Social Handle Checker - TikTok, X, Snapchat, Twitch, GitHub

Social Handle Checker - TikTok, X, Snapchat, Twitch, GitHub

Social Handle Checker tells you whether a username is free or already taken across 7 platforms in one run: TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, X (Twitter), GitHub, Snapchat, and Twitch.

Paste a list of candidate usernames and get a yes/no/error verdict per platform per handle — seven platforms checked reliably, with no proxy required, instead of ten platforms where three barely work.

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parsebird/social-handle-checker on Apify. Call: ApifyClient("TOKEN").actor("parsebird/social-handle-checker").call(run_input={"handles":["mybrand","acme_corp"],"platforms":["tiktok","pinterest","youtube","twitter","github","snapchat","twitch"]}), then client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items for results. Key inputs: handles (array of strings, without @), platforms (array, subset of tiktok|pinterest|youtube|twitter|github|snapchat|twitch, default all 7). One output row per handle with columns available_tiktok, available_pinterest, available_youtube, available_twitter, available_github, available_snapchat, available_twitch — each is "yes" (free), "no" (taken), "error" (check failed, verify manually), or "not_checked" (platform omitted from run). Instagram, Threads, and Facebook are intentionally not included — Meta blocks automated checks at the IP-pool level even through a residential proxy, so no scraper can check them reliably. Full actor spec: GET https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parsebird~social-handle-checker (Bearer TOKEN). Get token: https://console.apify.com/account/integrations

What is Social Handle Checker?

Social Handle Checker is an Apify Actor that answers one question fast: is this username available? — across TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, X, GitHub, Snapchat, and Twitch at once. Instead of manually opening seven tabs per candidate name, feed it a list of handles and get a single row per handle with a clear verdict for every platform.

Use it as a username availability checker, a brand name research tool, or a repeatable pre-launch check before registering a new brand, product, or personal account. Results download as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or HTML, or you can fetch them programmatically through the Apify API.

Why doesn't this check Instagram, Threads, or Facebook?

Every platform this actor supports was verified against the live Apify platform to return a correct, confident answer for real handles. Instagram, Threads, and Facebook did not clear that bar — Meta blocks automated lookups at the IP-pool level, and even a fresh residential proxy session per handle still returned HTTP 429/400 errors on every attempt during testing. A brand-new session doesn't help when the whole pool is flagged.

There are other username checkers on Apify that list Instagram as supported and sit at 1-2 stars because those checks fail silently or return wrong answers. We'd rather ship 7 platforms that work than 10 where 3 are a coin flip. If Meta's defenses change and a reliable method becomes available, we'll add it back.

What can Social Handle Checker do?

• 🔎 Check up to 7 platforms per handle in a single run: TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, X, GitHub, Snapchat, Twitch
• ⚡ Checks all platforms for a handle concurrently, and processes multiple handles in parallel
• 💸 No proxy required — every platform connects reliably direct from the run, so there's no residential proxy cost baked into the price
• 🎯 Restrict platforms to only the sites you care about, to save run time on large handle lists
• ⚙️ Run on demand, schedule recurring re-checks, or connect results to Apify integrations like Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, and webhooks
• 📤 Export results in JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or HTML from the Apify dataset

How each platform is checked

Platform	Method
TikTok	Public profile page, parsed for a matching uniqueId in the page data
Pinterest	Public RSS feed (/feed.rss), with an HTML fallback if ambiguous
YouTube	youtube.com/@{handle} — 404 = free, channel metadata present = taken
X (Twitter)	Public oEmbed API (publish.twitter.com/oembed) — 200 = taken, 404 = free
GitHub	api.github.com/users/{handle} — 200 = taken, 404 = free
Snapchat	story.snapchat.com/@{handle} — 200 = taken, 404 = free
Twitch	twitch.tv/{handle}, parsed for a channel-specific page title

Even reliable platforms occasionally return a login wall or a page that renders differently under load. When a check can't be completed confidently, that platform's column returns error instead of a guess — verify those manually before you commit to a name.

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
handles	array of strings	Yes	—	Handles to check, without @
platforms	array of strings	No	all 7	Subset of tiktok, pinterest, youtube, twitter, github, snapchat, twitch

Example input (all platforms):

{
  "handles": ["mybrand", "acme_corp"],
  "platforms": ["tiktok", "pinterest", "youtube", "twitter", "github", "snapchat", "twitch"]
}

Example input (TikTok + GitHub only, faster on large lists):

{
  "handles": ["brandname", "brand_name"],
  "platforms": ["tiktok", "github"]
}

Output example

{
  "handle": "mybrand",
  "available_tiktok": "no",
  "available_pinterest": "yes",
  "available_youtube": "no",
  "available_twitter": "yes",
  "available_github": "yes",
  "available_snapchat": "no",
  "available_twitch": "yes"
}

yes = appears free, no = taken, error = check failed (verify manually), not_checked = platform omitted from this run.

Download in JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel from the dataset page, or fetch rows programmatically through the API.

How to check social media handle availability

1. Open Social Handle Checker on Apify and click Try for free.
2. Paste your candidate handles, one per line.
3. Optionally restrict platforms to only the sites you care about.
4. Start the run and wait for the dataset to populate — most runs finish in seconds to a couple of minutes depending on handle count.
5. Download results as JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, XML, or RSS.
6. Automate it with Apify scheduling, integrations, or the Apify API to re-check names periodically.

How to use the handle checker API in Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("parsebird/social-handle-checker").call(run_input={
    "handles": ["mybrand", "acme_corp"],
    "platforms": ["tiktok", "twitter", "github"],
})

items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
print(items)

How to use the handle checker API in JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('parsebird/social-handle-checker').call({
    handles: ['brandname', 'brand_name'],
    platforms: ['tiktok', 'github'],
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Use cases

• Brand naming — Check a shortlist of candidate names across every supported platform before picking one
• Consistent handles — Find a username that's simultaneously free on TikTok, X, and more
• Domain + social bundle checks — Pair with a domain availability check to validate a full brand identity in one pass
• Competitive/landscape research — Confirm which platforms a competitor or public figure is (or isn't) active on
• Recurring monitoring — Schedule periodic re-checks on a shortlist to catch a name the moment it frees up

How it works

1. Normalizes each handle (strips a leading @, de-duplicates case-insensitively)
2. Runs every requested platform check for that handle concurrently
3. Retries once automatically on a transient rate-limit or server error
4. Pushes one row per handle to the dataset and stops once your spending limit is reached

How much does it cost to check social media handles?

Social Handle Checker uses pay-per-event pricing — you pay per handle checked, not per platform request made internally.

Event	Price per event	Price per 1,000
handle-checked	$0.009 (Free) / $0.008 (Bronze) / $0.007 (Silver) / $0.006 (Gold)	$9.00 / $8.00 / $7.00 / $6.00

Checking 50 handles across all 7 platforms costs about $0.45 on the Free plan. Apify's free trial credits cover typical test runs.

Is it legal to check social media handle availability?

Social Handle Checker only queries public status signals — HTTP status codes, public REST APIs (GitHub), and public page metadata — the same signals each platform's own signup flow uses to tell you a username is taken. It does not log in, does not access private data, and does not scrape any content beyond what's needed to answer "is this handle taken." You're responsible for how you use the results — always review each platform's Terms of Service and Apify's guide on the legality of web scraping before running large or automated workloads.

Related ParseBird social platform scrapers

Actor	Best for
Pinterest Profile Scraper	Full Pinterest profile and board data
Snapchat Profile Scraper	Public Snapchat profile details
YouTube Channel Search Scraper	Discover and enrich YouTube channels

FAQ

Why isn't Instagram, Threads, or Facebook supported? Meta blocks automated username lookups at the IP-pool level. During testing, even a brand-new residential proxy session per handle still returned HTTP 429 (Instagram/Threads) or HTTP 400 (Facebook) on every single attempt — the problem isn't a flagged session, it's the whole proxy pool. Rather than ship a check that mostly returns error and mislead you into thinking it works, we left them out. See above for more detail.

Do I need a proxy for this to work? No. All 7 supported platforms were verified to connect reliably with no proxy at all. The proxy input exists only as an optional override for extra resilience on very large handle lists — leave it off for normal use.

Why does a platform sometimes return error instead of yes/no? Even reliable platforms occasionally rate-limit or serve a page that renders differently under load — TikTok is the most likely to do this. Rather than guess, the actor reports error so you know to verify that specific name manually.

Can I check just one or two platforms to save cost? Yes. Set platforms to only the sites you need — for example ["tiktok", "github"] — and the run skips every other check entirely.

Can I schedule recurring runs? Yes. Use Apify scheduling to re-check a shortlist daily or weekly and catch a name the moment it becomes available.

How do I report a problem or request another platform? Open an issue from the Actor page in Apify Console and include the run ID, the handle, and the platform that needs review.