Instagram Scraper

Instagram Scraper — posts, reels, profiles, comments, tags and places

The Instagram Scraper is the all-in-one Instagram data tool: give it any mix of profile, post, reel, hashtag and location links or search terms, choose what to return, and it exports clean rows for each.

It runs on Apify, needs no Instagram login and no cookies, and exports to JSON, CSV, Excel or an API call. Every session key it needs (tokens, query ids, cursors) is read from Instagram on each run, so it keeps working when Instagram ships new code.

What the Instagram Scraper does

• Posts mode: profile grids, single posts, hashtag pages and location pages.
• Reels mode: the Reels tab of each profile.
• Details mode: one row per profile (followers, bio, links) or per post.
• Comments mode: comments of post and reel links, paginated.

Who uses the Instagram Scraper

• Teams that want one Instagram tool instead of many.
• Analysts mixing profiles, hashtags and places in one dataset.
• Developers needing one API for Instagram data.

How the Instagram Scraper works

Instagram serves every public page to logged-out visitors together with the queries that fill it.

The Actor loads the page the way a browser does, reads the session values Instagram puts into it, and then asks Instagram's own GraphQL endpoint for the next page with the cursor the previous page returned.

Query ids that a page does not preload are read from the JavaScript bundles that page lists. Large files from Instagram's CDN (images, videos) are fetched directly with their signed links, so proxy traffic stays small.

Nothing is guessed: if Instagram stops publishing a value the Instagram Scraper needs, the run log names it and the item is skipped instead of being filled with a stale value.

What is new in the Instagram Scraper (October 2026)

These features were added on 2026-10-03 after comparing the Instagram Scraper with the ten most used Actors of its kind on the Apify Store. Defaults keep the earlier behaviour.

• Date filters: onlyPostsNewerThan / onlyPostsOlderThan take a date, an ISO time or "7 days"; profile lists stop paging once older posts arrive.
• skipPinnedPosts leaves out posts pinned to the top of a profile - Instagram flags them in its own post list.
• searchType (hashtag, profile, user) and searchLimit: a hashtag search reads the tag page plus related tags Instagram suggests (measured: "travel" + "transfer travel", 3 posts each).
• resultsType: "mentions" lists who each profile mentions, tags and collaborates with.
• addParentData adds a dataSource label (profile, post, hashtag, location, comment, search) to every row.
• Posts carry isPinned, paidPartnership, sponsors, musicInfo, audioUrl, images, coauthorProducers, latestComments and place coordinates; profile rows carry businessCategoryName, accountType, isBusinessAccount, profilePicUrlHD and hasPublicStory.

Input of the Instagram Scraper

Field	Type	Default	What it does
directUrls	array	["https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"]	Profiles, posts, reels, hashtag (/explore/tags/...) or location URLs - mix freely.
search	array	[]	Keywords or hashtags. With "details" returns matching profiles (found through Google), otherwise posts.
resultsType	string	posts	Rows produced for each URL.
resultsLimit	integer	20	Limit for each input URL or search term.
includeDetails	boolean	True	Reads each post's own data (likes, comments count, date, caption, tagged users, location, audio, video link). One extra request per post. Turn off for the faste
searchType	string	auto	What a search term looks for. Instagram's place search needs a login, so places are not offered: add location URLs instead.
searchLimit	integer	0	Hashtag search: the term's own tag page plus this many minus one related tags Instagram suggests. Profile search: this many profiles.
onlyPostsNewerThan	string	—	Leave out posts published before this date: 2026-09-01, an ISO time (2026-09-01T10:00:00Z) or relative ("7 days", "2 weeks", "1 month"). UTC. Profile lists stop
onlyPostsOlderThan	string	—	Leave out posts published after this date (same formats). Combine with "newer than" for a date range.
skipPinnedPosts	boolean	False	Leave out the posts a profile pinned to the top of its grid (often months old). Instagram flags them in the profile's post list.
addParentData	boolean	False	Adds a dataSource field to every row: profile, post, hashtag, location, comment or search.
maxItems	integer	0	Stops the whole run after this many dataset rows. 0 means only the per-target limits apply.
proxyConfiguration	object	{"useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]}	Instagram limits logged-out visitors per IP address. Residential proxies (the default) give the most reliable results; the Actor switches to a fresh IP when Ins

Example input for the Instagram Scraper:

{
  "directUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"
  ],
  "resultsType": "posts",
  "resultsLimit": 20,
  "includeDetails": true
}

Output of the Instagram Scraper

Each dataset row is one post, reel, profile or comment (depending on "What to return"). These are the fields the Instagram Scraper produced in its test runs:

Field	Meaning
altText	altText
audio	Music or original audio used
caption	Caption text
carouselCount	carouselCount
childPosts	Items of a carousel
coauthors	Collab co-authors
commentsCount	Comments count
detailsAvailable	detailsAvailable
displayUrl	Image link (largest size)
hashtag	hashtag
hashtags	Hashtags found in the caption
height	height
id	Platform id of the item
inputUrl	inputUrl
inputUsername	inputUsername
likesAndViewsHidden	likesAndViewsHidden
likesCount	Likes (or reactions) count
locationId	locationId
locationName	Tagged place
mentions	@accounts mentioned in the caption
ownerFullName	Owner display name
ownerId	Owner account id
ownerUsername	Account that posted it
productType	productType
scrapedAt	When this row was read
shortCode	Instagram short code
source	source
taggedUsers	Accounts tagged in the media
timestamp	Publication time (UTC, ISO 8601)
topics	topics
type	Image, Video or Sidecar (carousel)
url	Public link of the item
videoDurationSec	Video length in seconds
videoPlayCount	Video plays
videoUrl	Video file link (signed CDN link, expires)
width	width
bioLinks	All bio links
biography	Bio text
externalUrl	First bio link
fbid	fbid
audioUrl	Audio-only track link (signed CDN link, expires)
captionIsEdited	Caption was edited after posting
coauthorProducers	Collab co-authors with name, id and verified flag
firstComment	Text of the newest comment
hasAudio	The video has sound
images	Every image link of the post (carousel items too)
isPinned	Pinned to the top of the profile (Instagram's own flag)
latestComments	Newest comments (about 13-15) with author, likes and date
locationLat	Latitude of the tagged place
locationLng	Longitude of the tagged place
musicInfo	Audio: id, title, artist, original or licensed, explicit, trending
ownerIsVerified	Owner has the verified badge
ownerProfilePicUrl	Owner profile picture link
paidPartnership	Marked as a paid partnership
sponsors	Brands of the paid partnership
position	Rank of the post on Instagram's page
accountType	personal, business or creator
biographyHashtags	#hashtags in the bio
biographyMentions	@accounts in the bio
businessCategoryName	Business category shown on the profile
externalUrlShimmed	First bio link through Instagram's redirect (l.instagram.com)
followersCount	Followers
followsCount	Accounts followed
fullName	Display name
hasPublicStory	Has a story from the last 24 hours
hasReels	hasReels
highlights	highlights
highlightsCount	highlightsCount
isBusinessAccount	Business account
isEmbedsDisabled	The owner blocked embedding
isMemorialized	isMemorialized
isPrivate	Private account
isProfessionalAccount	Business or creator account
isVerified	Verified badge
latestPosts	latestPosts
latestStoryAt	latestStoryAt
profilePicUrl	Profile picture link
profilePicUrlHD	Profile picture in full size
pronouns	pronouns
threadsBadge	threadsBadge
username	Account username
commentUrl	Permalink of the comment (Instagram asks logged-out visitors to log in first)
parentCommentId	parentCommentId
postCommentsCount	Comments on the post
postOwnerUsername	postOwnerUsername
postShortCode	postShortCode
postUrl	Post the comment belongs to
repliesCount	Replies under the comment
text	Post or video text
dataSource	Where the row came from (profile, post, hashtag, location, comment, search)
searchTerm	Search term the row belongs to
captionExcerpt	captionExcerpt
mentionType	mentionType
mentionedProfileUrl	mentionedProfileUrl
mentionedUsername	mentionedUsername
postDisplayUrl	Image link of the post
postId	Media id of the post
postIsPinned	The post is pinned on the profile
postLikesCount	postLikesCount
postPaidPartnership	The post is a paid partnership
postTimestamp	postTimestamp
postType	Image, Video or Sidecar
sourceUsername	sourceUsername

Fields that Instagram does not publish for an item are left empty rather than guessed. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or read it through the Apify API.

Example row from a Instagram Scraper test run

A real row from the local test run (long values shortened):

{
  "id": "3996242083173720380",
  "shortCode": "Dd1gQBsCWE8",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd1gQBsCWE8/",
  "type": "Video",
  "productType": "clips",
  "caption": "What happens when we detect an asteroid that could pose a threat to Earth?\n\nIn early 20...",
  "hashtags": [],
  "mentions": [],
  "likesCount": 102351,
  "commentsCount": 877,
  "videoPlayCount": 5052144,
  "timestamp": "2026-09-28T15:27:08.000Z",
  "ownerUsername": "nasa",
  "ownerId": "528817151",
  "ownerFullName": "NASA",
  "displayUrl": "https://instagram.fdac5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.82787-15/825320801_18652458124049152_7299...",
  "videoUrl": "https://instagram.fdac5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/o1/v/t2/f2/m86/AQOuHqPy8zAIe_zxT0betsc1P_MC0UbW...",
  "videoDurationSec": 38.61,
  "width": 608,
  "height": 1080,
  "altText": "Video by NASA on September 28, 2026. May be an image of poster and text.",
  "childPosts": null
}

Data quality of the Instagram Scraper

• Every value in a Instagram Scraper row is read from Instagram during your run; nothing is filled from a cache or an old snapshot.
• Rows are de-duplicated by id inside a run, so the same post, reel, profile or comment never appears twice in one dataset.
• Counts are numbers you can sort and sum (not "1.2K" text) wherever Instagram publishes the exact number.
• Dates are UTC in ISO 8601 format, which Excel, Google Sheets, Python and SQL all read directly.

Instagram Scraper test results

These numbers come from live test runs of the Instagram Scraper on 2026-10-03 (home connection, no proxy). Runs on the Apify platform use residential proxies and can be faster or slower.

Test	Rows	Time
prefill input (regression)	20	15 s
mixed URLs, posts	27	20 s
details of profiles	1	10 s
comments of a post	30	11 s
reels of a profile	13	20 s
NEW hashtag search + addParentData + skip pinned	9	12 s
NEW mentions results + date filter	11	10 s

Instagram Scraper limits, stated plainly

• Search terms in Details mode (or searchType "profile") find profiles through Google, so they need Apify's Google SERP proxy (available on paid plans). Instagram's place search needs a login, so searchType "place" is not offered - add location links instead.
• Location pages show logged-out visitors one page of posts.
• Measured locally: 27 rows from a mixed set of profile, hashtag and post links in 30 seconds.

How to run the Instagram Scraper

1. Open the Instagram Scraper in Apify Console and fill in the input fields described above.
2. Keep the default residential proxy unless you have a reason to change it; Instagram limits logged-out visitors per IP address.
3. Start the run, watch the log, and download the dataset when the status says Done.
4. To automate it, call the Instagram Scraper from the Apify API, schedule it, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n or Google Sheets through an integration or webhook.

Python example with the Apify API client:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run_input = {
    "directUrls": [
        "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"
    ],
    "resultsType": "posts",
    "resultsLimit": 20,
    "includeDetails": True
}
run = client.actor("neuro-scraper/instagram-video-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Instagram Scraper pricing

The Instagram Scraper uses pay-per-event pricing: you pay per dataset row (event "result"), plus the Apify platform usage of your run. Free-plan users get up to 30 rows per run, which is enough to test the Instagram Scraper on real data.

Set a maximum cost per run in Apify and the Instagram Scraper stops cleanly when it is reached.

Tips for large runs of the Instagram Scraper

• Start with a small limit to check the Instagram Scraper output, then raise it; the first rows arrive within seconds.
• Split very large jobs into several inputs and run them in parallel tasks; each run gets its own proxy sessions.
• Set a maximum cost per run in Apify; the Instagram Scraper stops cleanly when the budget is reached and keeps every row it already saved.
• Schedule repeat runs instead of one huge run when you track the same targets over time.
• Keep the residential proxy: datacenter IPs are refused by Instagram far more often for logged-out visitors.

Instagram Scraper compared with copying by hand

	Instagram Scraper	Manual work
Speed	Seconds per page of results	Minutes per item
Fields	Every public field, same order every time	Whatever you copy
Format	JSON, CSV, Excel, API	Spreadsheet you build yourself
Repeatable	Schedule it daily	Start again each time
Errors	Logged per item	Unnoticed typos

Using the Instagram Scraper in a workflow

• Send every new row to Google Sheets or Airtable with the Apify integration and keep a live table.
• Trigger a Make, Zapier or n8n scenario with a webhook when the run finishes.
• Load the JSON export into Python or BigQuery for analysis and dashboards.
• Use the Apify API: start the Instagram Scraper with a POST request and read the dataset items endpoint when the run finishes.
• Chain it: pass the Instagram Scraper output to another Apify Actor (for example a downloader or a transcript Actor) in an Apify task.
• Export straight to Excel from the dataset tab when you only need a one-off report.

Troubleshooting the Instagram Scraper

• The run ends with no rows: open the log. The Instagram Scraper writes one line per target saying what Instagram returned, for example a login wall or a missing item.
• Fewer rows than expected: the target may have fewer public items, or Instagram may stop serving more pages to logged-out visitors. The log names the reason.
• Slow run: large limits mean many pages; the Instagram Scraper waits briefly between pages so Instagram keeps answering. Split big jobs into several runs.
• Proxy errors: keep the RESIDENTIAL group. The Instagram Scraper already switches to a fresh IP when one is blocked.
• Free plan stops at 30 rows: that is the free-plan cap of the Instagram Scraper; any paid Apify plan removes it.

What changed in this version of the Instagram Scraper

• Rebuilt in October 2026 on Instagram's logged-out web endpoints; every token, query id and cursor is read at run time.
• Pay-per-event pricing (one event per row) replaces the old monthly rental; free-plan users can test with 30 rows per run.
• Residential proxy by default, with automatic switch to a fresh IP when Instagram blocks one.
• October 2026 feature round: new filters and fields matching the most used Instagram Actors on the Store, every one measured in a live test; existing inputs and fields are unchanged.

Is it legal to use the Instagram Scraper?

The Instagram Scraper reads only data that Instagram shows to any logged-out visitor. It never logs in and never touches private content. Personal data may still be in public posts, so check GDPR and the other laws that apply to you before you store or reuse it, and respect Instagram's terms.

Related scrapers

Actor	Link
Instagram Profile Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-reels-scraper-downloader-pro
Instagram Posts Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-posts-scraper
Instagram Reels Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-reels-scraper
Instagram Hashtag Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-reeel-scraper
Instagram Comments Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-reels-scraper-and-downloader-premium
Instagram Search Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-video-scraper-advanced
Instagram Video Downloader	neuro-scraper/instagram-video-downloader
Instagram Reels Downloader	neuro-scraper/instagram-reels-downloader
Instagram Image Downloader	neuro-scraper/instagram-video-scraper-and-downloader
Instagram Transcript Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-video-scraper-and-downloader-pro
Instagram Mentions Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-video-scraper-and-downloader-premium
Instagram Keyword Scraper	neuro-scraper/instagram-video-scraper-and-downloader-fastest

Leave a review

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Frequently asked questions

Which links does the Instagram Scraper accept?

Profile links, post and reel links (/p/, /reel/), hashtag links (/explore/tags/) and location links (/explore/locations/).

Does the Instagram Scraper need my Instagram login?

No. The Instagram Scraper works logged out and never asks for your password or cookies. It reads only what Instagram shows to any visitor.

Do I need my own proxy for the Instagram Scraper?

No. The Instagram Scraper uses Apify residential proxies by default and switches to a fresh IP when Instagram blocks one. You can choose another proxy in the input.

What formats can I export from the Instagram Scraper?

JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML and RSS from the dataset tab, or any format through the Apify API, webhooks and integrations.

How fast is the Instagram Scraper?

In the test runs above the Instagram Scraper took between 10 and 20 seconds per run. Speed depends on how many items you ask for and on the proxy.

Why did the Instagram Scraper return fewer rows than I asked for?

The Instagram Scraper stops when Instagram has nothing more to show logged out, when your limit is reached, or when the free-plan cap of 30 rows applies. The run log always says which one happened.

Can I schedule the Instagram Scraper?

Yes. Create a schedule in Apify Console to run the Instagram Scraper daily or hourly and send the results to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier or n8n through an integration.

Can the Instagram Scraper read private accounts or private groups?

No. The Instagram Scraper reads public data only. Private content needs a login, and the Instagram Scraper never logs in.

What happens when Instagram changes its website?

The Instagram Scraper reads every key it needs from Instagram at run time, so routine changes are picked up automatically. If something can no longer be read, the log says so instead of returning wrong data.

Can I use the Instagram Scraper with Make, Zapier or n8n?

Yes. Add the Instagram Scraper as an Apify step in Make, Zapier or n8n, or send a webhook when the run finishes and fetch the dataset items from the Apify API.

Does the Instagram Scraper work in every country?

The Instagram Scraper reads Instagram through residential proxies that rotate across countries. Content that Instagram restricts by country follows those rules.

How do I collect only new items with the Instagram Scraper?

Schedule the Instagram Scraper and keep the item ids from earlier runs. Every row has a stable id, so a simple de-duplication against your previous export keeps only the new ones.

Can the Instagram Scraper process many targets in one run?

Yes. Put as many targets as you like in the input; the Instagram Scraper handles them one after another and a failing target never stops the others.

Can the Instagram Scraper filter posts by date?

Yes. Set onlyPostsNewerThan and / or onlyPostsOlderThan (2026-09-01 or "7 days"). On profiles the Instagram Scraper stops paging as soon as it reaches older posts, which keeps runs short.

Can the Instagram Scraper skip pinned posts?

Yes. Turn on skipPinnedPosts. Instagram marks pinned posts in its own post list, and the Instagram Scraper leaves them out.

Can the Instagram Scraper search places?

No. Instagram's place search answers "Unauthorized logged out query" without a login. Add location links (instagram.com/explore/locations/...) to directUrls instead.