Instagram Related Creator Network

Turn Instagram profiles you already know into a bounded, exportable creator network with deduplicated profiles, recommendation edges, depth, and seed provenance.

Watch the demo

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What this Actor does

Instagram Related Creator Network expands one or more public Instagram seed profiles into the related profiles observed around them at run time.

Unlike a flat related-profile list, the Actor can follow connections outward across several levels. It produces an auditable graph of unique creator profiles and the source-to-target connections that reached them.

Use it to map creator niches, find adjacent accounts for partnership research, explore competitor ecosystems, or prepare a focused creator shortlist for later qualification.

Key features

• Start from 1–10 Instagram usernames or profile URLs
• Expand 1–3 levels with stable breadth-first traversal
• Set separate limits for processed profiles and unique creator nodes
• Keep each distinct recommendation edge, even when several seeds reach the same profile
• Avoid repeat processing and infinite loops when the graph contains cycles
• Keep useful branches when another profile is unavailable
• Optionally add more public details to final kept profiles
• Export creator nodes and graph edges in analysis-friendly formats
• No Instagram login or cookies required

Quick start

1. Add one or more public Instagram usernames or profile URLs under Seed profiles.
2. Choose the network depth. Use 1 for direct connections, 2 to expand direct connections once, or 3 for one additional level.
3. Set Profiles to expand and Creator node limit to control processing and output size independently.
4. Leave enrichment off for a fast graph, or enable it when you need more public profile details.
5. Start the run and download the creator dataset and edge files.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
seedProfiles	string array	required	1–10 Instagram usernames or profile URLs. Duplicate seeds are normalized and processed once.
maxDepth	integer	2	Maximum graph depth from 1–3. Seeds are depth 0; depth 1 is direct connections.
maxExpansions	integer	10	Maximum unique profiles processed for additional connections, including seeds and unavailable profiles.
maxCreators	integer	100	Maximum globally unique creator nodes, including seed nodes.
maxConnectionsPerProfile	integer	10	Keep the first 1–20 valid connections from each processed profile.
enrichProfiles	boolean	false	Add more public profile details to final kept, non-seed nodes after traversal.
maxEnrichedProfiles	integer	50	Maximum kept profiles to enrich. Ignored when enrichment is off.

Example input

{
  "seedProfiles": ["patagonia"],
  "maxDepth": 2,
  "maxExpansions": 10,
  "maxCreators": 100,
  "maxConnectionsPerProfile": 10,
  "enrichProfiles": false,
  "maxEnrichedProfiles": 50
}

Output package

Contract status: Implemented and locally verified. The examples below are sanitized illustrations of the implemented output contract; they are not presented as a live Store run.

The output package has three coordinated deliverables. The default dataset contains one row per unique creator node and is downloadable as JSON or CSV. Recommendation edges are saved separately as EDGES.json and EDGES.csv. RUN_SUMMARY contains run status, counts, limits, per-seed outcomes, per-expansion outcomes, and download URLs.

Creator-node dataset

The primary row identity is creator_id. Reaching the same creator from several sources or seeds updates one node row and preserves all distinct edges.

Field	Type / nullability	Unit or meaning
record_type	string, always creator_node	Row discriminator
creator_id	string	Stable creator ID; primary row identity
username	string	Normalized Instagram username
profile_url	URL string	Derived public profile URL
full_name	string or null	Public display name
profile_image_url	URL string or null	Public image URL; may expire
is_private	boolean or null	Public privacy flag when available
is_verified	boolean or null	Public verification flag when available
is_seed	boolean	Whether the row was supplied as a seed
minimum_depth	integer	Shortest distance from any seed, in graph hops
seed_usernames	string array	Seeds that reached this node
first_discovered_from	string or null	First parent username; null for a seed
first_suggestion_rank	integer or null	One-based first-observed rank; null for a seed
incoming_edge_count	integer	Distinct retained incoming edges in this bounded graph
outgoing_edge_count	integer	Distinct retained outgoing edges in this bounded graph
expansion_status	enum string	expanded, expanded_no_connections, not_expanded_depth, not_expanded_limit, profile_unavailable, or temporarily_unavailable
enrichment_status	enum string	not_enabled, not_selected_limit, saved, profile_unavailable, or temporarily_unavailable
biography	string or null	Optional public biography
follower_count	integer or null	Followers, in accounts
following_count	integer or null	Accounts followed, in accounts
media_count	integer or null	Published media items, in items
is_business	boolean or null	Optional public business flag
category	string or null	Optional public category
public_email	string or null	Optional publicly listed email
public_phone_number	string or null	Optional publicly listed phone number
external_url	URL string or null	Optional publicly listed external URL
observed_at	ISO 8601 UTC string	Time the row was observed or derived
is_partial	boolean	True when an attempted expansion or enrichment was incomplete

Recommendation-edge export

The edge identity is the ordered pair (source_creator_id, target_creator_id). Exact duplicate edges are suppressed; a connection reached from several seeds keeps the merged seed_usernames array.

Field	Type	Unit or meaning
record_type	string, always recommendation_edge	Row discriminator
source_creator_id	string	Source creator ID
source_username	string	Source username
target_creator_id	string	Target creator ID
target_username	string	Target username
source_depth	integer	Source distance from a seed, in graph hops
target_depth	integer	Target distance from a seed, in graph hops
suggestion_rank	integer	One-based position in the observed recommendation list
seed_usernames	string array	Seeds whose traversal retained the edge
relationship_type	string, always related_profile	Relationship discriminator
observed_at	ISO 8601 UTC string	Observation time

Run summary

Object	Fields
Top level	contract_version, status, started_at, finished_at
requested	Echo of all normalized public input fields
counts	Seeds, completed and charged expansions, nodes, edges, merged duplicates, cycles, and enrichment totals
limits	Booleans for expansion, creator, enrichment, and spending-limit stops
seeds[]	Input, normalized username, functional status, nodes reached, edges observed, stable error code, and safe message
expansions[]	Creator ID, username, depth, terminal status, connections observed and retained, stable error code, and safe message
downloads	JSON and CSV URLs for creator nodes and edges, plus the summary URL

Run status is one of succeeded, succeeded_with_partial_results, no_results, failed_input, or spending_limit_reached. Public error codes are limited to PROFILE_UNAVAILABLE, DATA_TEMPORARILY_UNAVAILABLE, RATE_LIMITED_TRY_LATER, REQUEST_TIMED_OUT, INVALID_RESPONSE, and SPENDING_LIMIT_REACHED; successful entries use null. Messages are functional and sanitized.

Abridged illustrative JSON row

{
  "record_type": "creator_node",
  "creator_id": "1000000002",
  "username": "related_creator",
  "profile_url": "https://www.instagram.com/related_creator/",
  "is_seed": false,
  "minimum_depth": 1,
  "seed_usernames": ["seed_creator"],
  "first_discovered_from": "seed_creator",
  "first_suggestion_rank": 1,
  "incoming_edge_count": 1,
  "outgoing_edge_count": 0,
  "expansion_status": "not_expanded_limit",
  "enrichment_status": "not_enabled",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-20T00:00:00Z",
  "is_partial": false
}

The complete schema and illustrative node, edge, and summary examples are shipped with this Actor. Creator rows are also represented in example-output.csv, and edges in EDGES.example.csv. A successful saved expansion is the billing unit; creator rows and edge rows are deliverables and are not billing events. No raw service responses, private request URLs, authentication details, or internal diagnostics are included in customer outputs.

How traversal and limits work

Traversal is breadth-first and deterministic. Seed order is preserved, and each profile’s connections are considered in the order observed.

maxExpansions limits how many unique profiles are processed for more connections. maxCreators limits unique nodes. They are separate because a sparse or partially unavailable graph can consume processing work without producing many new nodes, while a dense graph can reach the node limit early.

The same profile may be reached from several sources or seeds. It appears once in the creator dataset, while each distinct connection is retained. Cycles are recorded as connections but never placed back into the processing queue.

Optional enrichment

Enrichment is disabled by default. When enabled, it runs after traversal for final kept non-seed nodes only, in breadth-first discovery order, up to maxEnrichedProfiles.

Duplicates, invalid records, cycle-only candidates, and profiles excluded by graph caps are not enriched. If one profile cannot be enriched, its creator node remains in the graph with a stable functional status and no enrichment charge.

Pricing

The primary billing unit is a network expansion, not a creator node or edge. One expansion means one profile was processed to a saved terminal status and its retained graph connections were saved. Completed no-result and unavailable-profile checks count as expansion work; temporary service failures that never complete are not charged.

Optional enrichment is billed only when additional public profile details are successfully saved. There is also the standard small Actor-start event. Nodes, edges, downloads, and the run summary have no separate charge.

Plan	Actor start	Network expansion	Saved enriched profile
Free	$0.0005	$0.015	unavailable
Bronze	$0.0005	$0.012	$0.0035
Silver	$0.0005	$0.010	$0.003
Gold	$0.0005	$0.008	$0.0025
Platinum	$0.0005	$0.008	$0.0025
Diamond	$0.0005	$0.008	$0.0025

Free-plan runs are limited to three expansions, no enrichment, and one run per rolling 24 hours. Paid plans use the limits selected in the input.

These rates are selected for launch preparation but are not live yet. Once released, check the Actor’s Pricing tab before running.

Important limitations

• Results are related-profile connections observed at run time, not a demographic or audience-overlap score.
• The graph is bounded by the limits you choose and is not a complete database of Instagram creators.
• Related profiles and public profile fields can change over time.
• Private, unavailable, renamed, or removed profiles may return limited data or a functional status instead of profile details.
• A higher connection limit changes graph breadth but does not reduce completed expansion work.
• Use public data responsibly and comply with applicable laws, platform terms, and your own outreach obligations.

Common use cases

• Creator and influencer niche mapping
• Partnership and sponsorship research
• Competitor ecosystem analysis
• Multi-seed related-profile exploration
• Graph analysis in spreadsheets, notebooks, or network tools
• Building a focused shortlist for a separate qualification workflow

API and automation

Run the Actor from Apify Console, the Apify API, schedules, webhooks, or supported integrations. Use a maximum run charge to keep automated workflows within budget. The Actor stops starting new paid work when the platform reports that the customer limit has been reached.

Responsible use

Use public data lawfully and in line with Instagram’s terms and applicable privacy rules. Do not use this Actor to infer sensitive traits or make unsupported claims about a person’s audience or demographics.

This independent Actor is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official product of Instagram.

Support

For reproducible support requests, include the Apify run ID, sanitized input, the affected deliverable, and the functional status shown by the Actor. Never include credentials or private customer data.