Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper

Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper

Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper is a purpose-built Apify actor that extracts public Snapchat Spotlight posts per user — capturing videos, captions, view counts, likes, shares, hashtags, profile metadata, and timestamps. It solves the manual, error-prone effort of gathering creator performance data by automating reliable collection from public profiles. Built for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers, it helps you analyze creators, benchmark content, and monitor brands at scale — all in export-ready formats.

What data / output can you get?

Below are the structured fields this actor saves to the Apify dataset for each video it finds on a public Snapchat user profile.

Data type	Description	Example value
username	Snapchat username	"realmadrid"
videoTitle	Title of the video (from video metadata)	"Matchday Moments"
description	Video caption/description	"#HalaMadrid post-match recap"
viewCount	Number of views	12995
shareCount	Number of shares	13
commentCount	Number of comments	31
boostCount	Number of boosts	1311
recommendCount	Number of recommendations	124
uploadDate	Upload timestamp in milliseconds (numeric)	1766173649643
uploadDateMs	Upload timestamp in milliseconds (string)	"1766173649643"
thumbnailUrl	Thumbnail image URL	"https://example.com/thumb.jpg"
contentUrl	Direct video content URL	"https://example.com/video.mp4"
deeplink	Deep link to open the video in Snapchat	"https://www.snapchat.com/spotlight/..."
hashtags	Array of hashtags used in the video	["#RealMadrid", "#Highlights"]
durationMs	Video duration in milliseconds	"50120"
width	Video width in pixels	540
height	Video height in pixels	960
success	Extraction status for the item	true

Bonus: Each item also includes rawData — the full, unmodified payload for advanced analysis. Results can be exported from the Apify dataset as JSON or CSV and consumed via the Apify API.

Key features

• 🔁 Bold proxy fallback for reliability
  Automatic progression from direct connection to datacenter, then residential proxy with retries to overcome blocks and maintain high success rates.

• 📦 Batch username processing
  Process multiple Snapchat usernames concurrently to accelerate collection across large creator lists.

• 🧾 Incremental, durable saving
  Each video is pushed to the Apify dataset as soon as it’s extracted, ensuring progress is never lost.

• 🧠 Structured engagement analytics
  Collect per-video viewCount, shareCount, commentCount, boostCount, and recommendCount alongside titles, descriptions, hashtags, and media URLs.

• 🔗 Developer-friendly, API-ready
  Access results via the Apify API and export JSON or CSV for dashboards, pipelines, and data science workflows.

• 🧰 Production-grade logging & retries
  Comprehensive logs, retry logic, and backoff behaviors help you monitor runs and quickly diagnose issues.

How to use Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper - step by step

1. Sign in to your Apify account at https://console.apify.com.
2. Go to Actors and open “snapchat-user-spotlight-scraper”.
3. Add input data:
   • In startUrls, paste Snapchat usernames (e.g., realmadrid) or profile URLs (e.g., https://www.snapchat.com/@realmadrid). Both string lists and { "url": "..." } objects are supported.
4. (Optional) Configure proxyConfiguration:
   • Leave default for direct connection.
   • Enable Apify Proxy to prepare a datacenter fallback; the actor will auto-switch to residential if needed.
5. Start the run. The actor will fetch each profile and extract Spotlight video metadata from public pages.
6. Track progress in the run’s log. Incremental results will appear in the Dataset as they are collected.
7. Export results from the Dataset in JSON or CSV, or retrieve them programmatically via the Apify API.

Pro tip: Connect the Dataset API to your BI tool or data pipeline to keep creator and content tracking up to date.

Use cases

Use case name	Description
Social media analytics + benchmarking	Measure creator performance with per-video views, shares, comments, and boosts to compare engagement over time.
Content research + trend discovery	Identify themes, hashtags, and formats that drive performance across public Spotlight videos.
Competitor monitoring	Track competitor profiles to see what content resonates and how often they publish successful videos.
Influencer research for campaigns	Evaluate public creator output and engagement metrics to shortlist partners.
Brand monitoring & UGC tracking	Surface public videos mentioning your brand through descriptions and hashtags.
Data science & API pipelines	Export JSON/CSV via the Apify API and feed structured data into dashboards or enrichment workflows.
Academic & market research	Analyze public content patterns at scale using structured timestamps, durations, and media dimensions.

Why choose Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper?

Built for precision and reliability, this actor combines robust proxy fallback with structured output and incremental saving.

• 🎯 Accurate, structured fields: Clean per-video metadata and engagement stats ready for analysis.
• ⚡ Scales with your needs: Concurrent processing of multiple usernames for faster coverage.
• 🔌 Developer access: API-ready dataset exports (JSON, CSV) for seamless integration.
• 🔒 Public-data only: Focuses on publicly available profiles and content for ethical usage.
• 🧱 More reliable than extensions: Server-side scraper with proxy fallback outperforms brittle browser-based tools.
• 💬 Clear observability: Detailed logs help you monitor progress and troubleshoot quickly.

In short, it’s a production-ready Snapchat Spotlight scraper for teams that value dependable extraction and clean, usable data.

Is it legal / ethical to use Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper?

Yes — when used responsibly. This actor extracts data from publicly available Snapchat user pages and does not access private or authenticated content.

Guidelines for compliant use:

• Only collect publicly visible information from public profiles.
• Do not attempt to access private accounts or gated content.
• Respect Snapchat’s Terms of Service and applicable rate limits.
• Ensure your use complies with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR/CCPA).
• Consult your legal team for edge cases or jurisdiction-specific requirements.

Input parameters & output format

Example JSON input

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.snapchat.com/@realmadrid",
    "fcbarcelona",
    "@nba"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Input parameters

Field	Type	Required	Default/Prefill	Description
startUrls	array	Yes	["https://www.snapchat.com/@realmadrid"]	List of Snapchat usernames (e.g., "realmadrid") or profile URLs (e.g., "https://www.snapchat.com/@realmadrid"). Supports plain strings or objects of the form { "url": "..." }.
proxyConfiguration	object	No	{ "useApifyProxy": false }	Choose proxies to use. By default, no proxy is used. If blocked, the actor automatically falls back to datacenter proxy and then residential proxy with retries.

Example JSON output (successful video item)

{
  "username": "realmadrid",
  "videoTitle": "Spotlight Snap",
  "description": "#RealMadrid",
  "viewCount": 12995,
  "shareCount": 13,
  "commentCount": 31,
  "boostCount": 1311,
  "recommendCount": 124,
  "uploadDate": 1766173649643,
  "uploadDateMs": "1766173649643",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/thumb.jpg",
  "contentUrl": "https://example.com/video.mp4",
  "deeplink": "https://www.snapchat.com/spotlight/...",
  "hashtags": ["#RealMadrid"],
  "durationMs": "50120",
  "width": 540,
  "height": 960,
  "rawData": { "videoMetadata": { "name": "Spotlight Snap" } },
  "success": true
}

When a username fails (e.g., blocked or no data found), the actor saves an error item:

{
  "username": "someuser",
  "success": false,
  "error": "No spotlight data found",
  "videoCount": 0
}

Note:

• uploadDate is stored as a numeric millisecond timestamp; uploadDateMs provides the same value as a string.
• rawData contains the full underlying payload for advanced processing.

FAQ

Do I need to log in to use this scraper?

No. The actor fetches public Snapchat user pages and extracts publicly available Spotlight data without authentication.

How many usernames can I process in one run?

There’s no hardcoded limit in the input. The actor supports bulk, concurrent processing; practical limits depend on your Apify run resources and the size of your input list.

What happens if requests get blocked?

The actor automatically falls back through connection types: direct connection → datacenter proxy → residential proxy, with multiple retries at the residential level to maximize success.

What data fields are included in the results?

Each successful video item includes username, videoTitle, description, viewCount, shareCount, commentCount, boostCount, recommendCount, uploadDate, uploadDateMs, thumbnailUrl, contentUrl, deeplink, hashtags, durationMs, width, height, rawData, and success.

Can it extract data from private profiles?

No. The actor only extracts data from public profiles and publicly available Spotlight content.

How can I download the results?

Open the run’s Dataset to export JSON or CSV, or use the Apify API to programmatically fetch items and integrate them into your workflows.

What if a username has no Spotlight videos or extraction fails?

The actor saves a failure record with success set to false, an error message, and videoCount equal to 0, then continues processing the rest of your list.

Is there a free trial or pricing?

Pricing and trial availability are managed on the Apify platform. Check the Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper listing on Apify for current details.

Final thoughts

Snapchat User Spotlight Scraper is built to deliver structured, reliable Snapchat Spotlight data from public user profiles at scale. With automatic proxy fallback, incremental saving, and API-ready exports, it’s ideal for marketers, analysts, researchers, and developers who need clean per-video metrics and metadata. Connect the Apify Dataset API to your analytics stack, export JSON/CSV for quick insights, and start extracting smarter Snapchat Spotlight intelligence today.