Instagram Profile Scraper

What is Instagram Profile Scraper?

Instagram Profile Scraper automates the extraction of profile data from Instagram. Just add one or more Instagram usernames to get all the publicly available profile data you need.

Why scrape Instagram profiles?

Instagram profile data can give you valuable information about popular users anywhere in the world, help you predict trends, track brand awareness, learn how to improve your Instagram performance, or keep an eye on competing influencers.

If you want more ideas, check out our industries pages for ways web scraping is already being used in a wide range of companies.

How to scrape Instagram profiles

Instagram Profile Scraper is designed to be fast and easy to use so there aren't too many parameters or settings. Just follow the steps below:

1. Create a free Apify account.
2. Open Instagram Profile Scraper.
3. Add one or more Instagram usernames to scrape.
4. Click "Save & Start" and wait for the datasets to be extracted.
5. Download your data in JSON, XML, CSV, Excel, or HTML.

Instagram Profile Scraper tutorial

If you want more guidance on how to use Instagram Profile Scraper, this video tutorial shows you how to do it in just a few minutes.

How much will scraping Instagram Profiles cost you?

When it comes to scraping, it can be challenging to estimate the resources needed to extract data as use cases may vary significantly. That's why the best course of action is to run a test scrape with a small sample of input data and limited output. You’ll get your price per scrape, which you’ll then multiply by the number of scrapes you intend to do.

Watch this video for a few helpful tips. And don't forget that choosing a higher plan will save you money in the long run.

Is it legal to scrape personal data?

Our Instagram scrapers are ethical and do not extract any private user data, such as email addresses, gender, or location. They only extract what the user has chosen to share publicly. We therefore believe that our scrapers, when used for ethical purposes by Apify users, are safe. However, you should be aware that your results could contain personal data. Personal data is protected by the GDPR in the European Union and by other regulations around the world. You should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your reason is legitimate, consult your lawyers. You can also read our blog posts on the legality of web scraping and ethical scraping.

Input parameters

The input for Instagram Profile Scraper should be JSON containing the Instagram username or usernames you want to scrape. (The actor also accepts user IDs if this serves your use case better) Click on the input tab for an input example.

Output example

[{
  "id": "242598499",
  "username": "humansofny",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/humansofny",
  "fullName": "Humans of New York",
  "biography": "New York City, one story at a time. Created by Brandon Stanton",
  "externalUrl": null,
  "externalUrlShimmed": null,
  "followersCount": 12307235,
  "followsCount": 335,
  "hasChannel": false,
  "highlightReelCount": 1,
  "isBusinessAccount": false,
  "joinedRecently": false,
  "businessCategoryName": null,
  "private": false,
  "verified": true,
  "profilePicUrl": "https://instagram.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-19/118982623_353024589077161_7490638455124782637_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150&_nc_ht=instagram.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net&_nc_cat=1&_nc_ohc=fwwR7Yc-TZUAX9rkGdN&edm=AOQ1c0wBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oh=00_AfAEV53uOIASeV-Apfon0KQ8UiCGdoDhtakBvKlWNeLO2Q&oe=6372BC68&_nc_sid=8fd12b",
  "profilePicUrlHD": "https://instagram.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-19/118982623_353024589077161_7490638455124782637_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s320x320&_nc_ht=instagram.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net&_nc_cat=1&_nc_ohc=fwwR7Yc-TZUAX9rkGdN&edm=AOQ1c0wBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oh=00_AfDq8buT7c-NfeWxrBHhJgglYIXYeuut4Yq9MYh7gyA0xw&oe=6372BC68&_nc_sid=8fd12b",
  "facebookPage": null,
  "igtvVideoCount": 1,
  "relatedProfiles": [
    {
      "id": "1258618",
      "full_name": "NPR",
      "is_private": false,
      "is_verified": true,
      "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-19/245686438_6984021788289983_8267319100787147325_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150&_nc_ht=instagram.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net&_nc_cat=1&_nc_ohc=dRn5hkdtI2cAX8Pzruw&edm=AOQ1c0wBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oh=00_AfA-Yb5zYHcyQt2IxbDGxYs_Xm-2WourRGOEUe2_1ybUQQ&oe=6373DD20&_nc_sid=8fd12b",
      "username": "npr"
    }
  ]
}]

Want to scrape Instagram hashtags, posts, or comments?

You can use the other dedicated scrapers below if you want to scrape specific Instagram data. You'll have fewer settings to change and faster results. Just enter one or more Instagram usernames or URLs and click to scrape.

FAQ

Can I scrape both Instagram and Threads profiles?

Since Instagram and Threads share userbase, you can scrape both Threads users and Instagram users since they share the same usernames. By using scraping techniques, you can extract data from both platforms simultaneously and get insights into user profiles and their activities on both Meta platforms. You may want to check out our Threads Profile Scraper as well.

Need something more advanced?

Try our more advanced Instagram Scraper or Instagram API Scraper if you need more options and are comfortable with changing settings

Integrations and Instagram Profile Scraper

Last but not least, Instagram Profile Scraper can be connected with almost any cloud service or web app thanks to integrations on the Apify platform. You can integrate with Make, Zapier, Slack, Airbyte, GitHub, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and more. Or you can use webhooks to carry out an action whenever an event occurs, e.g. get a notification whenever Instagram Profile Scraper successfully finishes a run.

Using Instagram Profile Scraper with the Apify API

The Apify API gives you programmatic access to the Apify platform. The API is organized around RESTful HTTP endpoints that enable you to manage, schedule, and run Apify actors. The API also lets you access any datasets, monitor actor performance, fetch results, create and update versions, and more.

To access the API using Node.js, use the apify-client NPM package. To access the API using Python, use the apify-client PyPI package.

Check out the Apify API reference docs for full details or click on the API tab for code examples.

Not your cup of tea? Build your own scraper

Instagram Profile Scraper doesn’t exactly do what you need? You can always build your own! We have various scraper templates in Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript to get you started. Alternatively, you can write it from scratch using our open-source library Crawlee. You can keep the scraper to yourself or make it public by adding it to Apify Store (and find users for it).

Your feedback

We’re always working on improving the performance of our Actors. So if you’ve got any technical feedback for Instagram Profile Scraper or simply found a bug, please create an issue on the Actor’s Issues tab in Apify Console.