Instagram Comments Scraper

A powerful Apify Actor that scrapes comments from Instagram posts, reels, and IGTV videos. Supports multiple input formats including post URLs, shortcodes, and usernames with automatic latest post detection.

🚀 Why Choose This Actor?

• Multiple Input Formats: Accept post URLs, shortcodes, or usernames (automatically fetches latest post)
• Smart Proxy Strategy: Collects first 15 comments without proxy, then switches to residential proxy for remaining data
• Flexible Sorting: Sort comments by popularity (most liked) or time (newest first)
• Bulk Processing: Process multiple posts in a single run
• Robust Error Handling: Automatic retries and proxy fallback mechanisms
• Detailed Logging: Real-time progress updates throughout the scraping process

✨ Key Features

• ✅ Scrape comments from Instagram posts, reels, and IGTV videos
• ✅ Support for usernames (automatically fetches latest post)
• ✅ Customizable comment limit (1-10,000 per post)
• ✅ Two sort orders: popular (most liked) or time (newest first)
• ✅ Automatic proxy fallback: no proxy → datacenter → residential
• ✅ Session management with automatic credential refresh
• ✅ Pagination support for large comment threads
• ✅ Bulk URL processing with rate limiting

📥 Input

Input Schema

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-GjPkgjS/",
    "DN8-GjPkgjS",
    "iamsrk"
  ],
  "sortOrder": "popular",
  "maxComments": 200,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
startUrls	Array	✅ Yes	-	List of Instagram post URLs, shortcodes, or usernames. Supports multiple formats: • Full URLs: https://www.instagram.com/p/SHORTCODE/ • Shortcodes: DN8-GjPkgjS • Usernames: iamsrk (fetches latest post automatically)
sortOrder	String	❌ No	"popular"	How to sort comments: • "popular" - Most liked comments first • "time" - Newest comments first
maxComments	Integer	❌ No	10	Maximum number of comments to scrape per post (1-10,000)
proxyConfiguration	Object	❌ No	{"useApifyProxy": false}	Proxy settings. By default, no proxy is used. The actor uses a smart strategy: • First 15 comments: No proxy • Remaining comments: Residential proxy (if configured)

Input Examples

Example 1: Multiple Post URLs

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-GjPkgjS/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/ABC123xyz/"
  ],
  "maxComments": 100,
  "sortOrder": "popular"
}

Example 2: Shortcodes

{
  "startUrls": [
    "DN8-GjPkgjS",
    "ABC123xyz"
  ],
  "maxComments": 50
}

Example 3: Usernames (Latest Post)

{
  "startUrls": [
    "iamsrk",
    "mrbeast",
    "cristiano"
  ],
  "maxComments": 200,
  "sortOrder": "time"
}

Example 4: Mixed Input

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-GjPkgjS/",
    "ABC123xyz",
    "iamsrk"
  ],
  "maxComments": 500,
  "sortOrder": "popular"
}

📤 Output

Comments are saved to the dataset with the following structure:

Output Schema

{
  "id": "1234567890",
  "text": "Amazing post! 🔥",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "ownerUsername": "commenter_username",
  "ownerProfilePicUrl": "https://instagram.com/...",
  "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-GjPkgjS/"
}

Output Fields

Field	Type	Description
id	String	Unique comment ID (Instagram PK)
text	String	Comment text content
timestamp	String	ISO 8601 formatted timestamp (e.g., 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z)
ownerUsername	String	Username of the comment author
ownerProfilePicUrl	String	URL to the commenter's profile picture
postUrl	String	Original Instagram post URL

Output Example

[
  {
    "id": "1234567890",
    "text": "This is amazing! 🔥",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "ownerUsername": "fan_account",
    "ownerProfilePicUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
    "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-GjPkgjS/"
  },
  {
    "id": "9876543210",
    "text": "Love this! ❤️",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:25:00Z",
    "ownerUsername": "another_user",
    "ownerProfilePicUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
    "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-GjPkgjS/"
  }
]

🎯 How to Use the Actor

Step 1: Open the Actor

1. Go to the Apify Console
2. Navigate to the Instagram Comments Scraper actor
3. Click Start to create a new run

Step 2: Configure Input

1. Enter Post URLs, Shortcodes, or Usernames:

   • For post URLs: https://www.instagram.com/p/SHORTCODE/
   • For shortcodes: DN8-GjPkgjS
   • For usernames: iamsrk (will fetch latest post automatically)

2. Set Maximum Comments:

   • Enter the number of comments to scrape per post (1-10,000)
   • Default: 10

3. Choose Sort Order:

   • popular - Most liked comments first (default)
   • time - Newest comments first

4. Configure Proxy (Optional):

   • By default, no proxy is used
   • The actor automatically uses residential proxy after collecting first 15 comments
   • Enable Apify Proxy if you need consistent proxy usage

Step 3: Run the Actor

1. Click Start to begin scraping
2. Monitor progress in the Log tab
3. View results in the Dataset tab when complete

Step 4: Export Results

1. Go to the Dataset tab
2. Click Export to download results as:
   • JSON
   • CSV
   • Excel
   • XML

🔧 Proxy Strategy

The actor uses an intelligent proxy strategy to optimize performance and costs:

1. Initial Requests (First 15 Comments): No proxy used

   • Faster and free
   • Works for most public posts

2. Remaining Comments: Residential proxy (if configured)

   • Automatically switches after collecting 15 comments
   • Ensures reliable data collection for larger comment threads
   • Handles rate limits and blocks

3. Automatic Fallback:

   • If a request fails, the actor automatically retries
   • Switches to residential proxy if needed
   • Refreshes session credentials on 401 errors

💡 Best Use Cases

• Social Media Monitoring: Track comments on brand posts or competitor content
• Sentiment Analysis: Collect comments for NLP and sentiment analysis
• Engagement Research: Analyze comment patterns and user engagement
• Content Moderation: Monitor comments for moderation purposes
• Market Research: Gather user feedback and opinions from Instagram posts
• Influencer Analytics: Analyze comment engagement on influencer posts

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Can I scrape comments from private accounts?

No, this actor only works with public Instagram posts. Private accounts require authentication and are not supported.

What happens if I provide a username?

The actor will:

1. Fetch the user's profile page
2. Extract the URL of their latest post
3. Scrape comments from that post

How many comments can I scrape per post?

You can scrape up to 10,000 comments per post. Set maxComments to your desired limit.

Does the actor handle rate limiting?

Yes! The actor includes:

• Automatic retries with exponential backoff
• Proxy fallback mechanisms
• Session credential refresh on authentication errors
• Rate limiting delays between requests

Can I scrape comments from reels and IGTV?

Yes! The actor supports:

• Regular posts: https://www.instagram.com/p/SHORTCODE/
• Reels: https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/
• IGTV: https://www.instagram.com/tv/SHORTCODE/

What if a post has no comments?

The actor will log a warning and continue to the next post. No data will be saved for posts without comments.

How long does scraping take?

Scraping time depends on:

• Number of posts to process
• Number of comments per post
• Network speed and proxy latency

Typically, 100 comments take 1-2 minutes per post.

⚠️ Important Notes

• Rate Limiting: Instagram may rate limit requests. The actor includes automatic retries and delays.
• Public Posts Only: Only public Instagram posts can be scraped.
• Legal Compliance: Ensure you comply with Instagram's Terms of Service and applicable data protection laws.
• Data Usage: Use scraped data responsibly and in accordance with privacy regulations.

🐛 Troubleshooting

No comments collected

Possible causes:

• Post is private or deleted
• Post has no comments
• Instagram blocked the request

Solutions:

• Verify the post URL is correct and public
• Enable proxy configuration
• Check the actor logs for detailed error messages

"Failed to get document ID" error

Possible causes:

• Instagram changed their API structure
• Request was blocked

Solutions:

• Enable residential proxy
• Try again after a few minutes
• Check if the post URL is valid

"Session expired (401)" error

Solution: The actor automatically refreshes session credentials. If the error persists, enable proxy configuration.

📞 Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, please contact support or open an issue in the actor repository.

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Version: 0.1
Last Updated: 2024