Instagram User Posts Scraper

Scrape an Instagram account's post feed (timeline) by username or numeric user ID. Returns clean, structured data for each post: caption, hashtags, mentions, like and comment counts, media type, timestamp, image and video URLs, thumbnail, and author info. Optionally scrape the posts an account is tagged in instead of the posts it published.

Unofficial. This Actor is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc. It is an independent tool that retrieves publicly available data via a third-party API. Use it in compliance with Instagram's terms and all applicable laws; you are responsible for how you use the retrieved data.

What it does

• By username — give one or more handles (e.g. natgeo); the Actor pages through that account's post feed.
• By user ID — give one or more numeric Instagram user IDs (e.g. 787132).
• Tagged posts (optional) — flip scrapeTaggedPosts on to scrape the posts the account is tagged in rather than its own timeline.

Pagination is handled automatically via the API's pagination_token, and posts are de-duplicated by ID within a run.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
usernames	string[]	["natgeo"]	Instagram handles (without @) whose feed to scrape.
userIds	string[]	[]	Numeric Instagram user IDs to scrape.
scrapeTaggedPosts	boolean	false	Scrape posts the account is tagged in instead of its own posts.
maxItems	integer	24	Max total posts across all usernames and user IDs.

Example input

{
  "usernames": ["natgeo", "nasa"],
  "maxItems": 100
}

Output

One dataset item per post:

{
  "id": "3900557621921709539",
  "shortcode": "DYhkH24lf3j",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhkH24lf3j/",
  "mediaType": "video",
  "productType": "clips",
  "caption": "@antoni is on a quest to find the best sights...",
  "hashtags": ["#BestOfTheWorld"],
  "mentions": ["@antoni", "@DisneyPlus", "@hulu"],
  "likeCount": 52933,
  "commentCount": 627,
  "takenAt": 1779206409,
  "videoDuration": 89.38,
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://...",
  "imageUrls": ["https://..."],
  "videoUrls": ["https://..."],
  "username": "natgeo",
  "author": {
    "id": "787132",
    "username": "natgeo",
    "fullName": "National Geographic",
    "isVerified": true,
    "isPrivate": false
  },
  "source": "posts:natgeo"
}

Notes

• Data is sourced live; Instagram occasionally rate-limits, so the Actor retries transient blocks with exponential backoff.
• Private accounts return no posts.
• Media CDN URLs are time-limited by Instagram — download what you need promptly.

Quick start

1. Open the Actor and press Run — the default input works out of the box.
2. Adjust the input fields below to your target (keywords, IDs, or URLs) and set maxItems to cap spend.
3. Grab results from the Dataset tab as JSON / CSV / Excel, or pull them via the Apify API and MCP from your own code.

No proxies to configure, no cookies to paste, no login — the Actor handles everything server-side.

Why teams switch to this Instagram profile-posts scraper

Pulling a profile's full post history through a browser actor means babysitting failed runs and rate limits. This Actor hits a direct HTTP API and returns posts — images, carousels, and videos — as clean JSON at $2 per 1,000 posts, no login, no account risk.

What people build with it

• Brand audits — export a brand's entire grid to analyse posting cadence, formats, and engagement trends over time.
• Competitor intelligence — track exactly what competitors publish and how each post performs, without following them.
• Influencer due diligence — verify reach and consistency with real per-post numbers before a deal.
• Creative swipe files — collect the highest-engagement posts in your niche as a reference library for your own content.
• AI training data — caption + image-URL pairs make ready multimodal datasets, with likes as a quality weight.

Tips for better results

• Usernames work with or without the @ prefix.
• Pair with Instagram Profile Scraper for bio + follower context, and Instagram Comments Scraper to expand the discussion under top posts.
• Filter on media type client-side to study a creator's photo-vs-video mix.

---

Why this Actor

• Direct API, no headless browser — fast, stable runs with nothing to babysit.
• No login, no cookies — we never touch your accounts, so there's no ban risk.
• Fresh, real-time data — every run reads the source live, not a stale cache.
• Pay per result — you're billed only for the rows actually delivered.
• Structured JSON — export to CSV, Excel, or JSON, or pull straight from the API / MCP.

Use cases

• Pull structured content + engagement for analytics dashboards.
• Track a creator's or topic's output and performance over time.
• Build training/research datasets of posts and metadata.
• Power competitor and trend monitoring.

FAQ

Do I need an account, cookies, or to log in anywhere? No. The Actor talks to a fast, direct HTTP API server-side — you just provide inputs and run it.

How am I billed? Pay-per-result: a fixed price per row returned, with no separate platform/compute charge. Caps like maxItems keep spend predictable.

Can I run it on a schedule or call it from my app? Yes — use Apify Schedules, the REST API, the JavaScript / Python clients, or the MCP server. See the API tab.

Is this affiliated with Instagram? No. It's an independent tool that collects publicly available data. Use it in line with the platform's terms and applicable law.

More Instagram scrapers by us

• Instagram Profile — Profile · bio · follower & post counts
• Instagram Reels — Reels · play counts · MP4 download
• Instagram Hashtag — Posts by hashtag · engagement
• Instagram Comments — Post comments + replies

Browse the full fleet → https://apify.com/ethereal_wool