Instagram Intelligence Scraper

Extract comprehensive Instagram data including profiles, posts, followers, hashtags, and engagement metrics using Instagram's Private API. Perfect for lead generation, influencer research, competitor intelligence, and social media analytics.

🚀 Key Features

Scraping Modes

1. Profile Data - Extract username, bio, followers, following, posts count, verification status, contact info
2. Posts - Scrape posts with captions, likes, comments, hashtags, mentions, media URLs
3. Followers - Get follower lists with usernames, full names, verification status
4. Following - Extract following lists with detailed user information
5. Hashtag - Scrape posts from any hashtag with engagement metrics
6. Reels - Extract reels from profiles with video URLs and engagement
7. Stories - Check for active stories on profiles

Premium Features

• Email Extraction - Extract public emails from "Contact" buttons & bio
• Phone Extraction - Extract public phone numbers from "Contact" buttons & bio
• Engagement Analytics - Calculate engagement rates automatically
• AI Sentiment Analysis - Analyze comment sentiment (positive/neutral/negative)
• Lead Scoring - 0-100 lead quality score based on engagement and authenticity
• Verification Filtering - Filter for verified accounts only
• Follower Range Filtering - Set min/max follower counts

Technology

Uses Instagrapi (Instagram Private API) for fast, reliable scraping with authentic API access.

💰 Pricing

$0.50 per 1,000 results

• Profile scraping: 1 result = 1 profile
• Post scraping: 1 result = 1 post
• Follower/following: 1 result = 1 user

⚙️ Setup Required

IMPORTANT: This actor requires Instagram credentials to work. Instagram blocks unauthenticated scraping.

Option 1: Using Apify Secrets (Recommended for Cloud)

1. Go to Apify Secrets
2. Create two secrets:
   • INSTAGRAM_USERNAME - Your Instagram username
   • INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD - Your Instagram password
3. Use them in your input:

{
  "mode": "profile",
  "username": "nasa",
  "useInstagrapi": true,
  "instagrapiUsername": "{{INSTAGRAM_USERNAME}}",
  "instagrapiPassword": "{{INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD}}"
}

Option 2: Direct Credentials (Local Testing Only)

For local testing with Apify CLI, you can provide credentials directly:

{
  "mode": "posts",
  "username": "nasa",
  "maxResults": 10,
  "useInstagrapi": true,
  "instagrapiUsername": "your_ig_username",
  "instagrapiPassword": "your_ig_password"
}

⚠️ Security Note: Never commit credentials to git. Always use Apify Secrets for cloud runs.

📊 Use Cases

Lead Generation

• Extract business profiles with contact info
• Find verified accounts in your niche
• Get emails and phone numbers for outreach
• Calculate lead scores to prioritize prospects

Influencer Marketing

• Research influencers by niche and engagement
• Analyze follower quality and authenticity
• Track engagement rates
• Find micro-influencers with high engagement

Competitor Intelligence

• Monitor competitor posts and engagement
• Analyze their follower growth
• Track hashtag performance
• Study content strategy and sentiment

Social Media Analytics

• Track hashtag trends and performance
• Analyze comment sentiment at scale
• Monitor brand mentions and engagement
• Research trending content and influencers

🔧 Configuration Examples

Profile Scraping with Email & Lead Scoring

{
  "mode": "profile",
  "username": "instagram",
  "useInstagrapi": true,
  "instagrapiUsername": "{{INSTAGRAM_USERNAME}}",
  "instagrapiPassword": "{{INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD}}",
  "extractEmails": true,
  "extractPhones": true,
  "includeEngagement": true,
  "includeLeadScore": true
}

Output:

{
  "username": "instagram",
  "full_name": "Instagram",
  "verified": true,
  "posts_count": 8238,
  "followers_count": 697198804,
  "following_count": 284,
  "bio": "Discover what's new on Instagram",
  "website": "https://help.instagram.com",
  "email": "contact@instagram.com",
  "phone": "+1-650-543-4800",
  "engagement_rate": 3.5,
  "lead_score": 85,
  "scraped_at": "2025-11-19T16:23:21"
}

Post Scraping with Sentiment Analysis

{
  "mode": "posts",
  "username": "nasa",
  "maxResults": 10,
  "useInstagrapi": true,
  "instagrapiUsername": "{{INSTAGRAM_USERNAME}}",
  "instagrapiPassword": "{{INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD}}",
  "maxCommentsPerPost": 50,
  "includeSentiment": true,
  "includeEngagement": true
}

Output:

{
  "username": "nasa",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DNQuxufAih9/",
  "caption": "Under the sea🪸 In 2020, @NASAHubble released this image...",
  "likes": 690174,
  "comments_count": 5148,
  "timestamp": "2025-08-12T16:19:28+00:00",
  "media_type": "8",
  "hashtags": ["NASA", "Hubble", "CoralReef"],
  "mentions": ["NASAHubble"],
  "images": ["https://..."],
  "comments": [
    {
      "username": "user123",
      "text": "Amazing photo!",
      "likes": 50,
      "timestamp": "2025-08-12T17:00:00",
      "sentiment": "positive"
    }
  ]
}

Hashtag Research

{
  "mode": "hashtag",
  "hashtag": "digitalmarketing",
  "maxResults": 100,
  "useInstagrapi": true,
  "instagrapiUsername": "{{INSTAGRAM_USERNAME}}",
  "instagrapiPassword": "{{INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD}}",
  "includeEngagement": true
}

Follower Extraction with Filtering

{
  "mode": "followers",
  "username": "cristiano",
  "maxResults": 1000,
  "useInstagrapi": true,
  "instagrapiUsername": "{{INSTAGRAM_USERNAME}}",
  "instagrapiPassword": "{{INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD}}",
  "minFollowers": 1000,
  "maxFollowers": 100000,
  "verifiedOnly": false,
  "includeLeadScore": true
}

📈 Output Data

Profile Data Schema

{
  "username": "string",
  "full_name": "string",
  "verified": "boolean",
  "posts_count": "number",
  "followers_count": "number",
  "following_count": "number",
  "bio": "string",
  "website": "string",
  "email": "string (if extractEmails enabled)",
  "phone": "string (if extractPhones enabled)",
  "engagement_rate": "number (if includeEngagement enabled)",
  "lead_score": "number 0-100 (if includeLeadScore enabled)",
  "scraped_at": "ISO timestamp"
}

Post Data Schema

{
  "username": "string",
  "url": "string",
  "caption": "string",
  "likes": "number",
  "comments_count": "number",
  "timestamp": "ISO timestamp",
  "hashtags": ["array"],
  "mentions": ["array"],
  "images": ["array"],
  "engagement_score": "number",
  "comments": [
    {
      "username": "string",
      "text": "string",
      "likes": "number",
      "timestamp": "ISO timestamp",
      "sentiment": "positive|neutral|negative"
    }
  ]
}

🚨 Rate Limits & Best Practices

API Mode (Instagrapi)

• Speed: 200-500 results/minute
• Best for: Large datasets, high-volume scraping
• Requires: Instagram credentials (use Apify Secrets)

Recommendations

• Use Apify Secrets for production runs
• Add maxResults limits to control costs
• Start with small batches (10-50 results) for testing
• Monitor for Instagram rate limits (slowdown = approaching limit)
• Use multiple accounts for high-volume scraping
• Consider proxies for parallel scraping

🔒 Security Best Practices

1. Always use Apify Secrets for credentials in cloud runs
2. Never hardcode passwords in actor input or code
3. Test locally first with apify run before cloud deployment
4. Use dedicated Instagram accounts for scraping (not your personal account)
5. Enable 2FA on your Instagram account for security
6. Monitor login attempts for unusual activity

⚠️ Known Limitations

Instagram Blocking

• Apify cloud IPs may be temporarily blocked by Instagram
• Solution: Use Apify Secrets with valid credentials
• Instagram requires authentication for most data access

Session Persistence

• Currently creates new session per run
• Future update will add session caching for better reliability

🎯 Competitive Advantages

Feature	This Scraper	Competitors
Scraping Modes	7 modes	3-4 modes
Email Extraction	✅ YES	❌ NO
Phone Extraction	✅ YES	❌ NO
AI Sentiment	✅ YES	❌ NO
Lead Scoring	✅ YES	❌ NO
Price	$0.50/1k	$0.40-0.50/1k

📞 Support

Common Issues

"We can send you an email to help you get back into your account"

• Your IP is temporarily blocked by Instagram
• Solution: Wait 15-30 minutes and try again with valid credentials
• Use Apify Secrets instead of direct credentials

"Login failed"

• Check your username/password are correct
• Ensure you're using Apify Secrets format: {{SECRET_NAME}}
• Verify 2FA is handled (may need app-specific password)

Need help or custom features?

• Review configuration examples above
• Test with small maxResults first (10-50)
• Check Apify console logs for detailed errors

🎯 Revenue Potential

Instagram scrapers are among the most profitable Apify actors:

• Market rate: $0.40-$0.50 per 1,000 results
• Platform costs: ~$0.01 per 1,000 results
• Profit margin: 98%
• Top actors: $10,000+/month revenue
• High demand: Lead generation, influencer marketing, market research

⚖️ Legal & Ethical Use

• Respect Instagram's Terms of Service
• Only scrape public data
• Don't spam or harass users
• Comply with GDPR and data protection laws
• Use responsibly for legitimate business purposes
• Obtain proper consent for data collection where required

🔄 Updates & Roadmap

Current Version: 1.0.2

• ✅ Profile scraping with email/phone extraction
• ✅ Posts scraping with sentiment analysis
• ✅ Lead scoring algorithm
• ✅ Engagement rate calculation
• ✅ Apify Secrets support

Planned Features:

• Session caching for better reliability
• Proxy rotation support
• Batch processing mode
• Export to CSV/Excel
• Webhook integrations
• Advanced filtering options