Instagram Related Profiles Scraper — Map Suggested & Similar Accounts

Instagram Related Profiles Scraper discovers the accounts Instagram recommends as "related" or "suggested" for any public profile, then returns them as clean, structured JSON. Paste a username, an @handle, or a full profile URL and instantly map the creator network around it — no login, no cookies, no manual clicking.

This actor is a fast, automation-ready Instagram similar accounts scraper and Instagram suggested users scraper. It reads the same relationship graph Instagram uses to power its "Suggested for you" panel (edge_related_profiles and edge_chaining), so the results mirror what real users actually see. Whether you are doing influencer discovery, competitor analysis, or audience-overlap research, this Instagram related accounts scraper turns a single seed profile into a structured list of connected creators in seconds.

Feed it one profile or hundreds. Every run returns verified, deduplicated related-profile data ready for spreadsheets, dashboards, or your own data pipeline.

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What data you get

Each input username produces one dataset record. The related_profiles array holds the discovered accounts, and every nested profile object is fully structured.

Top-level record fields

Field	Type	Description
username	string	The seed Instagram username the related accounts were fetched for.
limit	number	The maximum number of related profiles requested for this username.
related_profiles_count	number	How many related profiles were actually returned.
related_profiles	array	List of related / suggested profile objects (see below).
error	string (optional)	Present only if the profile could not be scraped (e.g. block or login wall).

Related profile object (inside related_profiles)

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Instagram's internal numeric user ID for the related account.
username	string	The handle of the related / suggested account.
full_name	string	Display name of the related account.
is_private	boolean	true if the related account is private.
is_verified	boolean	true if the account has a verified (blue-check) badge.
profile_pic_url	string	Direct URL to the related account's profile picture.

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Key features

• Real Instagram relationship graph — reads edge_related_profiles and edge_chaining, the exact structures behind Instagram's "Suggested for you" recommendations, so results are accurate, not guessed.
• Bulk input & network mapping — pass many profiles at once (URLs, @handles, or plain usernames, mixed freely) and map an entire creator network in a single run.
• Flexible input formats — accepts https://www.instagram.com/username/, @username, and username interchangeably.
• No login required — works entirely against public profile data. No account, password, or session cookies needed.
• Residential proxy support — built-in Apify Proxy integration with automatic retries and exponential backoff to reduce rate limits and blocks.
• Login-wall & block detection — spots HTML login walls disguised as data responses and retries intelligently for reliable results.
• Configurable depth — set max_profiles per seed (up to 10,000) to control how many related accounts you collect.
• Clean, developer-friendly JSON — flat, predictable output that drops straight into CSV, Google Sheets, Excel, or a database.
• API & pipeline ready — trigger runs via the Apify API and integrate with Python or JavaScript automation workflows.

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How to use the Instagram Related Profiles Scraper (step by step)

1. Open the actor on Apify and click Try for free (or open it from your Apify Console).
2. Add your seed profiles in the Profile URLs & Usernames field. Enter one or more of any format:
   • Full URL: https://www.instagram.com/ishowspeed/
   • Handle: @ishowspeed
   • Plain: ishowspeed
3. Set the limit — choose Max Related Profiles per User (max_profiles). The recommended sweet spot is 20–100; the maximum is 10,000.
4. Enable proxy — turn on Apify Proxy (residential recommended) under Proxy & Anti-Block for smooth, block-free runs.
5. Click Start and watch the log stream each profile as it is scraped.
6. Review results in the Related Profiles Results dataset view.
7. Export the data as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML — or pull it programmatically through the Apify API.

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Use cases

Use case	How this related accounts scraper helps
Influencer discovery	Start from one creator and surface dozens of similar influencers in the same niche for outreach lists.
Competitor analysis	Map the accounts Instagram associates with a competitor to understand their positioning and audience overlap.
Creator network mapping	Build relationship graphs of who is connected to whom across a niche or content vertical.
Audience & market research	Identify adjacent communities and audience clusters for targeting and trend analysis.
Lead generation	Expand prospect lists by chaining outward from known accounts to related profiles.
Data pipelines	Feed structured suggested-user data into dashboards, CRMs, or ML models via the API.

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Input

The actor accepts a simple JSON input.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
urls	array	No	—	Instagram profiles to scrape related accounts from. Accepts URLs, @handles, or plain usernames.
max_profiles	integer	No	50	Related profiles to fetch per seed username (min 0, max 10000).
proxyConfiguration	object	No	{ "useApifyProxy": true }	Apify Proxy settings. Residential proxy is strongly recommended.

Example input

{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/ishowspeed/",
    "@mrbeast",
    "cristiano"
  ],
  "max_profiles": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}

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Output

Results are pushed to the dataset, one record per seed username.

Example output

[
  {
    "username": "ishowspeed",
    "limit": 50,
    "related_profiles_count": 2,
    "related_profiles": [
      {
        "id": "18428658",
        "username": "kaicenat",
        "full_name": "Kai Cenat",
        "is_private": false,
        "is_verified": true,
        "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/kaicenat/profile.jpg"
      },
      {
        "id": "25025320",
        "username": "adin",
        "full_name": "Adin Ross",
        "is_private": false,
        "is_verified": true,
        "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/adin/profile.jpg"
      }
    ]
  }
]

If a profile cannot be scraped, the record includes an error field:

{
  "username": "some_blocked_user",
  "limit": 50,
  "related_profiles": [],
  "error": "BLOCKED_LOGIN_WALL: response was HTML, not JSON"
}

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FAQ

What does the Instagram Related Profiles Scraper actually return? For each seed profile it returns the related / suggested accounts Instagram recommends, with each account's id, username, full_name, is_private, is_verified, and profile_pic_url.

Do I need an Instagram login or cookies? No. This is a no-login Instagram scraper that only reads public profile data — no account, password, or session tokens required.

How many related profiles can I get per username? Up to 10,000 via the max_profiles setting. For most research and influencer-discovery tasks, 20–100 per seed is ideal.

Can I scrape multiple profiles in one run? Yes. Add as many URLs, @handles, or usernames as you like to map an entire creator network in a single job.

Why should I use a proxy? Instagram throttles direct requests. Enabling Apify residential proxy, combined with the actor's built-in retries and login-wall detection, keeps runs stable and block-free.

Can I integrate it into my own app or workflow? Yes. Trigger the actor through the Apify API and connect it to Python or JavaScript pipelines, dashboards, or scheduled tasks.

What formats can I export? JSON, CSV, Excel, and HTML from the dataset, or programmatically via the Apify API.

Are the results the same as Instagram's "Suggested for you"? The actor reads the same edge_related_profiles and edge_chaining graph that powers Instagram's related-accounts suggestions, so results closely mirror what users see on the platform.

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