# Facebook People Search (`igview-owner/facebook-people-search`) Actor Scrape public Facebook profiles instantly using names or keywords. Extract profile IDs, links, verified status, and images with automated pagination. - **URL**: https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-people-search.md - **Developed by:** [Sachin Kumar Yadav](https://apify.com/igview-owner) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation, MCP servers - **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 ## 🔍 Facebook People Search – Find Facebook Profiles by Name or Keyword **Search and find people on Facebook by name, keyword, or username. Extract profile details including full name, profile URL, verification badge status, and profile picture. Perfect for lead generation, recruitment, people research, and social media analysis!** ### 📋 Table of Contents - [🚀 Features](#-features) - [🎯 Use Cases](#-use-cases) - [⚡ Quick Start](#-quick-start) - [📊 Input Parameters](#-input-parameters) - [📤 Output Format](#-output-format) - [📈 Performance & Reliability](#-performance--reliability) - [💡 Best Practices](#-best-practices) - [❓ FAQ](#-faq) - [📞 Support](#-support) ### 🚀 Features #### **Powerful People Search** - Search Facebook people by any name, keyword, or username - No Facebook login or authentication required - Automatic pagination for bulk profile extraction - Control the number of result pages to scrape (1-20) - Each page returns approximately 7 profile results #### **Comprehensive Profile Data** - Full name of each person found - Direct Facebook profile URL for each result - Verification badge status (verified or not) - Profile picture URL with width and height dimensions - Unique Facebook profile ID for each person #### **Export & Integration** - Clean, structured JSON output ready for analysis - Export to CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML formats - Seamless integration with Apify platform and APIs - Flat data structure for easy processing in spreadsheets ### 🎯 Use Cases | Use Case | Description | Benefits | |----------|-------------|----------| | **Lead Generation** | Find potential leads or contacts on Facebook by name | Build targeted outreach lists, discover prospects | | **Recruitment** | Search for candidates by name or skill keywords | Discover potential hires, verify Facebook profiles | | **People Research** | Research individuals across Facebook's network | Background research, identity verification | | **Social Media Analysis** | Analyze public profile data at scale | Study user demographics, track public figures | | **Contact Discovery** | Find and verify Facebook profiles for outreach | Validate contact information, build contact databases | | **Influencer Research** | Find influencers and public figures by name | Discover content creators, analyze influencer networks | | **Academic Research** | Collect public profile data for research projects | Social network analysis, behavioral studies | | **Competitor Analysis** | Find people associated with competitor brands | Identify key personnel, track industry professionals | ### ⚡ Quick Start #### 1️⃣ Simple name search ```json { "query": "John Smith", "maxPages": 1 } ```` #### 2️⃣ Bulk people search with pagination ```json { "query": "software engineer", "maxPages": 5 } ``` #### 3️⃣ Search by username or keyword ```json { "query": "riya", "maxPages": 3 } ``` ### 📊 Input Parameters #### Configuration options | Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------| | `query` | String | ✅ | `riya` | Name, keyword, or username to search for people on Facebook | | `maxPages` | Integer | ❌ | `1` | Number of result pages to scrape (1-20, each page ≈ 7 profiles) | #### 📝 Details **query** (Required) - Name, keyword, or username to search for people on Facebook - Searches through Facebook's people directory - Examples: `"John Smith"`, `"riya"`, `"software engineer"`, `"marketing manager"` - Case-insensitive search **maxPages** (Optional) - Number of result pages to fetch (1-20) - Default: 1 - Each page returns approximately 7 profiles - More pages = more results but longer runtime and higher API usage ### 📤 Output Format #### **Profile Data Structure** ```json { "source": "facebook_people_search", "search_query": "riya", "position": 1, "type": "search_profile", "profile_id": "pfbid0fbQJKWmBaLZewRmWMFa492xx3GcuWCXPfp7Ke2azu21Z8cQBKGLfohfMiJApGkRxl", "url": "https://www.facebook.com/people/Riya-Chan/pfbid0fbQJKWmBaLZewRmWMFa492xx3GcuWCXPfp7Ke2azu21Z8cQBKGLfohfMiJApGkRxl/", "name": "Riya Chan", "is_verified": true, "profile_picture_url": "https://scontent.fkul16-4.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-1/472751693_...", "profile_picture_width": 120, "profile_picture_height": 120, "scraped_at": "2026-07-06T06:30:00.000Z" } ``` #### **Data Fields Explained** | Field Category | Fields | Description | |----------------|--------|-------------| | **Identification** | `profile_id`, `type` | Unique Facebook profile identifier and result type | | **Personal Info** | `name`, `is_verified` | Full name and verification badge status | | **Profile Link** | `url` | Direct Facebook profile URL | | **Profile Picture** | `profile_picture_url`, `profile_picture_width`, `profile_picture_height` | Profile photo URL with dimensions | | **Search Context** | `source`, `search_query`, `position` | Search source, query used, and result position | | **Metadata** | `scraped_at` | ISO 8601 timestamp of when the data was extracted | ### 📈 Performance & Reliability #### **Speed & Efficiency** | Metric | Performance | Details | |--------|-------------|---------| | **Search Speed** | 3-8 seconds | Per page request | | **Profiles per Page** | ~7 profiles | Per API response | | **Max Pages** | 20 per run | Up to ~140 profiles per run | | **Pagination** | Automatic | Handled internally via cursor | #### **Reliability Features** - Auto-retry logic with exponential backoff for temporary failures - Clear error messages in logs and dataset output - Built-in delays between requests to prevent API throttling - Input validation to ensure correct query parameters ### 💡 Best Practices #### ✅ Recommended Usage 1. **Use specific names** – Searching for "John Smith New York" yields better results than just "John" 2. **Start with fewer pages** – Test with `maxPages: 1` before scaling up to avoid unnecessary API calls 3. **Try different keywords** – If a name search returns few results, try variations or nicknames 4. **Use the People Overview** – Open the dataset view for a quick visual overview with profile pictures #### ⚠️ Important Notes - Only publicly visible Facebook profiles appear in search results - Private profiles or restricted accounts will not appear - Search results depend on Facebook's search algorithm and ranking - Profile pictures are thumbnail-sized (120x120 pixels) - Maximum 20 pages per run (approximately 140 profiles) ### ❓ FAQ #### **Q: Do I need a Facebook account to use this?** **A:** No! This actor searches public Facebook profiles without requiring any Facebook login or authentication. #### **Q: Can I find private Facebook profiles?** **A:** No, only publicly visible profiles appear in search results. Private or restricted profiles will not be returned by the Facebook search API. #### **Q: How many profiles can I extract per run?** **A:** Each page returns approximately 7 profiles. With a maximum of 20 pages, you can extract up to ~140 profiles per run. #### **Q: Can I search for people by location or profession?** **A:** You can include location or profession keywords in your search query (e.g., "marketing manager London"). However, results depend on Facebook's search algorithm. #### **Q: What does the verification badge mean?** **A:** The `is_verified` field indicates whether Facebook has verified the profile with a blue badge. This is typically given to public figures, celebrities, and notable organizations. #### **Q: Can I download the profile pictures?** **A:** Yes! The actor provides direct URLs to profile pictures. You can download them using the provided `profile_picture_url` links. #### **Q: Is this legal and compliant?** **A:** This tool searches publicly available Facebook profiles only. Users must comply with Facebook's Terms of Service and applicable data protection laws. Use responsibly and ethically. #### **Q: How often can I run this actor?** **A:** You can run it as often as needed. The actor includes automatic retry logic and built-in delays for reliable operation. ### 📞 Support #### **Need Help?** - Report bugs and request features on the actor's Issues page - Check the Documentation tab for complete guides and examples - Follow best practices above for optimal results ### 🔗 Related Scrapers - [Facebook Marketplace Data Scraper](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-marketplace-data-scraper) - Scrape Facebook Marketplace data - [Facebook Page Video Downloader](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-page-video-downloader) - Download videos from Facebook pages - [Facebook Page Details Extractor](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-page-details-extractor) - Extract details from Facebook pages - [Facebook Page Reels Extractor](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-page-reels-extractor) - Extract reels from Facebook pages - [Facebook Search Video Scraper](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-search-scraper) - Scrape Facebook Video search results - [Facebook Media Downloader](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-media-downloader) - Download photos and videos from Facebook - [Facebook Location UID Finder](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-location-uid) - Find Facebook location UIDs - [Facebook Posts Search](https://apify.com/igview-owner/facebook-old-posts-search) - Search historical Facebook posts by keyword *** ### 🏷️ **Find Me Tags** `facebook people search`, `facebook profile search`, `facebook people finder`, `find people on facebook`, `facebook name search`, `facebook user search`, `facebook profile scraper`, `facebook people extractor`, `facebook profile data`, `facebook search api`, `facebook people lookup`, `facebook profile finder`, `search facebook by name`, `facebook user finder`, `facebook contact search`, `facebook lead generation`, `facebook recruitment search`, `facebook profile url extractor`, `facebook verified profiles`, `facebook people data mining`, `facebook social search`, `facebook profile picture extractor`, `facebook identity search`, `apify facebook scraper`, `facebook scraper apify actor` *** ### 🚀 **Get Started Now** **Ready to find people on Facebook?** 1. Click ["Try for free"](https://apify.com?fpr=ykgg9c) to test the actor 2. Enter a name or keyword to search for people 3. Get profile data with verification status and profile pictures instantly **⭐ If this actor helps your workflow, please give it a star!** *** *Built with ❤️ using Apify Platform | Facebook People Search v1.0* *** **Disclaimer**: This actor is designed for searching publicly available Facebook profiles only. Users are responsible for complying with Facebook's Terms of Service and all applicable data protection laws. Use this tool ethically and responsibly for legitimate purposes only. # Actor input Schema ## `query` (type: `string`): 💬 Enter a name or keyword to search for people on Facebook (e.g., 'John Smith', 'Riya', 'software engineer'). This is the main search term to find people profiles. ## `maxPages` (type: `integer`): 📊 Number of result pages to scrape (1-20). Each page contains ~7 profiles. More pages = more results but longer runtime and higher API usage. ## Actor input object example ```json { "query": "Riya", "maxPages": 1 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `people_overview` (type: `string`): Open the dataset view with an overview of all people profiles including name, URL, verification status, and profile picture. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "query": "Riya", "maxPages": 1 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("igview-owner/facebook-people-search").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "query": "Riya", "maxPages": 1, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("igview-owner/facebook-people-search").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "query": "Riya", "maxPages": 1 }' | apify call igview-owner/facebook-people-search --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=igview-owner/facebook-people-search", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Facebook People Search", "description": "Scrape public Facebook profiles instantly using names or keywords. Extract profile IDs, links, verified status, and images with automated pagination.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "JssR3fxuwAZ6KYd9V" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/igview-owner~facebook-people-search/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-igview-owner-facebook-people-search", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/igview-owner~facebook-people-search/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-igview-owner-facebook-people-search", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/igview-owner~facebook-people-search/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-igview-owner-facebook-people-search", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "query" ], "properties": { "query": { "title": "🔎 Search Query", "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 500, "type": "string", "description": "💬 Enter a name or keyword to search for people on Facebook (e.g., 'John Smith', 'Riya', 'software engineer'). This is the main search term to find people profiles.", "default": "Riya" }, "maxPages": { "title": "📄 Maximum Pages", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 20, "type": "integer", "description": "📊 Number of result pages to scrape (1-20). Each page contains ~7 profiles. More pages = more results but longer runtime and higher API usage.", "default": 1 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```