# Instagram Profile Scraper - Public Profile Analytics (`fascinating_lentil/instagram-profile-scraper`) Actor

Extract public Instagram profile statistics for creator research and brand monitoring. Uses bounded HTTP sessions with residential proxy rotation and charges only successfully saved profiles.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fascinating\_lentil/instagram-profile-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Md Jakaria Mirza](https://apify.com/fascinating_lentil) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 profile scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Instagram Profile Scraper - Public Profile Analytics

Collect structured metadata and statistics from public Instagram profiles for creator research, brand monitoring, and market analysis.

The Actor uses bounded HTTP sessions with residential proxy rotation and charges only after a profile record is successfully saved.

### What It Extracts

- Username, full name, biography, and profile URL
- Followers, following, and total post count
- Verification and business-account signals
- Business category and public external link
- Profile image URL and privacy status
- Collection timestamp

### Pricing

Each successfully saved public profile costs **$0.002**. Failed, blocked, private, unavailable, and unsaved profiles are not charged.

### Input

```json
{
  "usernames": ["natgeo", "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/"],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}
```

A run accepts up to 50 usernames or profile URLs. Residential proxy rotation is the reliable default because Instagram commonly limits datacenter traffic.

### Sample Output

```json
{
  "username": "natgeo",
  "fullName": "National Geographic",
  "bio": "Experience the world through the eyes of National Geographic photographers.",
  "followers": 280000000,
  "following": 150,
  "postsCount": 32000,
  "isVerified": true,
  "isBusinessAccount": true,
  "businessCategory": "Media/news company",
  "externalLink": "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/",
  "isPrivate": false,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-09T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Reliability and Cost Controls

1. Usernames and URLs are normalized and deduplicated.
2. A low-cost public HTTP session loads the profile and public metadata endpoint.
3. A failed lookup is retried once with a fresh proxy session.
4. No browser, media download, login, or private endpoint is used.
5. Retries, memory, runtime, and input size are bounded.
6. The run fails clearly when no valid public profile is returned.

### Responsible Use

- Public profiles only; private or login-protected data is not accessed.
- Do not use the Actor for harassment, sensitive-person profiling, deceptive outreach, or attempts to identify private individuals.
- You are responsible for following applicable laws, Instagram's terms, and Apify's platform rules.

### License

Apache-2.0

# Actor input Schema

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

Enter Instagram usernames (without @) or full profile URLs. Multiple entries supported.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Residential proxy is the reliable default because Instagram commonly limits datacenter traffic. A failed lookup is retried once with a fresh HTTP session.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "natgeo"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "proxyUrls": []
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Clean dataset items containing public Instagram profile identifiers, biography, follower statistics, verification state, category, profile image, source URL, and scrape metadata.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "usernames": [
        "natgeo"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fascinating_lentil/instagram-profile-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "usernames": ["natgeo"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fascinating_lentil/instagram-profile-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "usernames": [
    "natgeo"
  ]
}' |
apify call fascinating_lentil/instagram-profile-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,fascinating_lentil/instagram-profile-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/yYaM10pAiSAgNYoPm/builds/Ts9RD0mb2a7z1Xjzt/openapi.json