Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper

Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper

The Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper is a fast, reliable Apify actor that extracts public follower and following lists from Instagram profiles at scale. It solves the pain of manual copy-paste by automating collection of usernames, bios-related metadata, and profile links — ideal for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers. This instagram followers scraper and instagram following scraper supports bulk input, live saving, and intelligent proxy fallback to deliver consistent results you can export to JSON or CSV for downstream analysis.

What is Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper?

Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper is a purpose-built Instagram followers and following scraper that collects public user lists from Instagram profiles. It helps you scrape instagram followers list or following lists reliably while handling rate limits and blocks. Designed for growth teams, analysts, and developers, it offers bulk processing, retry logic, and automatic proxy fallback — enabling audience research, influencer mapping, and competitor tracking at scale.

What data / output can you get?

Below are the core fields the actor saves to the output dataset as it runs. You can export your results to JSON or CSV directly from the Apify dataset.

Data type	Description	Example value
pk	Primary key (user ID)	"73320179592"
id	User ID (fallbacks to pk when missing)	"73320179592"
username	Instagram username	"johndoe"
full_name	Full name	"John Doe"
profile_pic_url	Profile image URL	"https://instagram.cdn/.../photo.jpg"
is_verified	Account verification status	false
is_private	Account privacy flag	true
followed_by	The source profile these users relate to	"cristiano"
fbid_v2	Facebook/IG internal ID variant	"17841400000000000"
profile_pic_id	Profile image ID	"1234567890"
account_badges	Account badges array	[]
success	Record saved successfully flag	true

Bonus metadata fields available when present: pk_id, strong_id__, has_anonymous_profile_picture, latest_reel_media, is_favorite, third_party_downloads_enabled.

Note: In followers mode, the actor can additionally discover and save users found in post comments for richer coverage.

Key features

• 🚀 Dual-mode extraction (followers & following) Choose between scraping followers or accounts a profile is following. Perfect for building both inbound and outbound audience lists with an instagram followers and following scraper.

• 📦 Bulk processing Feed multiple Instagram profile URLs or usernames in one run. The instagram user list scraper handles them sequentially with progress logs and live saving.

• 🧠 Smart proxy fallback Automatic flow: direct → datacenter proxy → residential proxy (sticky) with retries when needed to mitigate blocks and rate limits.

• 💾 Live data saving with dedupe Records are pushed to the dataset as soon as they’re collected, with de-duplication to prevent duplicates across pages and comment-sourced users.

• ♻️ Robust retry & backoff Built-in retry logic and anti-blocking delays help maintain stability for large jobs when you download instagram follower list data at scale.

• 🔍 Enhanced followers mode When scraping followers, it also extracts additional users from posts and comments on the target profile — a powerful instagram follower extractor for broader audience discovery.

• 📊 Clear, detailed logging Progress milestones and per-profile summaries make it easy to monitor and tune runs.

• 📤 Easy export Export instagram followers to csv or JSON from the dataset OUTPUT tab for immediate analysis.

How to use Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper - step by step

1. Sign in to Apify Create or log in to your Apify account at https://console.apify.com.

2. Open the actor Find “instagram-followers-and-following-scrapper” in your Actors list and open it.

3. Add input data Paste Instagram profile URLs or usernames into startUrls (e.g., https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/ or cristiano). You can add multiple entries.

4. Choose scrape mode Set scrapeMode to followers or following depending on whether you want an instagram profile followers scraper or instagram following extractor.

5. Configure limits and session

   • Set maxData (0 for unlimited pagination).
   • Optionally add sessionId (recommended) to improve success rates.

6. Set proxy (optional but recommended) In proxyConfiguration, you can leave useApifyProxy as false (direct). The actor will automatically fall back to datacenter and then residential proxies if blocked.

7. Run the actor Click Start. Watch real-time logs and progress updates as items are saved.

8. Download results Go to the OUTPUT tab to view your dataset and export to JSON or CSV for immediate use.

Pro tip: For the most reliable results on large profiles, provide a valid sessionId and enable Apify Proxy for higher success rates.

Use cases

Use case name	Description
Social media analytics	Analyze audience makeup by extracting follower or following lists to reveal segments, interests, and network overlaps.
Influencer research	Identify potential collaborators by scraping follower lists of relevant creators and brands to find engaged communities.
Competitor tracking	Monitor competitor audience growth and relationships via recurring exports that feed dashboards.
Market research	Map out target personas by collecting public followers/following lists from niche profiles and aggregating signals.
Network analysis	Build social graphs by combining followers, following, and commenters discovered in followers mode.
Data enrichment (technical)	Feed exported JSON/CSV into pipelines for CRM tagging, clustering, or cohort analysis.
Academic research	Collect public user lists for studies on online communities, influence, and information diffusion.

Why choose Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper?

This production-ready instagram followers data scraping tool is optimized for reliability, scale, and clean, structured output.

• ✅ Accurate, structured output: Consistent user records with IDs, usernames, verification/privacy flags, and profile images.
• ⚡ Built for scale: Bulk input support, live saving, and de-duplication keep large runs organized.
• 🧠 Resilient to blocks: Automatic proxy fallback (direct → datacenter → residential) with retries and anti-blocking delays.
• 🔍 Extra coverage in followers mode: Also pulls users from posts and comments, going beyond a basic instagram follower list exporter.
• 🛡️ Safe & responsible: Collects data from publicly available profiles only; does not access private accounts.
• 📤 Easy exports: Export instagram following to csv or JSON from the dataset for quick integration with your tools.
• 🧰 Apify-native workflow: Detailed logs, robust error handling, and dataset outputs fit seamlessly into existing Apify processes.

Bottom line: It’s a reliable instagram followers and following scraper that saves time, reduces risk, and scales with your research or marketing workflows.

Is it legal / ethical to use Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper?

Yes — when done responsibly. This actor collects data from publicly available Instagram sources only and will not access private accounts or password-protected content. You are responsible for ensuring your use complies with applicable laws and platform terms.

Guidelines for responsible use:

• Only collect and use public data.
• Respect Instagram’s Terms of Service and rate limits.
• Comply with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and avoid spam.
• Consult your legal team for edge cases or jurisdiction-specific requirements.

Input parameters & output format

Example JSON input

{
  "scrapeMode": "followers",
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/",
    "nike"
  ],
  "maxData": 100,
  "sessionId": "80339464000%3AMwlUEdZkdshtFG%3A5%3AAYiJEi32U_OOJkvXyc232wBhDZz1Q4zQOFhTFSTy3g",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Input parameters

• startUrls (array, required)
  • Description: List of Instagram profile URLs or usernames to scrape. Examples: https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/, nike
  • Default: none
• scrapeMode (string, required)
  • Description: Choose what to scrape: followers (scrape followers of the profiles) or following (scrape accounts that the profiles are following)
  • Default: "followers"
  • Allowed values: "followers", "following"
• maxData (integer, optional)
  • Description: Maximum number of items to collect per profile. Range: 0–100,000. Note: 0 = unlimited (collect until pagination ends)
  • Default: 100
• sessionId (string, optional)
  • Description: Instagram sessionid cookie. Optional but strongly recommended for better success rates
• proxyConfiguration (object, optional)
  • Description: Configure proxy settings with smart fallback: direct (default) → datacenter → residential (automatic if blocked, with 3 retries)
  • Default: {"useApifyProxy": false}

Example JSON output

[
  {
    "pk": "73320179592",
    "pk_id": "73320179592",
    "id": "73320179592",
    "username": "johndoe",
    "full_name": "John Doe",
    "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.cdn/.../photo.jpg",
    "is_verified": false,
    "is_private": true,
    "fbid_v2": "17841400000000000",
    "third_party_downloads_enabled": 0,
    "strong_id__": "73320179592",
    "profile_pic_id": "1234567890",
    "has_anonymous_profile_picture": false,
    "account_badges": [],
    "latest_reel_media": 0,
    "is_favorite": false,
    "followed_by": "cristiano",
    "success": true
  }
]

Output fields

• pk: Primary key (user ID)
• pk_id: Primary key ID (falls back to pk when missing)
• id: User ID (falls back to pk when missing)
• username: Instagram username
• full_name: Full name
• profile_pic_url: Profile picture URL
• is_verified: Whether the account is verified
• is_private: Whether the account is private
• fbid_v2: Alternate internal ID value
• third_party_downloads_enabled: Download flag value from API payload
• strong_id__: Strong ID value
• profile_pic_id: Profile picture ID
• has_anonymous_profile_picture: Anonymous profile picture flag
• account_badges: Array of badges
• latest_reel_media: Last reel media timestamp/flag
• is_favorite: Favorite flag
• followed_by: Source profile the record belongs to
• success: Whether the data was successfully collected

Note: Some fields may be missing for certain users depending on what the Instagram endpoint returns; the actor ensures sensible fallbacks for id and pk_id.

FAQ

Is there a free trial or pricing?

Yes. This Apify listing includes trial minutes (120) and uses a flat monthly price model. You can start with the trial to evaluate performance and then subscribe from the actor’s page for continued use.

Do I need to log in or provide cookies?

No login is strictly required, but providing sessionId (the Instagram sessionid cookie) is strongly recommended for better success rates and to reduce blocks.

Can it scrape both followers and following?

Yes. Set scrapeMode to "followers" for follower lists or "following" for accounts the profile follows.

Can I export results to CSV?

Yes. You can export the dataset to JSON or CSV from the Apify console OUTPUT tab after the run completes.

What happens if Instagram blocks requests?

The actor automatically falls back through a smart sequence: direct → datacenter proxy → residential proxy (sticky), with retries on residential to overcome transient blocks.

Does it work on private accounts?

No. The actor only collects data from publicly available sources. Private account data is not accessible.

Does followers mode really collect extra users from posts and comments?

Yes. In followers mode, the actor scans posts and gathers additional users from comments for broader audience coverage.

How many items can I collect per profile?

Control this via maxData. Set a specific number for faster runs, or use 0 for unlimited pagination until the list ends.

Closing CTA / Final thoughts

Instagram Followers And Following Scrapper is built to extract public Instagram follower and following lists at scale with reliability and clean, structured output. With dual-mode extraction, proxy fallback, live saving, and enhanced coverage from post comments in followers mode, it’s a robust instagram followers scrapper for marketers, analysts, and developers.

Start with a few profiles, export results to JSON or CSV, and integrate the output into your research or analytics workflows. For best performance, add a sessionId and enable proxy as needed. Begin extracting smarter audience insights today — fast, reliable, and compliant.