Instagram Content Scraper: Scrape Posts, Reels, Tags, Locations & Sections

The Instagram Content Scraper is a high-performance, all-in-one data extraction tool that lets you scrape data from Instagram at scale without logging in or using the official Instagram API. It extracts structured data from user profiles, reels, tagged posts, reposts, hashtags, locations, audio feeds, and curated Instagram sections. It works only with public Instagram content and does not log in or access private data. This scraper acts as a powerful Instagram API alternative, designed to collect public content efficiently and anonymously.

💼 Why use Instagram Content Scraper?

Using an Instagram scraper allows you to gather insights that are often restricted by the official API:

• Track Competitors: Monitor competitors' Instagram content, reels, and engagement over time to stay ahead of the market.
• AI & ML Training: Collect massive datasets for computer vision or NLP models from public posts and reels.
• Influencer Discovery: Monitor hashtag and location feeds to discover rising influencers and viral trends.
• Data Pipelines: Build custom dashboards by exporting Instagram data to your BI tools via the Apify API.
• Content Archiving: Automatically archive public content for reporting, compliance, or brand safety.

🚀 What can this Instagram scraper and API alternative do?

This tool is a robust extraction engine built for production-grade workflows, offering features that go far beyond basic profile scraping:

• ⚡ No Login/Account Required: This Instagram scraper does not log in, does not access private data, and remains anonymous, protecting you from account bans.
• 🌍 Massive Coverage: Extract data from almost any public Instagram source:
  • User Profiles: Scrape the entire post feed of any public profile.
  • Instagram Reels Scraper: Extract high-quality video metadata and direct MP4 URLs.
  • Tagged & Reposts: See how the community interacts with a specific profile.
  • Instagram Hashtag Scraper: Pull the latest or top posts from any #hashtag feed.
  • Instagram Location Scraper: Extract posts from specific geolocations.
  • Audio/Music Feed: Find every post using a specific song or audio ID.
  • Curated Sections: Dive into curated categories like Games, Music, Fashion, Beauty, and Photography.
• 🔄 Intelligent Pagination: Automatically handles thousands of results using built-in continuation tokens (max_id and end_cursor).
• 🎞️ Deep Media Extraction: Get direct access to raw video files, high-res images, and full metadata.

💎 The Apify Advantage

Combined with the Apify platform, this Actor becomes a scalable Instagram API alternative with professional features out of the box:

• Proxy Rotation: Automatically uses high-quality residential proxies to bypass rate limits and ensure stability.
• Scheduling: Keep your Instagram dataset updated by running the scraper every hour, day, or week.
• Integrations: Connect your data directly to Slack, Make, Zapier, or your own custom API.
• Flexible Exports: Download your datasets in JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML formats instantly.

Together with Apify’s scheduling, monitoring, and API, this Actor works as a scalable Instagram data pipeline for production use.

📊 What Instagram data can you extract with this scraper?

Field	Description	SEO Keyword
ID & Shortcode	Unique identifiers for the post and its public URL.	Instagram ID
Caption	Full text description including all hashtags.	Instagram Caption
Media URLs	Direct links to high-res images or MP4 video files.	Instagram Media URL
Engagement	Current view counts, like counts, and comment counts.	Instagram Engagement
Timestamp	The exact date and time the content was published.	Instagram Date
Owner Info	Username, full name, and unique UserID.	Instagram UserID
Location	Name and ID of the tagged geolocation.	Instagram Location

📖 How to scrape Instagram data with Instagram Content Scraper

1. Open Instagram Content Scraper on the Apify platform.
2. Add Instagram profile, reel, hashtag, location, or audio URLs to the URLs field. (See table below for formats).
3. (Optional) Select specific categories from the Explore in sections dropdown.
4. Set your Max results per URL or enable Scrape all available results.
5. Click Start and download your Instagram dataset in JSON, CSV, or Excel once finished.

Supported URL Formats & Content Types

Scrape Type	Example URL Format	Content Produced
Profile Posts	https://www.instagram.com/nasa/	All regular posts from the main grid.
Reels	https://www.instagram.com/nasa/reels/	High-quality video metadata from the Reels tab.
Tagged Posts	https://www.instagram.com/nasa/tagged/	Posts where the specific user is tagged.
Reposts	https://www.instagram.com/nasa/reposts/	Content shared/reposted by the profile.
Hashtags (Tags)	https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/space/	Public posts tagged with the specific hashtag.
Locations	https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/213131048/berlin/	Posts geolocated to a specific place.
Audio/Music	https://www.instagram.com/reels/audio/271328201351336/	All Reels using a specific audio track ID.

Instagram Content Scraper has multiple input options for advanced control. See the Input tab in Apify Console for all parameters and detailed tooltips.

💰 How much does it cost to scrape Instagram?

This Actor uses the Compute Units (CU) model, which is highly cost-effective for large-scale operations.

• Efficiency: You can typically scrape hundreds of posts for less than $0.10 in platform credits.
• Free Plan: New Apify users get trial credits, usually enough to scrape several thousand items for free.

📥 Input & Output Examples

Input Example

{
  "urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"],
  "sections": ["10156104417160727"],
  "maxResults": 20
}

Output Example

{
  "id": "354678123456789",
  "shortcode": "DBxYz123",
  "video_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
  "view_count": 125400,
  "caption": "Falcon 9 landing at sunset #SpaceX #Space",
  "taken_at": 1737984000,
  "user": { "username": "spacex", "full_name": "SpaceX" }
}

⚖️ Is it legal to scrape Instagram?

Our scrapers are ethical and do not extract private user data such as emails, phone numbers, or direct messages. They only extract what users have chosen to share publicly on Instagram.

However, your results may still contain personal data. Personal data is protected by GDPR in the European Union and other regulations worldwide. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure, consult your legal counsel. For more information, read the Apify blog post on the legality of web scraping.

🆘 Support & Related Tools

If you encounter a bug or have a feature request, please visit the Issues tab. We actively maintain this tool and welcome your feedback!

Keywords: Instagram API Alternative, Instagram Content Scraper, Extract Instagram Reels, Instagram Hashtag Scraper, Instagram Location Scraper, Instagram Data Extraction.