Facebook Reel Saves Scraper

What does Facebook Reel Saves Scraper do?

Facebook Reel Saves Scraper is a focused Apify Actor for Facebook Reels. Paste public Reel URLs and export engagement metrics — including savesCount when Meta exposes it publicly — plus views, likes, comments, shares, caption text, page name, thumbnail, and public video CDN URL.

Broader Facebook Posts / Reels scrapers often leave savesCount unclear or missing. This Actor is the narrow Reel-detail job: one URL in, structured engagement out, with honest completenessNotes when a metric is login-gated.

No Facebook login, cookies, or session inputs. Cookie consent and bot challenges are handled as public-surface scraping only.

Why scrape Facebook Reel saves and views?

1. Creator analytics — Compare public view and reaction totals across competitor Reels.
2. Content research — Capture captions, thumbnails, and share/comment depth for viral formats.
3. Campaign monitoring — Track public Reel URLs after ads or organic posts go live.
4. Pipeline fill — Add savesCount (or an explicit null + note) beside views when general Facebook scrapers omit saves.
5. Save-rate proxies — Flag Reels where saves are exposed vs views-only peers.
6. Competitive boards — Build a weekly table of rival page Reel engagement.
7. Ad creative QA — Snapshot public metrics after a paid Reel launches.
8. Thumbnail audits — Export imageUrl alongside engagement for creative review.
9. Archive jobs — Keep videoUrl CDN links with metrics for offline analysis.
10. Dataset finishers — Enrich a list of Reel URLs with structured engagement fields.

What data can you extract?

Field	Description
url / reelId	Canonical Reel URL and numeric Reel id
pageName / pageUrl	Public page or profile that owns the Reel
text / description	Caption / Open Graph description
imageUrl	Primary thumbnail (absolute HTTPS)
videoUrl	Public CDN MP4 when present (browser_native_*)
viewsCount	Public “N views” from Open Graph title (see notes)
playsCount	Same public metric as viewsCount on logged-out HTML
likesCount	Reaction / liker count when present
commentsCount	Public comment total
sharesCount	Public share total
savesCount	Aggregate saves when publicly available; otherwise null
createTime	ISO publish time when present
scrapedAt	ISO scrape timestamp
completenessNotes[]	Explains missing or aliased fields (e.g. saves login-only)

viewsCount vs playsCount

On public (logged-out) Reel HTML, Meta labels the metric in Open Graph as views (for example 42K views · 406 reactions). A separate numeric play_count is typically not present. This Actor sets viewsCount from that public label and mirrors it to playsCount, documenting both in completenessNotes.

savesCount availability

Aggregate savesCount is often not included in logged-out Relay / Open Graph payloads (pages usually expose only save_info.viewer_save_state). When the count is absent, the Actor still returns the Reel row with savesCount: null and a completeness note — so you get a dedicated saves/views detail dataset without inventing numbers.

How to scrape Facebook Reel engagement

1. Open Facebook Reel Saves Scraper in Apify Console.
2. Paste one or more public Reel URLs (https://www.facebook.com/reel/{id}/).
3. Keep Maximum items small for a test run (default 5).
4. Leave Proxy on Apify Proxy RESIDENTIAL (recommended for Facebook).
5. Run the Actor and download JSON/CSV/Excel from the dataset.

Input

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/916623766125417/" },
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/1312298446823817/" }
  ],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

• Reel URLs (startUrls) — public facebook.com/reel/{id} links (and compatible video/share URLs that resolve to a Reel id).
• Maximum items — per start URL (default 5).
• Proxy configuration — defaults to Apify Proxy residential.

Output example

{
  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/916623766125417/",
  "reelId": "916623766125417",
  "pageName": "Jordan Matter Photography",
  "pageUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/JordanMatterPhotography",
  "text": "Get in and out quick …",
  "description": "Get in and out quick …",
  "imageUrl": "https://scontent…/…jpg",
  "videoUrl": "https://video…/….mp4",
  "viewsCount": 42000,
  "playsCount": 42000,
  "likesCount": 406,
  "commentsCount": 4,
  "sharesCount": 8,
  "savesCount": null,
  "createTime": "2023-04-17T18:20:48.000Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-31T12:00:00.000Z",
  "completenessNotes": [
    "viewsCount is taken from the public Open Graph title label (\"N views\"). Facebook does not expose a separate numeric play_count in logged-out Reel HTML.",
    "playsCount mirrors viewsCount for public Reels — Meta labels the public metric as views, not plays.",
    "savesCount is not exposed on public (logged-out) Reel HTML; Meta only returns viewer save_info.state without an aggregate count."
  ]
}

You can download results as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML table from the run dataset.

How much does it cost?

This Actor is pay per result plus Apify platform usage (compute and residential proxies). You pay a maintenance fee for each Reel row (from $0.49 per 1,000 results on the FREE Store plan) and you also pay Apify usage for the run. Residential proxies are the default because Facebook often blocks datacenter IPs — that is the main usage driver.

FAQ

Does this require a Facebook login?

No. Only publicly reachable Reel pages are scraped. There is no username, password, or cookie-jar input.

Why is savesCount null?

Meta frequently omits aggregate save counts from logged-out HTML. The Actor records null and explains why in completenessNotes rather than guessing. If a public save count appears in the page payload, it is returned.

How is this different from a general Facebook posts scraper?

General posts scrapers target page posts and broader Facebook content workflows. This Actor is a Reel-only detail scraper aimed at savesCount + viewsCount clarity for users who need that wedge.

Is it legal to scrape Facebook Reels?

Only scrape publicly available data and respect Facebook’s terms, robots rules, and applicable laws (including GDPR where personal data may appear). Use results for legitimate purposes and consult counsel if unsure.

Image Credit

Image credit: facebook.com