Instagram User Follower Scraper

Collect the follower list from any public Instagram account — including usernames, full names, verification status, and more. Process up to 10 accounts in a single run.

What does Instagram User Follower Scraper do?

This Actor collects the accounts that follow any Instagram user and returns detailed profile information for each one. You can process multiple usernames in a single run.

For each user, the Actor first returns a profile summary row followed by individual follower rows — one per account that follows them.

Data you can extract

For the source user (profile row):

• Identity — username, full name, biography
• Stats — follower count, following count
• Status — verified badge, private account flag
• Media — profile picture
• Links — profile URL

For each follower:

• Identity — username, full name
• Status — verified badge, private account flag
• Media — profile picture
• Links — profile URL
• Metadata — position index

How to get your Session ID

This Actor requires an Instagram Session ID for authentication. Here's how to get it:

Option 1: Browser Developer Tools

1. Open instagram.com in your browser and log in
2. Press F12 to open Developer Tools
3. Go to Application → Cookies → https://www.instagram.com
4. Find the cookie named sessionid and copy its value
5. Paste it into the Session ID field in the Actor input

Option 2: Cookie Editor Extension

You can also use a browser extension like Cookie-Editor to quickly view and copy cookies. Simply install the extension, visit instagram.com, and search for the sessionid cookie.

Disclaimer: Cookie-Editor is a third-party extension not affiliated with this Actor. As with any browser extension that accesses cookie data, please review its permissions and use at your own discretion.

Important notes

• Get a fresh Session ID before each run. Session IDs can expire at any time — often without warning. For best results, copy a fresh Session ID from your browser immediately before starting each run.

• Use a secondary account. Automated access may cause Instagram to flag your account or temporarily restrict it. We strongly recommend using a secondary account rather than your primary one.

• Some large accounts have limited follower visibility. Instagram restricts access to follower lists for certain high-follower accounts. When this applies, only a portion of followers will be accessible — this is an Instagram platform limitation, not an issue with the Actor.

Input example

{
    "usernames": [
        "zuck",
        "instagram"
    ],
    "sessionId": "your-session-id-here",
    "maxFollowers": 0
}

Field	Type	Description
usernames	Array	Instagram usernames to scrape (1–10). Accepts username, @username, or full profile URL
sessionId	String	Your Instagram sessionid cookie
maxFollowers	Number	Max followers to collect per user (0 = unlimited, default: 0)

Output example

Profile row (item_type: "profile"):

{
    "item_type": "profile",
    "sourceUsername": "zuck",
    "username": "zuck",
    "userId": "314216",
    "fullName": "Mark Zuckerberg",
    "biography": "...",
    "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/zuck",
    "profilePicUrl": "https://...",
    "isVerified": true,
    "isPrivate": false,
    "followerCount": 13000000,
    "followingCount": 500,
    "index": null,
    "scrapedAt": "2026-03-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Follower row (item_type: "follower"):

{
    "item_type": "follower",
    "sourceUsername": "zuck",
    "username": "simonsinek",
    "userId": "2369598620",
    "fullName": "Simon Sinek",
    "biography": null,
    "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/simonsinek",
    "profilePicUrl": "https://...",
    "isVerified": true,
    "isPrivate": false,
    "followerCount": null,
    "followingCount": null,
    "index": 1,
    "scrapedAt": "2026-03-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Output schema

Each run produces two row types in the same dataset:

Field	Type	Profile	Follower
item_type	String	"profile"	"follower"
sourceUsername	String	✓	✓
username	String	✓	✓
userId	String	✓	✓
fullName	String	✓	✓
biography	String	✓	null ¹
profileUrl	String	✓	✓
profilePicUrl	String	✓	✓
isVerified	Boolean	✓	✓
isPrivate	Boolean	✓	✓
followerCount	Integer	✓	null ¹
followingCount	Integer	✓	null ¹
index	Integer	null ²	✓
scrapedAt	String	✓	✓

¹ The field is always present in every row — always null for follower items, populated for profile items.

² Field is always present in the row but set to null — position index is only meaningful for follower items.

How it works

1. Connects to your Instagram account using your Session ID
2. Looks up each username and collects their profile information
3. Collects all accessible follower accounts — usernames, display names, verification status, and more
4. Keeps going to retrieve as many followers as possible, stopping when your limit is reached
5. Saves results as they come in — no need to wait for the full run to finish

Tips for best results

• Refresh your Session ID if you see errors. Session IDs can expire at any time. If authentication fails, obtain a fresh one and retry.
• Private accounts are automatically handled. Their profile information will still be collected, but their follower list is not accessible. You can identify them by the isPrivate: true field.
• Some accounts have limited follower visibility. For certain large accounts, Instagram restricts how many followers are accessible. When this happens, you will see a notice in the run log, and the completion note will indicate that all publicly accessible followers were collected.
• Results are maximized automatically. The Actor performs additional sweeps to maximize coverage beyond what standard pagination returns. This happens automatically — you do not need to run it multiple times.

Frequently asked questions

Why is a Session ID required?

Instagram requires authentication to access follower lists. Without a valid session, the Actor cannot retrieve the data.

Is it safe to use my Session ID?

Your Session ID is treated as a secret — it is stored securely by Apify and never exposed in logs or output. That said, we strongly recommend using a secondary Instagram account rather than your primary one as a precaution.

How many accounts can I scrape?

You can process up to 10 Instagram accounts per run. For each account, the Actor collects the accessible follower list. Set maxFollowers to 0 (the default) for unlimited collection per user, or any value up to 100,000 to cap it.

Why does a large account return fewer followers than expected?

For some high-follower accounts, Instagram limits how many followers are accessible via their platform. This is an Instagram policy — not an issue with the Actor. When this applies, the run log will include a notice, and the Actor will collect all followers that are accessible.

Can I scrape private accounts?

No. Private accounts are not accessible. Their profile information will be collected and returned with isPrivate: true, but their follower list will not be available.

What happens if authentication fails?

The Actor will stop and report an authentication error. Obtain a fresh Session ID and try again.

Can I scrape multiple users at once?

Yes. The usernames field accepts up to 10 usernames per run. Each user is processed in sequence.

Integrations

Connect Instagram User Follower Scraper with other apps and services using Apify integrations. Export data to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, and many more.

Disclaimer

This Actor is intended for learning, research, and personal use. Please use it responsibly and ethically, and ensure your usage complies with Instagram's Terms of Service.

Instagram may update its platform at any time, which could temporarily affect this Actor's functionality. While we actively maintain compatibility, occasional disruptions are possible.

Using a Session ID involves providing authentication credentials to the Actor. We strongly recommend using a secondary account, as automated access may result in account restrictions or temporary bans. You are solely responsible for how you use this tool and any consequences that may arise from its use.

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