a guest web session against instagram.com (using the public web APP_ID and the storefront-style x-ig-app-id / browser headers) to obtain a guest csrftoken.
2. Lists a profile's highlights from the SSR HTML of /{username}/, reading the lox_highlights_connection payload, or uses highlightIds directly when you pass them.
3. Expands each highlight into its story items with the guest feed endpoint /api/v1/feed/reels_media/?reel_ids=highlight%3A{highlightId}, with a stories-HTML harvest fallback when the feed is not returned.
4. Optionally writes captured items to a reusable key-value archive (store ighighlights-archive, key hl-<highlightId>), and can merge archived items back in when includeHistorical is on (each merged row is tagged archived: true).

Instagram blocks anonymous datacenter requests, so proxyConfiguration defaults to Apify Unblocker (residential). If direct guest mode cannot be reached, the Actor falls back to the guest cookie session; no login or account password is ever used.

Input Parameters

Field	Type	Required	Default	Notes
usernames	array (string)	No	["instagram"] prefill	Public profiles whose highlights should be scraped. Accepts handles, @handles or full profile URLs. Leave empty if you only pass highlightIds.
highlightIds	array (string)	No	-	Direct highlight IDs or highlight URLs whose story items should be scraped without listing a profile first.
expandHighlightItems	boolean	No	true	Every highlight is expanded into individual story items (one row per story). When false, only one summary row per highlight is saved.
maxHighlightsPerUser	integer	No	10 (1-25)	Maximum number of highlights to process per username.
maxStoriesPerHighlight	integer	No	200 (1-2000)	Upper bound on story items saved per expanded highlight.
maxTotalItems	integer	No	200 (1-2000)	Maximum total number of story-item rows saved across the entire run.
includeRawData	boolean	No	false	When true each row also carries the unmodified item under a raw key.
archiveEnabled	boolean	No	true	Persist captured story items to a reusable key-value store for later reuse.
includeHistorical	boolean	No	false	Merge previously captured items that are no longer present live (tagged archived: true).
proxyConfiguration	object	No	Apify Unblocker	Only used in direct mode (no provider key). Defaults to Apify Unblocker, which is required because Instagram blocks anonymous requests.

Note: default values shown here follow the Actor's input schema, which is authoritative over any code defaults.

Output Fields

One row per story item (when expandHighlightItems is true; otherwise one summary row per highlight). Fields:

• Highlight context: highlightId, highlightTitle, highlightCoverUrl, position, storyIndex.
• Story identity: storyId, storyCode, permalink, source (highlight or archive), provider.
• Owner: username, ownerId, ownerUsername.
• Media: mediaType (image or video), storyType (image or video), mediaUrl (best available), imageUrl, videoUrl, thumbnailUrl, width, height, duration, hasAudio.
• Content: caption, hashtags (array), mentions (array), links (array), musicTitle, musicArtist.
• Timing: takenAt, expiringAt, expiresAt, scrapedAt.
• Archive: archived (boolean), archivedFrom (the live source a merged row came from).

The overview view shows username, highlightTitle, storyType, mediaUrl, takenAt and caption.

Example Input And Output

Example input (a few public profiles, most recent 10 highlights each):

{
  "usernames": ["instagram", "natgeo"],
  "expandHighlightItems": true,
  "maxHighlightsPerUser": 10,
  "maxStoriesPerHighlight": 200,
  "maxTotalItems": 200
}

Example input (direct highlight IDs, with archived items merged in):

{
  "highlightIds": ["17900000000000000"],
  "expandHighlightItems": true,
  "archiveEnabled": true,
  "includeHistorical": true
}

Example output row:

{
  "storyId": "3345678901234567890_25025320",
  "storyCode": "C8xYzAbC123",
  "username": "natgeo",
  "ownerId": "25025320",
  "ownerUsername": "natgeo",
  "highlightId": "17900000000000000",
  "highlightTitle": "Wildlife",
  "highlightCoverUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/cover.jpg",
  "position": 3,
  "storyIndex": 1,
  "mediaType": "video",
  "storyType": "video",
  "mediaUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t50.2886-16/story.mp4",
  "videoUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t50.2886-16/story.mp4",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/thumb.jpg",
  "width": 1080,
  "height": 1920,
  "duration": 12.4,
  "hasAudio": true,
  "caption": "A young elephant crossing the river #wildlife",
  "hashtags": ["wildlife"],
  "mentions": ["natgeowild"],
  "links": [],
  "musicTitle": "Original audio",
  "musicArtist": "natgeo",
  "takenAt": "2024-06-01T18:30:00.000Z",
  "expiringAt": null,
  "expiresAt": null,
  "permalink": "https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17900000000000000/",
  "source": "highlight",
  "provider": "guest",
  "archived": false,
  "archivedFrom": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-11T09:30:00.000Z"
}

Integrations & Automation

• Apify API - run via POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/{actorId}/runs, export via GET /v2/datasets/{datasetId}/items?clean=true&format=json.
• Schedules - run daily or weekly to keep a highlight archive current; combined with includeHistorical this gives you items Instagram has already dropped from the live tray (recurring usage also improves Store recommendation signals).
• Webhooks - fire on run finished to push new highlight items into your own storage.
• Zapier / Make - via the Apify integration, e.g. new highlight media into Google Drive or Airtable.
• Pay-per-event - $2.00 per 1,000 story items (result), plus a $0.00005 run start.

Related Actors

• instagram-highlights-scraper: the most-used Instagram highlights actor on the Store.
• instagram-stories-highlights-scraper: a popular stories plus highlights actor with optional media download.
• instagram-story-details-scraper: a large no-login Instagram stories actor.
• advanced-instagram-stories-scraper: a fast public stories scraper with media URLs.
• instagram-stories-highlights-scraper: stories and highlight reels with inner items from any public profile.

FAQ

Does Instagram offer an API for highlights?

Instagram's public Graph API does not expose other accounts' highlights, and the legacy endpoints require an authenticated app. This Actor instead reads the guest-rendered SSR HTML and the public reels_media feed, with no login, no app review and no cookie.

Can I scrape Instagram highlights without login or cookies?

Yes. The Actor boots a guest session against instagram.com to obtain a temporary guest token and reads only public pages. No account, password or user cookie is used. A residential proxy (Apify Unblocker, the default) is required because Instagram blocks anonymous datacenter requests.

What are the alternatives to this Instagram highlights scraper?

Store alternatives include seemuapps/instagram-highlights-scraper ($0.015 per result), goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper ($0.0033 per story), memo23/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper (account plus highlight tray events), datavoyantlab/advanced-instagram-stories-scraper (stories only) and data-slayer/instagram-highlights-scraper ($0.00217 per result). This actor returns one row per highlight story item at $2.00 per 1,000 results and can archive items for later.

How do I download all stories inside a highlight?

Leave expandHighlightItems at its default true. Each highlight is expanded into one row per story item, each with its mediaUrl, imageUrl or videoUrl. Set maxStoriesPerHighlight and maxTotalItems to bound the run.

Can I monitor a competitor's highlights over time?

Yes. Schedule a run with archiveEnabled: true. Captured items are written to a reusable archive; later, includeHistorical: true merges archived items that are no longer live, tagged archived: true.

Do I get both image and video media URLs?

Yes. Video stories carry videoUrl, image stories carry imageUrl, and every row also has mediaUrl (the best available) plus thumbnailUrl, width, height, duration and hasAudio.

How much does it cost?

$2.00 per 1,000 story items (result), plus a $0.00005 run start. Proxy traffic is billed separately by Apify when using Unblocker or residential proxies.

SEO Keywords

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For AI Agents & LLM Apps

• Purpose: returns one JSON row per Instagram highlight story item (highlight context, media URLs, caption, hashtags, mentions, links, music, timestamps) for any public profile, without login.
• Minimal working input:

{ "usernames": ["instagram"], "maxTotalItems": 10 }

• Variant input (direct highlight IDs with the archive merged in):

{ "highlightIds": ["17900000000000000"], "includeHistorical": true }

• Output field names: storyId, storyCode, username, ownerId, ownerUsername, highlightId, highlightTitle, highlightCoverUrl, position, storyIndex, mediaType, storyType, mediaUrl, thumbnailUrl, imageUrl, videoUrl, width, height, duration, hasAudio, caption, hashtags, mentions, links, musicTitle, musicArtist, takenAt, expiringAt, expiresAt, permalink, source, provider, archived, archivedFrom, scrapedAt.
• Behaviors an agent should know:
  • Input priority: pass usernames to list highlights, or highlightIds to go straight to items; you can combine them. usernames accepts handles, @handles or full profile URLs.
  • expandHighlightItems: false returns a single summary row per highlight instead of one row per story, which is much cheaper.
  • maxTotalItems (default 200) is a global cap across the whole run; maxHighlightsPerUser (default 10) and maxStoriesPerHighlight (default 200) bound per-user work. The input schema defaults are authoritative over any code defaults.
  • includeHistorical: true only has archived data to merge if a previous run wrote to the archive with archiveEnabled: true; merged rows carry archived: true and an archivedFrom value.
  • proxyConfiguration is used only in direct guest mode and defaults to Apify Unblocker; without a residential proxy Instagram blocks the request.
  • includeRawData: true adds the raw upstream item under a raw key and makes rows larger.
• Billing: pay-per-event - $0.002 per story-item row (result), $0.00005 per run start. Tiered pricing may be lower on higher Apify plans. Proxy traffic is billed separately.

Legal & Compliance Disclaimer

This actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Meta Platforms, Inc. or Instagram. It accesses only publicly available profile and highlight pages through a guest session; it does not log in, does not use an account password and does not use a user's cookies.

Users are responsible for complying with Instagram's terms of service and applicable data-protection law (for example GDPR or CCPA). Highlight items can include personal content such as usernames, captions, @mentions and links; do not use extracted personal data for unsolicited commercial outreach in violation of applicable law, and respect copyright in any downloaded media. Use the data for lawful purposes such as research, brand monitoring and content analysis.