Instagram Post Scraper

Extract complete data from any public Instagram post by URL — no login required. Get caption, likes, comments, hashtags, mentions, author info, image URL and timestamp in seconds.

Works headlessly using a stealth browser to bypass bot detection. For private posts or higher-volume usage, provide session cookies.

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Features

• ✅ No Instagram account required for public posts
• ✅ Works on /p/, /reel/ and /tv/ URLs
• ✅ Extracts hashtags and mentions automatically
• ✅ Supports multiple URLs in a single run
• ✅ Optional session cookies for private/restricted content
• ✅ Proxy support via Apify Proxy

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Input

{
  "postUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUJaVJMFbh6/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/ABC123xyz/"
  ],
  "sessionCookies": "",
  "proxyConfig": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
postUrls	Array of strings	✅	Instagram post / reel URLs to scrape
sessionCookies	String	❌	Cookie string (sessionid=...; csrftoken=...) for private posts
proxyConfig	Object	❌	Apify proxy configuration

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Output

Each scraped post is saved as one record in the dataset.

Example

{
  "shortcode": "DUJaVJMFbh6",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUJaVJMFbh6/",
  "type": "Image",
  "caption": "Golden hour in Lisbon 🌇 One of my favourite spots. #travel #lisbon #portugal #goldenHour #streetphotography",
  "hashtags": ["travel", "lisbon", "portugal", "goldenHour", "streetphotography"],
  "mentions": [],
  "likesCount": 3847,
  "commentsCount": 112,
  "timestamp": "2025-11-14T17:32:05.000Z",
  "ownerUsername": "sofia.captures",
  "ownerId": "492837651",
  "imageUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/..."
}

Output fields

Field	Type	Description
shortcode	String	Unique post identifier (from URL)
url	String	Canonical post URL
type	String	Image, Video or Carousel
caption	String	Full post caption
hashtags	Array	Hashtags extracted from the caption
mentions	Array	Usernames mentioned in the caption
likesCount	Number	Number of likes (null if hidden)
commentsCount	Number	Number of comments
timestamp	String	Publication date in ISO 8601
ownerUsername	String	Author's Instagram username
ownerId	String	Author's internal Instagram user ID
imageUrl	String	Direct URL to the post image or thumbnail

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Session cookies (optional)

For private posts or to avoid rate limiting on large batches, provide your Instagram session cookies:

1. Open Instagram in your browser and log in
2. Open DevTools → Application → Cookies → https://www.instagram.com
3. Copy the value of sessionid and csrftoken
4. Paste them in the Session Cookies field as: sessionid=YOUR_VALUE; csrftoken=YOUR_VALUE

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FAQ

Does it work without login? Yes — all public posts are accessible without any credentials.

Can I scrape multiple posts at once? Yes — add as many URLs as needed to the postUrls list.

What if a post is private? Private posts require valid session cookies. The actor will log a clear error if the post is inaccessible.

Will this get my account banned? The actor uses a stealth headless browser that mimics human behaviour. For large-scale use, enable Apify Proxy to rotate IPs.