Instagram Mentions Scraper

Instagram Mentions Scraper

Instagram Mentions Scraper is an Apify actor that collects public Instagram posts from the profiles you specify and extracts structured fields such as captions, hashtags, @mentions, engagement counts, media URLs, timestamps, owner info, and preview comments — ideal for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers. It works as an Instagram mentions extractor for captions and a reliable Instagram brand mentions tracker on posts from the usernames you track, helping you monitor campaigns and analyze content at scale.

What data / output can you get?

Below are the exact fields the actor pushes to the Apify dataset for each post. You can export results to JSON or CSV from your dataset.

Data field	Description	Example value
inputUrl	The profile URL used as input context for the scraped post	https://www.instagram.com/natgeo
id	Post ID (pk/id from Instagram API)	"3123456789012345678"
type	Post type label inferred from media_type (Image, Video, Carousel, Unknown)	"Image"
shortCode	Instagram shortcode for the post	"DPjhm_UEzM4"
caption	Post caption text	"Exploring wild places with @photographer #nature"
hashtags	Unique hashtags extracted from caption	["nature", "wildlife"]
mentions	Unique @usernames extracted from caption	["photographer"]
url	Canonical post URL	"https://www.instagram.com/p/DPjhm_UEzM4/"
commentsCount	Number of comments (comment_count)	187
firstComment	Text of the first preview comment (if available)	"Amazing shot!"
latestComments	Array of preview comments with id, text, username	[{"id":"123","text":"Wow","username":"user1"}]
dimensionsHeight	Image/video height (original_height)	1080
dimensionsWidth	Image/video width (original_width)	1080
displayUrl	Primary image URL (or thumbnail)	"https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/..."
images	For carousels: list of image URLs from each child	["https://scontent.../img1.jpg","https://scontent.../img2.jpg"]
likesCount	Number of likes (like_count)	15385
videoPlayCount	Video play count if media_type is 2 (Video), else 0	120034
timestamp	ISO timestamp built from taken_at	"2026-04-04T08:15:30.00Z"
childPosts	For carousels: list of child objects with id/type/shortCode/url/dimensions/displayUrl/videoPlayCount	[{"id":"123","type":"Image","shortCode":"ABC","url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/ABC/","dimensionsHeight":1080,"dimensionsWidth":1080,"displayUrl":"https://...","videoPlayCount":0}]
locationName	Location name if present	"New York, USA"
ownerFullName	Post owner’s full name (from item.user or fallback)	"National Geographic"
ownerUsername	Post owner’s username (from item.user or fallback)	"natgeo"
ownerId	Post owner’s ID (from item.user or fallback)	"787132"
productType	Product type if provided by Instagram	"feed"
taggedUsers	Users tagged in the media (from usertags) with user metadata	[{"full_name":"Jane Doe","id":"123","is_private":false,"is_verified":true,"profile_pic_url":"https://...%22,%22profile_pic_url_hd%22:%22https://...%22,%22username%22:%22janedoe"}]
musicInfo	Music metadata if present	{"audio_canonical_id":"0","audio_type":null,"music_info":null,"original_sound_info":null,"pinned_media_ids":null}

Note: Data is saved to your Apify dataset, which supports one-click exports to JSON or CSV.

Key features

• ⚡ Parallel username processing
  Scrape multiple profiles in a single run with controlled concurrency (up to 2 usernames processed concurrently), speeding up batch workflows for teams that track several accounts.

• 🧭 No-login token extraction
  Automatically extracts required tokens (APP_ID, CSRF token, x-ig-www-claim) from public profile pages — no account login or cookies needed.

• 🛡️ Smart proxy handling with residential fallback
  Built-in Apify Proxy support with automatic fallback and rotation to RESIDENTIAL endpoints when Instagram responds with 403/429, improving reliability during stricter periods.

• 🔎 Accurate hashtag and @mention parsing from captions
  Robust regular expressions extract unique hashtags and @mentions from caption text, powering your Instagram mentions monitoring tool for caption-based insights.

• 💬 Comment preview capture
  Collects first preview comment and an array of latest preview comments (id, text, username) to quickly assess audience reaction without heavy comment crawling.

• 🖼️ Carousel and video awareness
  Outputs image lists and child post objects for carousels, and play counts for videos, enabling richer analytics beyond single-image posts.

• 📤 Real-time dataset streaming
  Each post is pushed to the Apify dataset immediately as it’s processed (Actor.push_data), enabling webhook-based automations and near-real-time pipelines — a practical Instagram mentions API alternative for many use cases.

• 🧱 Rate-limit aware and resilient
  Retries, backoff, and page-by-page pacing minimize blocks. The actor adapts delays as pagination deepens to maintain stability on large crawls.

How to use Instagram Mentions Scraper – step by step

1. 🔑 Sign in to Apify
   Create a free Apify account or log in.

2. 🔍 Open the actor
   Search for “Instagram Mentions Scraper” in the Apify Store and open it.

3. 📝 Add usernames
   In the input, set username to a list of Instagram handles (without @) or full profile URLs. One per line works best.

4. 🔢 Choose how many posts per profile
   Set resultsLimit between 0 and 10,000. Use 0 or 10,000+ to fetch “all available” (within platform limits). Values 1–19 are automatically bumped to 20 for useful batch size.

5. 🛡️ Configure proxy (recommended)
   Enable Apify Proxy for smoother runs. If Instagram responds with 403/429, the actor can fall back to RESIDENTIAL endpoints automatically.

6. 🚀 Start the run
   Click Start. The actor fetches profile tokens, paginates through posts, and pushes each result to the dataset in real time.

7. 💾 Export results
   Open the dataset tab to download your results as JSON or CSV, or connect the dataset to your workflows via the Apify API.

Pro tip: Combine dataset exports with webhooks to trigger alerts when new posts mentioning your @username appear in captions — a lightweight Instagram mentions alert software setup.

Use cases

Use case	Description
Brand monitoring on owned/competitor profiles	Track new posts on selected profiles and extract hashtags and @mentions from captions to measure brand/partner visibility.
Influencer campaign tracking	Monitor creators’ feeds for campaign hashtags and @mentions, and capture engagement counts and preview comments.
UGC discovery and curation	Identify posts that mention your brand or products in captions across profiles you follow, including carousels and videos.
Social listening snapshots	Use the latestComments preview and caption entities to quickly assess audience sentiment signals without full comment crawling.
Market and trend analysis	Aggregate hashtags and post types to analyze content themes, formats (image/video/carousel), and basic engagement.
Data pipeline enrichment	Feed structured JSON into analytics stacks as an Instagram mentions data extractor and Instagram username mentions scraper component.

Why choose Instagram Mentions Scraper?

This actor is built for precision, resilience, and automation on public Instagram data — without logins or brittle browser automation.

• 🎯 Structured, analytics-ready fields directly from the Instagram feed API response mapping
• ⚡ Parallel processing for multiple usernames with smart pacing and retries
• 🛡️ Production-ready proxy strategy with residential fallback and rotation on 403/429
• 🧩 Developer-friendly: Apify SDK, datasets, API exports, and webhook-ready workflows
• 🔎 Accurate extraction of hashtags and @mentions from captions for reliable mention tracking
• 💬 Preview comments included for quick engagement snapshots
• 💰 Accessible: includes a trial and flat monthly plan; export to JSON/CSV without extra tooling

In short: a reliable Instagram mention tracking tool versus unstable extensions or manual copy-paste.

Is it legal / ethical to use Instagram Mentions Scraper?

Yes — when used responsibly. This actor extracts publicly available data from Instagram profiles you specify and does not access private profiles or require user login credentials.

Guidelines for compliant use:

• Scrape only public data and respect platform limits.
• Avoid private or sensitive information; this actor does not access DMs or private endpoints.
• Ensure compliance with applicable laws (e.g., GDPR/CCPA) and Instagram’s terms.
• Consult your legal team for edge cases or regulated workflows.

Input parameters & output format

Example JSON input

{
  "username": ["natgeo", "cristiano"],
  "resultsLimit": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true }
}

Input parameters

• username (array, required)
  Description: One username per line—handles only (no @ required). Examples: natgeo, cristiano, or your brand handle. Full profile URLs work too if pasted from the browser. Default: none.

• resultsLimit (integer, optional)
  Description: How many recent posts to collect for each profile (0–10,000). Use 0 or 10,000+ for “all available” (within platform limits). Values between 1 and 19 are bumped up to 20 so each run returns a useful batch. Default: 20.

• proxyConfiguration (object, optional)
  Description: Apify Proxy helps avoid blocks and rate limits on Instagram. If a connection is rejected, the actor can fall back to a residential endpoint—toggle proxy on for the most reliable results. Default prefill: {"useApifyProxy": false}.

Notes on behavior from source code:

• If resultsLimit is 0 or ≥ 10000, the actor runs in unlimited mode.
• If resultsLimit is between 1 and 19, it’s bumped to 20.
• Multiple usernames can be processed in parallel (max concurrency 2).

Example JSON output

{
  "inputUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo",
  "id": "3738979930505163576",
  "type": "Image",
  "shortCode": "DPjhm_UEzM4",
  "caption": "Limiting your sugar intake can have a surprising impact... #Health @expert",
  "hashtags": ["Health"],
  "mentions": ["expert"],
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DPjhm_UEzM4/",
  "commentsCount": 187,
  "firstComment": "Great insights!",
  "latestComments": [
    { "id": "1801", "text": "Love this!", "username": "reader_one" },
    { "id": "1802", "text": "Thanks for sharing", "username": "reader_two" }
  ],
  "dimensionsHeight": 1080,
  "dimensionsWidth": 1080,
  "displayUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.123...jpg",
  "images": [],
  "likesCount": 15385,
  "videoPlayCount": 0,
  "timestamp": "2026-04-04T09:21:31.00Z",
  "childPosts": [],
  "locationName": "New York, USA",
  "ownerFullName": "National Geographic",
  "ownerUsername": "natgeo",
  "ownerId": "787132",
  "productType": "feed",
  "taggedUsers": [
    {
      "full_name": "Jane Doe",
      "id": "123456",
      "is_private": false,
      "is_verified": true,
      "profile_pic_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/profile.jpg",
      "profile_pic_url_hd": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/profile_hd.jpg",
      "username": "janedoe"
    }
  ],
  "musicInfo": {
    "audio_canonical_id": "0",
    "audio_type": null,
    "music_info": null,
    "original_sound_info": null,
    "pinned_media_ids": null
  }
}

Notes:

• latestComments is a preview subset only (if provided by Instagram).
• For some profiles, ownerId may be "unknown" if the actor cannot derive it from feed items early in pagination.

FAQ – Instagram Mentions Scraper

Do I need to log in to use this actor?

No. The actor extracts necessary tokens (e.g., APP_ID and CSRF token) from public profile pages and does not require account login or cookies.

Can it scrape Instagram comments?

It collects preview comments only (firstComment and latestComments from the preview array). Full comment crawling is not included in this actor.

Does it track story mentions or mentions platform-wide?

No. This actor scrapes posts from the usernames you provide and extracts @mentions from captions on those posts. It does not process Instagram Stories or search the entire platform.

How many posts can I scrape per profile?

Set resultsLimit from 0 to 10,000. Use 0 or 10,000+ for “all available” (within platform limits). Values between 1 and 19 are automatically bumped to 20.

Does it support proxies and rotation?

Yes. It supports Apify Proxy and automatically falls back to RESIDENTIAL endpoints with rotation when Instagram responds with 403/429, improving reliability.

Can I process multiple usernames at once?

Yes. The actor supports parallel processing with a maximum concurrency of 2 usernames at a time, improving throughput for batch runs.

What export formats are supported?

Results are saved to an Apify dataset and can be exported to JSON or CSV via the Apify platform.

Is there a free trial or pricing?

Yes. The listing includes a trial (120 trial minutes) and a flat monthly plan ($19.99 per month). You can start testing before scaling up.

Closing CTA / Final thoughts

Instagram Mentions Scraper is built to reliably extract structured Instagram post data — including caption hashtags and @mentions — from the profiles you care about. With resilient proxy handling, parallel username processing, and real-time dataset streaming, it’s a practical Instagram mentions monitoring tool for marketers, developers, analysts, and researchers.

Export clean JSON or CSV, trigger automations via webhooks, and integrate with your analytics stack — a scalable Instagram mentions API alternative for data-driven teams. Start extracting smarter insights from Instagram today.