Pinterest Following Scraper

Pinterest Following Scraper

Pinterest Following Scraper is a fast, reliable Pinterest following list scraper that extracts the full list of accounts a user follows — complete with usernames, names, bios, follower/board counts, and profile URLs — from usernames, profile URLs, or handle-like inputs at scale. It solves the tedious process of paging through followings by streaming structured records directly to your Apify dataset in real time. Built for marketers, developers, data analysts, and researchers, this Pinterest user following scraper tool helps you export Pinterest following lists to CSV/JSON, power influencer discovery, and automate audience analysis at scale. 🚀

What data / output can you get?

Below are the exact structured fields pushed to the Apify dataset for each followed profile. You can download results as JSON, CSV, or Excel from the dataset.

Data type	Description	Example value
serachUsername	Source username (lowercased) that was processed	"candyw8119"
username	Followed account’s username	"pinterest"
full_name	Profile display name	"Pinterest"
profileUrl	Canonical profile link	"https://www.pinterest.com/pinterest"
follower_count	Number of followers for the profile	12345678
pin_count	Total number of pins	5321
board_count	Total number of boards	42
pin_thumbnail_urls	Sample of pin thumbnail URLs (fallback from recent pins when needed)	["https://i.pinimg.com/75x75/sample1.jpg"]
image_medium_url	Medium-sized profile image URL	"https://i.pinimg.com/140x140/profile.jpg"
image_large_url	Large profile image URL	"https://i.pinimg.com/280x280/profile-lg.jpg"
image_xlarge_url	Extra-large profile image URL	"https://i.pinimg.com/600x600/profile-xl.jpg"
is_verified_merchant	Verification flag for merchant status	false
explicitly_followed_by_me	Whether the source user explicitly follows this profile	true
domain_verified	Whether a domain is verified for this account	false
is_private_profile	Whether the profile is private	false
blocked_by_me	Whether the source user blocked this profile	false
type	Node type from Pinterest payload	"user"
id	Profile identifier	"1234567890"
node_id	Graph/node identifier	"3456789012"
verified_identity	Object with identity verification details	{}
recent_pin_images	Raw recent pin image data (used for thumbnails if needed)	{"192x":[{"url":"https://i.pinimg.com/192x/recent1.jpg"}]}
contextual_pin_image_urls	Contextual image URLs field from Pinterest payload	{}
last_pin_save_time	Timestamp for the last pin save	"2025-12-31T23:59:59"
is_default_image	Whether the profile uses a default image	false

Notes:

• pin_thumbnail_urls falls back to thumbnails extracted from recent_pin_images when not explicitly present.
• Beyond individual items, the actor also saves a run summary under the key-value store key SUMMARY with aggregated stats.
• Export formats supported: JSON, CSV, and Excel — perfect to export Pinterest following lists or create a Pinterest following export CSV for analytics.

Key features

• ⚡️ Bold anti-blocking with proxy fallbacks — Starts with no proxy and automatically switches to datacenter, then residential (and sticks to it) if blocking is detected. All transitions are logged for transparency.
• 📥 Real-time dataset streaming — Pushes each followed user to the Apify dataset as pages are fetched, making it easy to download Pinterest following lists to CSV or JSON while the run progresses.
• 📚 Bulk input support — Feed a list of profile URLs, @usernames, usernames, or keywords via sources and scrape Pinterest following list data for many accounts in one run.
• 🔁 Resilient retries & jitter — Retries with exponential backoff and adds 1–2s random delays between pages to reduce block risk.
• 🚀 Async performance — Uses aiohttp for efficient pagination of the UserFollowing resource with page sizes up to 50 per request.
• 🔐 Cookie-based access — Provide your _pinterest_sess cookie via pinterestSess for authenticated requests to public endpoints.
• 🔌 Developer-friendly — Built on the Apify SDK for Python. Results stream into the Apify dataset for easy integration with APIs and automation platforms (e.g., n8n, Make, Zapier).
• 🧱 Production-ready reliability — Logged proxy transitions, capped page counts, and safety checks keep long runs stable for exporting Pinterest following to CSV at scale.

How to use Pinterest Following Scraper - step by step

1. Sign in to Apify and open the Pinterest Following Scraper on the Apify platform.
2. Add input data into sources — you can paste Pinterest profile URLs, @usernames, plain usernames, or keyword-like handles (bulk supported).
3. Paste your Pinterest session cookie into pinterestSess — provide the raw value of the _pinterest_sess cookie.
4. (Optional) Adjust maxComments to limit how many following users you collect per input. The runtime caps this to 1,000 per input for stability.
5. (Optional) Configure proxyConfiguration — by default, the actor starts with no proxy and falls back to datacenter then residential automatically on blocks.
6. Click Start to run. The actor normalizes inputs to usernames, paginates through the following list, and streams records to the dataset in real time.
7. Monitor logs for proxy switches and retry messages. The actor logs status codes and automatic fallbacks if blocks occur.
8. Download results from the run’s dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel. A run summary is also saved to the key-value store under SUMMARY.

Pro Tip: Chain this Pinterest following tracker and exporter with Apify integrations to trigger enrichment or CRM uploads as soon as new items are written to the dataset — ideal to export Pinterest following lists and automate outreach.

Use cases

Use case name	Description
Marketing audience mapping	Map who your target profiles follow to identify brands and creators for partnership or benchmarking; then export Pinterest following to CSV for analysis.
Competitor landscape analysis	Analyze the accounts your competitors follow to surface communities, niches, and content styles that resonate.
Influencer discovery	Scrape Pinterest following lists from multiple seed profiles to discover influencers and micro-creators at scale.
Social research & trend analysis	Collect structured following data for academic or internal studies on network patterns and content diffusion.
CRM & outreach enrichment	Download Pinterest following lists and merge them into lead databases to refine outreach and segmentation.
Automated data pipelines (API)	Use the Apify dataset API to stream results into ETL pipelines and dashboards for near-real-time insights.
Brand safety & compliance checks	Identify the types of accounts a brand-associated profile follows for compliance and brand-safety audits.

Why choose Pinterest Following Scraper?

This tool is engineered for precision, automation, and reliability — ideal when you need a Pinterest following data extractor that just works at scale.

• ✅ Real-time streaming to datasets — No waiting for the end of the run to start analysis.
• 🛡️ Robust anti-blocking — Automatic fallback chain (direct → datacenter → residential) with logged transitions for visibility.
• 🧼 Clean, structured output — Includes profile URLs, counts, thumbnails, flags, and recent pin images for context.
• 📦 Built for bulk — Paste many sources and download Pinterest following lists across multiple profiles in one job.
• 👩‍💻 Developer-friendly — Easy to integrate via the Apify dataset API and SDKs; perfect for automated pipelines.
• ❌ Better than extensions — More stable than browser-based tools and avoids manual, error-prone scraping.
• 💾 Export-ready — Export Pinterest following to CSV/JSON/Excel for BI tools, spreadsheets, and CRMs.

In short: a production-grade Pinterest account following scraper that outperforms ad‑hoc scripts and fragile extensions for following-list extraction.

Is it legal / ethical to use Pinterest Following Scraper?

Yes — when used responsibly. This scraper collects data from public endpoints and requires your _pinterest_sess cookie to access standard resources.

Guidelines for compliant use:

• Only collect data from publicly available profile information.
• Avoid extracting sensitive or private content and respect user privacy.
• Ensure alignment with Pinterest’s terms of service and local regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
• Do not use the tool for spam or abuse; verify compliance with your legal team for edge cases.

The actor does not access private profiles or circumvent authentication beyond the session cookie you supply.

Input parameters & output format

Example JSON input

{
  "sources": [
    "https://www.pinterest.com/CandyW8119/",
    "@anotheruser"
  ],
  "pinterestSess": "YOUR__pinterest_sess_COOKIE",
  "maxComments": 120,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Parameters

• sources (array, required)

  • Description: List of Pinterest profile URLs, @usernames, usernames, or keywords.
  • Default: none

• pinterestSess (string, optional but required for a successful run)

  • Description: Required Pinterest session cookie value (_pinterest_sess). The actor will fail if this is not provided.
  • Default: none

• maxComments (integer, optional)

  • Description: Maximum number of following users to collect per input.
  • Default: 100
  • Minimum: 1
  • Maximum (schema): 100000
  • Runtime behavior: The actor caps this to 1,000 per input for stability.

• proxyConfiguration (object, optional)

  • Description: Starts with no proxy. On block: fallback to datacenter proxy; if blocked again, switch to residential and stick with it.
  • Default: {"useApifyProxy": false}

Example JSON output (dataset item)

{
  "serachUsername": "candyw8119",
  "node_id": "3456789012",
  "pin_thumbnail_urls": [
    "https://i.pinimg.com/75x75/sample1.jpg",
    "https://i.pinimg.com/75x75/sample2.jpg"
  ],
  "blocked_by_me": false,
  "image_medium_url": "https://i.pinimg.com/140x140/profile.jpg",
  "type": "user",
  "id": "1234567890",
  "username": "pinterest",
  "is_verified_merchant": false,
  "explicitly_followed_by_me": true,
  "is_default_image": false,
  "recent_pin_images": {
    "192x": [
      { "url": "https://i.pinimg.com/192x/recent1.jpg" },
      { "url": "https://i.pinimg.com/192x/recent2.jpg" }
    ]
  },
  "pin_count": 5321,
  "board_count": 42,
  "image_xlarge_url": "https://i.pinimg.com/600x600/profile-xl.jpg",
  "image_large_url": "https://i.pinimg.com/280x280/profile-lg.jpg",
  "verified_identity": {},
  "follower_count": 12345678,
  "domain_verified": false,
  "contextual_pin_image_urls": {},
  "is_private_profile": false,
  "full_name": "Pinterest",
  "last_pin_save_time": "2025-12-31T23:59:59",
  "profileUrl": "https://www.pinterest.com/pinterest"
}

Also saved:

• SUMMARY (key-value store)
  • processed_inputs: number of inputs processed
  • total_users_saved: total items pushed to the dataset
  • proxy_mode_used: final proxy mode in use
  • proxy_groups: proxy groups used (if any)

Example SUMMARY:

{
  "processed_inputs": 2,
  "total_users_saved": 120,
  "proxy_mode_used": "residential",
  "proxy_groups": "RESIDENTIAL"
}

Fields that may be empty:

• verified_identity and contextual_pin_image_urls may be {} if not present.
• pin_thumbnail_urls can be an empty array; it falls back to thumbnails extracted from recent_pin_images when available.

FAQ

Do I need to log in or provide cookies to run this?

✅ Yes. You must provide your Pinterest session cookie value via the pinterestSess input (the _pinterest_sess cookie). The actor will fail if this is not provided.

Can this scrape followers instead of following?

❌ No. This tool targets the profiles a user is following (UserFollowing resource). If you need a followers list, this Pinterest followers scraper is not designed for that specific list.

How many profiles can I collect per input?

✅ Use maxComments to set your limit. The schema allows up to 100000, but the runtime enforces a cap of 1,000 per input for stability and to reduce block risk.

How does it prevent blocking?

🛡️ It starts with direct requests, falls back to datacenter proxy if blocked, and finally to residential if blocks persist. Once residential is used, it sticks with it. It also retries with exponential backoff and adds 1–2s jitter between pages.

What formats can I export to?

💾 You can export the dataset to JSON, CSV, or Excel directly from the Apify platform — ideal to download Pinterest following lists or create a Pinterest following export CSV for analysis.

Can I run this in bulk for many usernames?

🚀 Yes. Add multiple entries to sources (URLs, usernames, or @handles). The actor normalizes them to usernames and processes them one by one, streaming results to the dataset in real time.

Does this use the Pinterest API?

🔎 It fetches data from Pinterest’s public endpoints for the UserFollowing resource at https://www.pinterest.com/resource/UserFollowingResource/get/. It does not rely on an official “Pinterest API get followers” endpoint and requires your session cookie to work correctly.

Can I integrate this with my existing pipeline?

🧩 Yes. Consume the Apify dataset via API or connect runs to automation tools like Make or n8n to build a Pinterest following export workflow end-to-end.

Closing thoughts

Pinterest Following Scraper is built for accurate, scalable extraction of who a Pinterest user is following. It streams clean, structured profile records into your Apify dataset with robust anti-blocking and bulk input support.

Whether you’re a marketer mapping audiences, a developer automating an ETL job, or a researcher analyzing networks, you can scrape Pinterest following lists reliably and export the results to CSV/JSON for immediate use. Developers can plug into the Apify SDK and dataset API to automate pipelines.

Start extracting smarter Pinterest following data today — at scale, with stability, and in export-ready formats.