Instagram Reels Scraper

Instagram Reels Scraper

Instagram Reels Scraper extracts structured data from public Instagram Reels and profiles so you can analyze content performance at scale. It solves the manual, error-prone process of collecting reel links, engagement metrics, captions, and media URLs by turning them into clean, analysis-ready records. Built for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers, it normalizes inputs (usernames, profile URLs, or shortcodes) and delivers consistent outputs for trend tracking, competitor monitoring, and content intelligence — ready to power dashboards, pipelines, and models.

What data / output can you get?

Use the fields below to understand exactly what the actor returns in each dataset item. Values are pushed per reel.

Data field	Description	Example value
username	Normalized input username this reel belongs to	cristiano
scraped_at	UNIX timestamp when the reel was scraped	1712947200.123
sort_order	Sort label for the run (from input defaults)	newest
max_comments	Comment limit label for the run (from input defaults)	50
reel_id	Reel primary key (pk/id from Instagram)	3727980973477364718
shortcode	Instagram shortcode of the reel	DO8cvGViIPu
reel_url	Canonical Instagram reel URL	https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO8cvGViIPu/
author_username	Reel author’s username	alnassr
caption_text	Full caption text	🎥 On the 95th Saudi National Day …
like_count	Number of likes on the reel	1258268
comment_count	Number of comments on the reel	12381
play_count	Reel play count (or ig_play_count)	37796913
view_count	View count if available	37796913
video_duration	Video duration in seconds	47.5
video_url	Direct URL to the video file (highest available in list)	https://…/video.mp4
thumbnail_url	Thumbnail image URL	https://…/thumb.jpg
taken_at	UNIX timestamp when the reel was posted	1758630037
taken_at_iso	ISO 8601 version of taken_at	2025-10-23T12:20:37
hashtags	Hashtags parsed from caption	["SaudiNationalDay"]
mentions	Mentions parsed from caption	["cristiano"]
hashtags_count	Count of parsed hashtags	1
mentions_count	Count of parsed mentions	1
audio_title	Audio title (from music metadata or “Original audio”)	Original audio
audio_artist	Audio artist username if available	alnassr
tagged_users	Usernames tagged in the reel	["cristiano"]
tagged_users_count	Count of tagged users	1
coauthor_usernames	Collab/co-author usernames	["cristiano"]
coauthor_count	Count of co-authors	1
is_paid_partnership	Paid partnership flag	false
has_audio	Whether the reel contains audio	true
can_viewer_save	Whether saving is allowed	true
reel_data	Full raw reel object as returned by Instagram	{…}

Notes:

• Each dataset item also includes the full nested reel object under reel_data for advanced use cases (e.g., additional media manifests, attributions).
• Export results to JSON or CSV via the Apify API.

Key features

• 🚀 Robust proxy fallback Automatic connection strategy with direct → datacenter → residential proxy fallback. If Instagram rejects requests, the actor escalates and retries, then sticks with the working proxy for stability.

• 🧭 Flexible input normalization Paste profile URLs, plain usernames, @usernames, or shortcodes; the actor resolves them to a username before scraping.

• 🧩 Structured, analysis-ready fields Captures author metadata, caption text, hashtags/mentions, engagement metrics, media URLs, durations, thumbnails, timestamps, tagged users, co-authors, audio info, and flags.

• 📦 Full raw object included In addition to flattened fields, the full reel object is saved under reel_data for power users who need extended metadata.

• 🌐 No login for public content Scrapes public Instagram content without requiring authentication.

• 🔄 Pagination with limits Retrieves reels page by page until reaching your maxReels limit or until no more content is available.

• 🔌 Developer-friendly Runs on Apify with dataset outputs accessible via API; integrate with your Python/Node pipelines or automate with webhooks.

• 📤 Easy exports Download JSON or CSV from the Apify dataset to feed BI tools, spreadsheets, data warehouses, or dashboards.

• 🛡️ Production-oriented reliability Clear logging, retries, and proxy handling for resilient operations at scale.

How to use Instagram Reels Scraper - step by step

1. Create an Apify account and log in.
2. Open the Instagram Reels Scraper actor on Apify.
3. Add input data:
   • In urls, provide a list of targets as profile URLs (e.g., https://www.instagram.com/username), plain usernames (e.g., username), @usernames, or shortcodes (e.g., CxYz123AbCd).
4. Configure options:
   • Set maxReels to control how many reels to scrape per profile (default 10).
   • Optionally set proxyConfiguration if you want to start with Apify Proxy (the actor will still apply fallback logic if requests are rejected).
5. Start the run:
   • The actor normalizes inputs to usernames, establishes a connection, and begins fetching reels with pagination.
6. Monitor progress:
   • Logs show connection state, fallback steps (if any), page counts, and items retrieved.
7. Download results:
   • Open the run’s dataset and export JSON or CSV for your analysis or ingestion.

Pro Tip: Use Apify’s API to fetch dataset items programmatically and plug them into your analytics stack or automation workflows.

Use cases

Use case	Description
Influencer marketing analytics	Benchmark creators by play count, like/comment ratios, and posting cadence to inform sponsorships and content collaborations.
Competitor content tracking	Monitor rivals’ Reels across time, track audio usage, collabs, and engagement trends for creative strategy.
Creative testing & performance	Compare thumbnails, captions, and hook styles across multiple profiles to identify high-performing patterns.
Brand monitoring & tagged users	Capture reels that tag your brand or co-author with partners for reporting and governance.
Market research & NLP	Mine captions for hashtags, mentions, and text signals to cluster topics and analyze sentiment.
Data pipelines & BI dashboards	Export JSON/CSV and feed your warehouse or dashboard to report KPIs and trend lines weekly.
Academic & social media research	Build reproducible datasets of public reels with timestamps, media, and engagement for longitudinal studies.

Why choose Instagram Reels Scraper?

Built for precision and reliability, Instagram Reels Scraper combines structured extraction with resilient proxy handling to deliver consistent results.

• ✅ Accurate, structured fields for analytics and enrichment
• 🌐 Public-data only; no login required for public content
• 📈 Scales across many profiles with pagination and limits
• 🔌 Developer access via Apify datasets and API for automation
• 🛡️ Robust proxy fallback (direct → datacenter → residential) and retries
• 💰 Cost-efficient alternative to fragile browser extensions or manual scraping
• 🔗 Easy JSON/CSV exports for spreadsheets, BI, or pipelines

In short: production-ready extraction without the unstable overhead of ad-hoc tools.

Is it legal / ethical to use Instagram Reels Scraper?

Yes — when used responsibly. This actor targets publicly available Instagram content and does not access private profiles or authenticated data.

Guidelines for responsible use:

• Only collect public data and avoid private or gated content.
• Comply with applicable regulations (e.g., GDPR/CCPA) and Instagram’s terms.
• Apply data minimization, retention, and security controls appropriate to your use case.
• Consult your legal team for edge cases or jurisdiction-specific concerns.

Input parameters & output format

Example input

{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/cristiano",
    "mrbeast",
    "@alnassr",
    "DO8cvGViIPu"
  ],
  "maxReels": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Input parameter details:

• urls (array of strings)
  • Description: List of Instagram profile URLs (e.g., https://www.instagram.com/username), usernames (e.g., username), or shortcodes (e.g., CxYz123AbCd). Supports full URLs, @username, username, reel shortcodes, and post shortcodes.
  • Required: No
  • Default: —
• maxReels (integer)
  • Description: Maximum number of reels to scrape per profile
  • Required: No
  • Default: 10 (minimum 1, maximum 1000)
• proxyConfiguration (object)
  • Description: Choose which proxies to use. If Instagram rejects the proxy, a residential proxy will be used as a fallback.
  • Required: No
  • Default: { "useApifyProxy": false }

Example output item

{
  "username": "cristiano",
  "scraped_at": 1712947200.123,
  "sort_order": "newest",
  "max_comments": 50,
  "reel_id": "3727980973477364718",
  "shortcode": "DO8cvGViIPu",
  "reel_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO8cvGViIPu/",
  "author_username": "alnassr",
  "author_full_name": "نادي النصر السعودي",
  "author_is_verified": true,
  "author_profile_pic_url": "https://.../profile.jpg",
  "caption_text": "🎥 On the 95th Saudi National Day …",
  "like_count": 1258268,
  "comment_count": 12381,
  "play_count": 37796913,
  "view_count": 37796913,
  "video_duration": 47.5,
  "media_type": 2,
  "video_url": "https://.../video.mp4",
  "thumbnail_url": "https://.../thumb.jpg",
  "taken_at": 1758630037,
  "taken_at_iso": "2025-10-23T12:20:37",
  "hashtags": ["SaudiNationalDay"],
  "mentions": ["cristiano"],
  "hashtags_count": 1,
  "mentions_count": 1,
  "audio_title": "Original audio",
  "audio_artist": "alnassr",
  "tagged_users": ["cristiano"],
  "tagged_users_count": 1,
  "coauthor_usernames": ["cristiano"],
  "coauthor_count": 1,
  "is_paid_partnership": false,
  "has_audio": true,
  "can_viewer_save": true,
  "reel_data": {
    "media": {
      "pk": "3727980973477364718",
      "code": "DO8cvGViIPu"
    }
  }
}

Notes:

• sort_order and max_comments are metadata from the run configuration and are included for context. The actor outputs engagement counts (like_count, comment_count) from Instagram but does not fetch full comment threads.
• Some fields may be empty if not present in the source (e.g., audio_artist when not available).

FAQ

Do I need to log in to use Instagram Reels Scraper?

No. The actor targets public Instagram content and does not require login for public profiles and reels.

What input formats are supported in the urls field?

You can provide profile URLs (e.g., https://www.instagram.com/username), plain usernames (e.g., username), @usernames, and shortcodes (e.g., CxYz123AbCd). The actor normalizes these to a username before scraping.

How many reels can I scrape per profile?

Set maxReels to control how many reels to collect per profile. The default is 10, and you can set between 1 and 1000.

What data does the output include?

Each dataset item includes flattened fields like reel_id, shortcode, reel_url, author_username, caption_text, like_count, comment_count, play_count, view_count, video_duration, thumbnail_url, hashtags/mentions, tagged users, co-authors, audio info, timestamps, plus the full reel_data object.

How does proxy handling work?

The actor starts with a direct connection. If requests are rejected, it falls back to a datacenter proxy and then to a residential proxy, retrying as needed and sticking with the working option for the remainder of the run.

Can I export results to my tools or scripts?

Yes. Results are stored in an Apify dataset that you can download as JSON or CSV via the Apify API, making it easy to integrate into pipelines, dashboards, or notebooks.

Does this scrape private profiles or remove/edit reels?

No. It collects publicly available information only and does not modify Instagram content. It won’t access private profiles or authenticated data.

What determines the sorting of results?

The run includes a sort_order label (default “newest”) for context. The actor paginates through available reels and stops when maxReels is reached or when no more content is available.

Final thoughts

Instagram Reels Scraper is built to turn public Reels into clean, structured data for analytics and research. With robust proxy fallback, flexible inputs, and exportable datasets, it helps marketers, developers, analysts, and researchers move from manual copy/paste to automated, reliable collection. Access results via the Apify API, feed JSON/CSV into your pipelines, and start tracking reel performance and trends at scale.