Instagram Following Dataset (Full History)

Overview

This actor performs a deep extraction of Instagram following relationships, capturing comprehensive profile metadata and engagement metrics for each followed account. The dataset provides high-fidelity snapshots of user profiles with temporal consistency, enabling longitudinal analysis and audience intelligence workflows. Data integrity is maintained through structured validation and ISO 8601 timestamp standardization.

Data Dictionary

Field Name	Data Type	Definition
external_id	String	Unique identifier assigned to the Instagram account by the platform
username	String	Instagram handle without the @ symbol
display_name	String	User-defined public name displayed on the profile
scraped_at	String (ISO 8601)	UTC timestamp indicating when the data extraction occurred
is_verified	Boolean	Indicates whether the account has official verification status (blue checkmark)
is_private	Boolean	Indicates whether the account requires approval to view content
language_code	String (ISO 639-1)	Two-letter language code representing the account's primary language
follower_count	Integer	Total number of accounts following this profile at extraction time
following_count	Integer	Total number of accounts this profile follows at extraction time
post_count	Integer	Cumulative number of posts published by the account
profile_stats.avg_engagement_rate	Float	Average engagement rate calculated as (likes + comments) / followers × 100
profile_stats.posts_per_week	Float	Average posting frequency calculated over the account's active history
profile_stats.account_age_days	Integer	Number of days since account creation
location.city	String	City name extracted from profile location metadata
location.country_code	String (ISO 3166-1)	Two-letter country code representing the account's declared location
location.timezone	String (IANA)	IANA timezone identifier associated with the account's location
engagement_metrics.likes_received_30d	Integer	Total likes received across all posts in the trailing 30-day window
engagement_metrics.comments_received_30d	Integer	Total comments received across all posts in the trailing 30-day window
engagement_metrics.mentions_30d	Integer	Number of times the account was mentioned by other users in the trailing 30-day window
profile_category	String	Instagram-assigned category or industry vertical for the account
last_post_timestamp	String (ISO 8601)	UTC timestamp of the most recent post published by the account
has_highlights	Boolean	Indicates whether the account has active Story Highlights
has_igtv	Boolean	Indicates whether the account has published IGTV content
account_type	String	Account classification: personal, creator, or business
bio_links	Array[String]	List of URLs extracted from the profile bio section

Sample Dataset

Below is a sample of the high-fidelity JSON output:

{
  "external_id": "f7c89a23e4b5d6789012345",
  "username": "tech_innovator",
  "display_name": "Tech Innovator",
  "scraped_at": "2025-12-19T14:22:31Z",
  "is_verified": true,
  "is_private": false,
  "language_code": "en",
  "follower_count": 12467,
  "following_count": 891,
  "post_count": 342,
  "profile_stats": {
    "avg_engagement_rate": 3.2,
    "posts_per_week": 4.5,
    "account_age_days": 876
  },
  "location": {
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "country_code": "US",
    "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
  },
  "engagement_metrics": {
    "likes_received_30d": 45230,
    "comments_received_30d": 2134,
    "mentions_30d": 167
  },
  "profile_category": "Technology",
  "last_post_timestamp": "2025-12-18T23:15:42Z",
  "has_highlights": true,
  "has_igtv": true,
  "account_type": "business",
  "bio_links": ["linktr.ee/tech_innovator"]
}

Configuration Parameters

To ensure optimal data depth, configure the following:

Parameter	Field Name	Data Type	Required	Example	Description
Target Account	username	String	Yes	Ronaldo	Instagram username, user ID, or profile URL to extract following list from

Analytical Use Cases

Researchers and analysts leverage this dataset for:

• Audience Segmentation: Cluster followed accounts by engagement patterns, account type, and geographic distribution to identify distinct audience personas
• Influencer Network Mapping: Construct directed graphs of following relationships to identify key opinion leaders and community structures
• Competitive Intelligence: Analyze competitor following lists to discover shared audiences and identify partnership opportunities
• Longitudinal Cohort Studies: Track changes in following behavior over time to measure campaign effectiveness and audience evolution
• Lead Generation Scoring: Rank potential leads based on engagement metrics, verification status, and account maturity indicators
• Content Strategy Optimization: Correlate posting frequency and engagement rates across followed accounts to inform content calendar planning

Technical Limitations

Important Considerations:

• Rate limiting is enforced at 200 requests per hour per IP address to comply with platform guidelines
• Private accounts return limited metadata (username, display_name, is_private flag only)
• Engagement metrics reflect a 30-day trailing window and may not capture seasonal variations
• Historical data is not backfilled; scraped_at represents point-in-time extraction only
• Accounts deleted or suspended between extraction runs will not appear in subsequent datasets
• bio_links array is capped at 5 URLs; additional links are truncated
• Location data is self-reported and may not reflect actual geographic presence
• Maximum extraction depth is 10,000 following relationships per target account

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