Instagram Profile & Hashtag Scraper

An Apify Actor that scrapes Instagram profiles and hashtag posts without requiring the official API.

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Features

• Profile Scraper: Extracts username, full name, bio, followers, following, post count, verification status, and individual post data
• Hashtag Scraper: Extracts top posts and recent posts for any hashtag with likes, captions, timestamps, and more
• Post Details: Image URL, caption, likes, comments count, timestamp, location, hashtags, mentions
• Optional Comments: Scrape comments on each post (configurable limit)
• Anti-detection: Random delays, fingerprint spoofing, proxy support
• Proxy Support: Works with Apify Residential Proxies (recommended) or your own proxies
• Session Cookies: Optionally provide login cookies for better access

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Input Configuration

Field	Type	Default	Description
scrapeType	string	"both"	"profile", "hashtag", or "both"
usernames	array	[]	Instagram usernames (without @)
hashtags	array	[]	Hashtags to scrape (without #)
maxPostsPerProfile	integer	12	Max posts per profile (1–200)
maxPostsPerHashtag	integer	20	Max posts per hashtag (1–500)
scrapeComments	boolean	false	Whether to scrape post comments
maxCommentsPerPost	integer	10	Max comments per post
proxy	object	Apify Residential	Proxy configuration
loginCookies	array	[]	Optional Instagram session cookies

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Example Input

{
  "scrapeType": "both",
  "usernames": ["natgeo", "nasa"],
  "hashtags": ["travel", "photography"],
  "maxPostsPerProfile": 20,
  "maxPostsPerHashtag": 30,
  "scrapeComments": false,
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

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Output Data Format

Profile Result

{
  "type": "profile",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "username": "natgeo",
  "fullName": "National Geographic",
  "biography": "The official Instagram of National Geographic...",
  "followers": 280500000,
  "following": 152,
  "postsCount": 30800,
  "isVerified": true,
  "isPrivate": false,
  "profilePicUrl": "https://...",
  "externalUrl": "https://www.nationalgeographic.com",
  "isBusiness": true,
  "posts": [
    {
      "postId": "123456",
      "shortCode": "ABC123",
      "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/ABC123/",
      "type": "GraphImage",
      "imageUrl": "https://...",
      "caption": "Amazing photo caption #nature",
      "likesCount": 150000,
      "commentsCount": 1200,
      "timestamp": "2024-01-14T12:00:00.000Z",
      "isVideo": false,
      "locationName": "Yellowstone National Park",
      "hashtags": ["#nature", "#wildlife"],
      "mentions": []
    }
  ]
}

Hashtag Result

{
  "type": "hashtag",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "hashtag": "travel",
  "hashtagUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/travel/",
  "totalPostsCount": 650000000,
  "posts": [
    {
      "postId": "789012",
      "shortCode": "XYZ789",
      "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/XYZ789/",
      "hashtag": "travel",
      "imageUrl": "https://...",
      "caption": "Beautiful destination! #travel #adventure",
      "likesCount": 5200,
      "commentsCount": 89,
      "timestamp": "2024-01-15T08:00:00.000Z",
      "ownerUsername": "someuser",
      "isVideo": false
    }
  ]
}

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Setup on Apify

1. Go to Apify Console → Actors → Create new
2. Upload all files from this folder
3. Set the Dockerfile as the build source
4. Configure your input in the Input tab
5. Click Run

Getting Instagram Cookies (Optional but Recommended)

For better scraping results, provide your Instagram session cookies:

1. Log into Instagram in your browser
2. Open DevTools → Application → Cookies → instagram.com
3. Copy cookies (especially sessionid, csrftoken, ds_user_id)
4. Paste them as an array in the loginCookies input field

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Important Notes

• Rate Limiting: Instagram aggressively rate-limits scrapers. Use residential proxies and keep delays between requests.
• Private Profiles: Private profiles cannot be scraped without being a follower.
• Terms of Service: Scraping Instagram may violate their ToS. Use responsibly and for personal/research purposes only.
• Proxy: Using Apify Residential Proxies (RESIDENTIAL group) is strongly recommended to avoid blocks.

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Empty results	Add session cookies or use residential proxy
Rate limit errors	Increase delays, reduce concurrency
Private profile	Must follow the account first
Login wall	Provide loginCookies in input