Facebook Reels Scraper

A high-performance, robust web scraper to extract publicly available reels and their rich metadata from any public Facebook profile or page. This scraper requires zero authentication, bypasses complex login requirements, and returns a wealth of detailed metrics including play counts, precise reactions, shares, full-resolution video URLs, owner data, and more. Ideal for social media analysts, marketers, and researchers looking to track competitor performance or analyze viral content trends on Facebook Reels.

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What is Facebook Reels Scraper?

Facebook Reels Scraper is an advanced Apify Actor built to seamlessly collect data from Facebook Reels. It directly targets a creator's public reels tab (e.g., https://web.facebook.com/leomessi/reels/) and intelligently paginates through the content using Facebook's internal GraphQL/Relay endpoints. This ensures rapid data collection without the need to render heavy JavaScript in a headless browser.

Designed for reliability and scale, this scraper operates entirely without an account. It seamlessly bypasses login walls and extracts the exact raw metric values (like 108779 for reactions) alongside their platform-native "reduced" string representation (like 108.8K) that are usually obfuscated behind delayed network requests on the platform.

Unlike official APIs that restrict access, require complicated app review processes, or limit the fields you can fetch, this scraper gives you direct, unadulterated access to the public data currently displayed on Facebook.

What Facebook Reels data is publicly available to scrape?

Data Category	Publicly Available
Reel Video URLs (HD/SD)	✅ Yes
Captions & Text	✅ Yes
Creation Timestamps	✅ Yes
Exact Reaction Counts	✅ Yes
Play/View Counts	✅ Yes
Exact Share Counts	✅ Yes
Comment Counts	✅ Yes
Creator Info (Name, ID, Profile Pic)	✅ Yes
Audio/Music Track Information	✅ Yes
Private Account Reels	❌ No (Requires Login)
Audience Demographics	❌ No

What data can I extract with Facebook Reels Scraper?

The scraper returns deeply nested and highly structured data for each reel. Here are the primary fields extracted:

Identity & Ownership Fields

Field Name	Description
owner_id	The unique numeric ID of the Facebook user/page.
owner_name	The display name of the creator (e.g., "Cristiano Ronaldo").
owner_url	Link to the creator's Facebook profile.
owner_verified	Boolean indicating if the creator has a verified badge.
owner_picture_url	Direct CDN URL to the creator's profile picture.
page_id	The unique ID of the delegated Facebook page, if applicable.

Engagement & Metric Fields

Field Name	Description
playCountRounded	Integer representing the rounded play count of the reel.
play_count_reduced	The formatted string of plays natively displayed by FB (e.g., "1.7M").
reaction_count	The exact integer count of total unified reactions (e.g., 108779).
reaction_count_reduced	The formatted string of reactions (e.g., "108.8K").
share_count	The exact integer count of times the reel was shared.
share_count_reduced	The formatted string of shares (e.g., "5.4K").
comments_count	The exact integer count of total comments on the reel.
comments_count_reduced	The formatted string of comments (e.g., "3.5K").

Content, Media & URLs Fields

Field Name	Description
video_id	The unique ID of the video/reel node.
facebookUrl	The root URL of the Facebook page being scraped.
shareable_url	The direct sharing link to the specific reel.
text / caption	The full text/caption accompanying the reel.
posted_at	The ISO formatted timestamp of when the reel was posted.
duration_seconds	The exact playable duration of the video in seconds.
browser_native_hd_url	Direct MP4 link to the High-Definition video file without watermarks.
thumbnail_url	Direct image link to the highest resolution thumbnail of the reel.
track_title	The name of the music track/audio used in the reel.

Media-Type Specific Behavior

Since this scraper specifically targets Facebook Reels, all extracted items are fundamentally video-based. The tool is highly optimized to extract MP4 video source links (browser_native_hd_url and browser_native_sd_url). Standard image posts or sidecar/carousels that are not part of the Reels tab are ignored by this specific scraper endpoint.

How to configure Facebook Reels Scraper

Configuration Options

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
targetUrl	String	https://web.facebook.com/leomessi/reels/	The full URL to the Facebook page or profile's reels tab.
maxItems	Integer	10	The maximum number of reels to scrape before stopping.

Example Configuration

{
    "targetUrl": "https://web.facebook.com/Cristiano/reels/",
    "maxItems": 50
}

How to use Facebook Reels Scraper

1. Prerequisites: Ensure you have an Apify account. If running locally, you need Python 3.11+, and the apify, requests, and beautifulsoup4 packages installed.
2. Set the Target URL: Copy the URL of any public Facebook page's Reels tab (e.g., https://web.facebook.com/Netflix/reels/) and paste it into the targetUrl input field.
3. Set Max Items: Decide how many reels you want to extract. For example, enter 100 in the maxItems field.
4. Run the Scraper: Click "Start" on the Apify platform (or run apify run locally).
5. Download Output: Once the run completes, navigate to the "Storage" tab to download your data in JSON, CSV, Excel, or other formats.

Output Format

The scraper outputs a flat array of highly detailed JSON objects, one for each reel discovered.

Example Output — Reel Post

{
  "facebookUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/Cristiano",
  "inputUrl": "https://web.facebook.com/reel/1740111043820055",
  "topLevelUrl": "https://facebook.com/1740111043820055/posts/undefined/",
  "topLevelReelUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1740111043820055/",
  "shareable_url": "https://web.facebook.com/reel/1740111043820055",
  "text": "Pronto para Lisboa! 🇵🇹 É um orgulho apoiar este desporto...",
  "time": "2026-04-23T14:17:53+00:00",
  "playCountRounded": 1700000,
  "play_count_reduced": "1.7M",
  "shareCount": 540,
  "share_count": 540,
  "reaction_count": 108779,
  "reaction_count_reduced": "108.8K",
  "comments_count": 3519,
  "comments_count_reduced": "3.5K",
  "video_owner": {
    "name": "Cristiano Ronaldo",
    "id": "100044296486382",
    "url": "https://web.facebook.com/Cristiano",
    "is_verified": true
  },
  "video_owner_type": "FACEBOOK_USER",
  "video": {
    "id": "1740111043820055",
    "playable_duration_in_ms": 49480,
    "embeddable": true,
    "__typename": "Video"
  },
  "video_id": "1740111043820055",
  "reel_url": "https://web.facebook.com/reel/1740111043820055",
  "facebook_profile": "https://www.facebook.com/Cristiano",
  "caption": "Pronto para Lisboa! 🇵🇹 É um orgulho apoiar este desporto...",
  "posted_at_unix": 1682259473,
  "posted_at": "2026-04-23T14:17:53+00:00",
  "duration_seconds": 49.48,
  "browser_native_hd_url": "https://video.fdac2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/...",
  "owner_name": "Cristiano Ronaldo",
  "owner_verified": true
}

Field Reference (Complete)

Field Name	Type	Applies To	Description
facebookUrl	String	Reels	Base URL of the creator's page.
inputUrl	String	Reels	URL used to reach the specific reel.
topLevelUrl	String	Reels	Raw post node URL.
topLevelReelUrl	String	Reels	Standardized reel URL.
shareable_url	String	Reels	Standard share URL for the reel.
text	String	Reels	Full caption of the reel.
time	String	Reels	ISO timestamp of creation.
playCountRounded	Integer	Reels	Approximate play count as an integer.
play_count_reduced	String	Reels	Play count formatted as a string (e.g. 1.7M).
shareCount	Integer	Reels	Exact share count (legacy key).
share_count	Integer	Reels	Exact share count.
reaction_count	Integer	Reels	Exact reaction/like count.
reaction_count_reduced	String	Reels	Reactions formatted as a string (e.g. 108.8K).
comments_count	Integer	Reels	Exact comment count.
comments_count_reduced	String	Reels	Comments formatted as a string (e.g. 3.5K).
video_owner	Object	Reels	Nested object containing name, id, url, is_verified.
video_owner_type	String	Reels	Constant (usually FACEBOOK_USER or PAGE).
video	Object	Reels	Nested object with raw video id, playable_duration_in_ms, embeddable.
video_id	String	Reels	Extracted raw video ID.
reel_url	String	Reels	Flat duplicate of the shareable reel URL.
permalink_url	String	Reels	Underlying post permalink.
facebook_profile	String	Reels	Flat duplicate of the creator's profile URL.
caption	String	Reels	Flat duplicate of the text caption.
posted_at_unix	Integer	Reels	UNIX timestamp of creation.
posted_at	String	Reels	Formatted timestamp of creation.
play_count_label	String	Reels	Alias for play_count_reduced.
duration_ms	Integer	Reels	Duration of the reel in milliseconds.
duration_seconds	Float	Reels	Duration of the reel in seconds.
width	Integer	Reels	Video resolution width.
height	Integer	Reels	Video resolution height.
aspect_ratio	Float	Reels	Video aspect ratio.
is_embeddable	Boolean	Reels	Whether the video allows off-site embedding.
is_remixable	Boolean	Reels	Whether the video can be remixed.
video_status	String	Reels	Video health status (e.g., OK).
can_autoplay	Boolean	Reels	Autoplay flag.
is_live	Boolean	Reels	Whether the reel was a live stream.
is_spherical	Boolean	Reels	Whether the video is 360/spherical.
thumbnail_url	String	Reels	Direct URL to the cover image.
browser_native_hd_url	String	Reels	Direct MP4 link for the HD version of the video.
browser_native_sd_url	String	Reels	Direct MP4 link for the SD version of the video.
owner_id	String	Reels	The creator's numeric ID.
owner_name	String	Reels	Flat duplicate of the creator's name.
owner_url	String	Reels	Flat duplicate of the creator's URL.
owner_verified	Boolean	Reels	Flat duplicate of verification status.
owner_picture_url	String	Reels	Creator's profile picture URL.
page_id	String	Reels	The associated Facebook Page ID.
page_uri_token	String	Reels	The string slug/token of the page.
music_album_art_url	String	Reels	Cover art for the audio track.
soundtrack_id	String	Reels	The unique ID of the audio track.
soundtrack_type	String	Reels	Type of audio (e.g., CUSTOM_AUDIO).
is_original_audio_on_fb	Boolean	Reels	Whether the audio is an original creator sound.
audio_availability	String	Reels	Status of audio (e.g., AVAILABLE).
top_level_post_id	String	Reels	Internal tracking post ID.
app_id	String	Reels	Internal Facebook App ID.
story_location	Integer	Reels	The context location ID for tracking.
is_reshare	Boolean	Reels	Whether the reel is a reshare of another reel.
reshare_creator_name	String	Reels	Name of the original creator if reshared.
reshare_creator_url	String	Reels	URL of the original creator if reshared.

How does it work?

• Fast & Efficient: The scraper takes the target URL and fetches data using lightweight HTTP requests, mimicking standard user behavior without the overhead of headless browsers.
• Data Stitching: It intelligently captures both the main video metadata and the deeply nested engagement metrics, merging them dynamically into a single structured output for each reel.
• Smart Pagination: The actor seamlessly navigates through the creator's feed, collecting reels at scale until it hits your configured maxItems limit or reaches the end of the content.

How does Facebook Reels Scraper differ from the official Graph API?

Feature	Facebook Reels Scraper	Official Graph API
Access Scope	Any public profile or page	Only pages you own/manage
Account Required	❌ No	✅ Yes (Plus App Review)
Setup Time	< 1 minute	Days / Weeks
Video Files	Direct, unwatermarked HD MP4 URLs	Watermarked or restricted URLs
Audio/Music Data	Full soundtrack and original audio info	Heavily restricted

Rate Limits & Error Handling

Since this scraper interacts directly with Facebook's frontend APIs, it is subject to standard unauthenticated rate limits.

• Pagination Limits: The scraper inherently spaces out requests as it processes the multipart JSON chunks, naturally mitigating aggressive throttling.
• Empty Results: If Facebook temporarily blocks access or requests a login wall, the scraper will safely terminate pagination and return the items collected up to that point.

Legal Considerations

This tool is designed to extract strictly publicly available data that any anonymous user could see by opening a web browser. It does not bypass security controls to access private data. However, users should consult Facebook's Terms of Service and apply responsible scraping practices, including respecting user privacy and copyright limitations when downloading media. This does not constitute legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it require a Facebook account?
No. This scraper operates entirely unauthenticated, meaning you don't risk burning personal accounts or dealing with session cookies.

How many reels can I scrape?
You can configure the maxItems setting to scrape as many reels as a profile has available. However, for extremely large profiles, Facebook may occasionally throttle anonymous pagination after several hundred posts.

Does it handle standard text/image posts?
No. This scraper is explicitly engineered for the /reels/ tab and its specific GraphQL queries.

What if a profile is private?
The scraper cannot access private profiles. It only extracts data that is publicly accessible to logged-out users.

Can I change the output filename?
When running on Apify, output is automatically pushed to the platform's default Dataset, which you can download and name however you like.

What happens when Facebook changes its API?
The underlying query structure is highly stable, but if Facebook makes breaking changes, the scraper will safely halt and log an error until it is updated.

Can I scrape multiple users at once?
Yes, you can run multiple instances of the Actor in parallel on Apify, each configured with a different targetUrl.

Troubleshooting

• Empty Results: If the scraper returns 0 items, ensure that the URL explicitly includes the /reels/ path (e.g., https://web.facebook.com/zuck/reels/).
• 429 Rate Limiting: If you are running the scraper extensively from a single IP, Facebook may temporarily block it. Apify's proxy network automatically mitigates this.
• Missing Engagement Counts: In rare instances where Facebook's servers are heavily loaded, they may omit the @defer feedback chunks. The scraper defaults to null for these fields rather than failing.

Changelog / Version History

• v1.0.0: Initial release. Supports robust pagination, multipart JSON parsing for engagement metrics, and formatted exact/reduced metric numbers.