Twitter User Following Scraper

Twitter User Following Scraper

Twitter User Following Scraper is a fast, reliable tool that extracts the full following list from public X (Twitter) profiles — with structured profile metadata and real-time export. It solves the pain of manually collecting who someone follows by providing an automated Twitter following list scraper and X following list scraper that scales from one account to thousands. Built for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers, this Twitter user followings extractor enables audience analysis, competitor research, and CRM enrichment at scale.

What data / output can you get?

Data field	Description	Example value
username	Source username whose following list was scraped	"jordanbpeterson"
id	Twitter user ID (rest_id)	"17995040"
name	Display name	"Ben Shapiro"
screen_name	Handle (without @)	"benshapiro"
profile_image_url_https	Profile image URL	"https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/..."
profile_banner_url	Profile banner image URL	"https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/..."
description	Bio/description text	"Daily Wire co-founder..."
followers_count	Number of followers	8010425
friends_count	Number of accounts the user follows	486
statuses_count	Total number of tweets	204599
is_blue_verified	Whether the account has blue verification	true
verified_type	Verification type (if available)	null
created_at	Account creation timestamp	"Tue Dec 09 16:40:22 +0000 2008"

Bonus fields captured include: location, website URL (url), favourites_count, media_count, listed_count, fast_followers_count, normal_followers_count, and profile_image_shape — all available in the dataset for analytics and enrichment. Export your results to JSON, CSV, or Excel directly from the Apify dataset.

Key features

• 🚀 Real-time dataset writes
  Records are pushed to the Apify dataset as soon as they’re extracted, so you can monitor progress and use the data immediately.

• 🧠 Smart proxy fallback
  Automatic proxy management starts with no proxy and falls back to datacenter, then residential proxies with up to 3 retries when blocks occur.

• 📦 Bulk processing in one run
  Supply multiple usernames/URLs in startUrls to run a bulk Twitter following scraper without extra overhead.

• 🔎 Flexible input parsing
  Accepts Twitter usernames or profile URLs (x.com or twitter.com). The actor automatically extracts and normalizes the username.

• 📄 Robust pagination with rate limiting
  Fetches following users in pages of up to 20 with a 1-second delay between pages for stable, resilient operation.

• 📊 Structured output and easy exports
  Outputs 20+ structured fields per user and supports simple export to JSON, CSV, or Excel from the dataset.

• 🛡️ Production-ready reliability
  Built with retries, error handling, and proxy fallbacks to keep your Twitter following export tool running smoothly at scale.

How to use Twitter User Following Scraper - step by step

1. Sign in to your Apify account and open the Twitter User Following Scraper actor.
2. In the Input tab, add one or more Twitter usernames or profile URLs to startUrls (e.g., "elonmusk" or "https://x.com/elonmusk").
3. Set maxResults to control how many followings to collect per username (1–10,000; default is 200).
4. For best reliability, paste your X/Twitter cookies into authToken and ct0 (from your browser). If not provided, built-in defaults are used but may expire.
5. Optionally configure proxyConfiguration (by default, the actor starts without a proxy and falls back automatically if needed).
6. Click Start to run. You’ll see real-time logs and records appearing in the dataset as pages are fetched.
7. When finished (or even during the run), open the Dataset to export results as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Pro tip: For large jobs or automation, call the actor via the Apify API and pipe the dataset output directly into your analytics or CRM workflow to download Twitter following to CSV programmatically.

Use cases

Use case	Description
Audience analysis for marketers	Map who influencers follow to discover interests and partnerships; export Twitter following to CSV for segmentation.
Competitor research	Scrape who someone follows on Twitter to identify suppliers, partners, and strategic signals.
Influencer outreach	Build prospect lists by analyzing follow graphs, then enrich and prioritize for campaigns.
Network mapping & graph analysis	Use this Twitter follow graph scraper to build relationship graphs across multiple accounts.
CRM enrichment	Append profile metadata (IDs, handles, bios, links) to contact records for better targeting.
Academic & social research	Analyze public follow networks for studies on influence, communities, and information flow.
Developer pipelines	Use as a Twitter user following API alternative via Apify’s API and dataset exports in automated ETL flows.

Why choose Twitter User Following Scraper?

Positioned for precision and reliability, this tool combines real-time extraction with resilient networking so you can scale confidently.

• ✅ Accurate, structured output with 20+ profile fields per user
• 🚀 Scales to thousands of followings per account (configurable with maxResults)
• 📦 Bulk Twitter following scraper that handles multiple source usernames in a single run
• 💾 Easy exports (JSON, CSV, Excel) from the Apify dataset for analytics and CRM
• 🧑‍💻 Developer-friendly: trigger via Apify API and consume clean JSON datasets
• 🛡️ Ethical by design: targets publicly accessible followings only
• 🌐 Intelligent proxy fallback: no proxy → datacenter → residential with retries
• 🔁 Robust error handling and progress logging for production-grade runs

Unlike fragile browser extensions, this production-ready Twitter following export tool runs on server-side infrastructure with automatic retries and proxy resilience.

Is it legal / ethical to use Twitter User Following Scraper?

Yes — when used responsibly. This actor collects publicly accessible following lists and profile metadata. It does not access private accounts or password-protected content.

Guidelines for compliant use:

• Only collect data from public profiles and pages you are permitted to access.
• Respect platform rules and be aware of Twitter’s Terms of Service.
• Ensure compliance with data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and local regulations.
• Use the data responsibly — avoid spam, harassment, or other abusive practices.
• Consult your legal team for edge cases or jurisdiction-specific questions.

Input parameters & output format

Example input JSON

{
  "startUrls": [
    "jordanbpeterson",
    "https://x.com/elonmusk",
    "twitter.com/billgates"
  ],
  "maxResults": 200,
  "authToken": "",
  "ct0": "",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Input parameters

• startUrls (array, required)
  Description: List one or more Twitter usernames (e.g., jordanbpeterson), URLs (e.g., https://x.com/jordanbpeterson), or keywords.
  Default: none

• maxResults (integer, optional)
  Description: Maximum number of following users to scrape per username.
  Default: 200 (min: 1, max: 10000)

• authToken (string, optional)
  Description: Your X/Twitter auth_token cookie value. If not provided, the actor will use its built-in default (may stop working over time).
  Default: ""

• ct0 (string, optional)
  Description: Your X/Twitter ct0 (CSRF) cookie value. If provided, it will also be used as the x-csrf-token header. If not provided, the actor will use its built-in default (may stop working over time).
  Default: ""

• proxyConfiguration (object, optional)
  Description: Choose which proxies to use. By default, no proxy is used. If Twitter rejects or blocks the request, it will fallback to datacenter proxy, then residential proxy with 3 retries.
  Default: { "useApifyProxy": false }

Example output record

{
  "username": "jordanbpeterson",
  "id": "17995040",
  "profile_banner_url": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/17995040/...",
  "profile_image_url_https": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/...",
  "name": "Ben Shapiro",
  "screen_name": "benshapiro",
  "is_blue_verified": true,
  "verified_type": null,
  "profile_image_shape": "Circle",
  "description": "Daily Wire co-founder, host of @benshapiroshow...",
  "url": "https://t.co/kvSlznhfDe",
  "location": "",
  "followers_count": 8010425,
  "friends_count": 486,
  "favourites_count": 50,
  "media_count": 8629,
  "statuses_count": 204599,
  "listed_count": 18882,
  "fast_followers_count": 0,
  "normal_followers_count": 8010425,
  "created_at": "Tue Dec 09 16:40:22 +0000 2008",
  "profile_url": "https://x.com/benshapiro"
}

Notes:

• Some fields may be empty or null depending on the profile (e.g., verified_type, location, url).
• Each record includes the source username so you can group and filter results from bulk runs.

FAQ

How many followings can I scrape per account?

You can scrape up to 10,000 following users per username by setting maxResults accordingly. The actor paginates in batches of up to 20 users per request until your limit is reached.

Do I need to log in or provide cookies?

You don’t need a Twitter API key, but providing your authToken and ct0 cookies from your browser is strongly recommended for reliability. The actor includes default values, yet they may expire; supplying your own ensures stable access.

Does it work without a proxy?

Yes. The actor starts without a proxy by default. If requests are blocked, it automatically falls back to a datacenter proxy and then to a residential proxy with up to 3 retries to maximize success.

How fast is the scraper?

The tool requests up to 20 users per page and applies a 1-second delay between pages for stability. Actual speed depends on network conditions and platform response times.

Can it export Twitter followings to CSV?

Yes. Results are stored in the Apify dataset in real time, and you can export them to JSON, CSV, or Excel directly from the dataset. This makes it easy to download Twitter following lists and use them in spreadsheets or CRMs.

Can I scrape private accounts or hidden followings?

No. The actor only collects publicly accessible following lists. It cannot access private profiles or content that requires authentication beyond the provided cookies.

Can I run a bulk Twitter following scraper for multiple users?

Yes. Add multiple usernames or profile URLs to startUrls and the actor will process them in sequence, saving all results to a single dataset.

Is this a Twitter following scraper without the official API?

Yes. This is a Twitter user following API alternative that uses the web endpoints and does not require an official Twitter API key.

Closing thoughts

Twitter User Following Scraper is built for accurate, scalable extraction of who someone follows on Twitter, with structured outputs and resilient networking. With real-time saves, proxy fallbacks, and bulk input support, it helps marketers, developers, analysts, and researchers turn follow networks into actionable insights. Trigger it via Apify, export to JSON/CSV/Excel, or integrate the dataset into your pipeline to automate your X following list scraper workflow. Start extracting smarter, faster audience graphs today.