Snapchat Public Explore Search Scraper

What does Snapchat Public Explore Search Scraper do?

Snapchat Public Explore Search Scraper opens the public Snapchat Explore search page and extracts visible lens, Spotlight, user, place, and topic cards. Try it with a short phrase such as coffee, choose the result types you need, and receive normalized records ready for analysis. On Apify, runs can be started from the Console or API and connected to schedules, webhooks, integrations, monitoring, and proxy transport.

Why use Snapchat Public Explore Search Scraper?

Use the Actor to discover public Snapchat lenses and creators around a topic, monitor visible search coverage, assemble research datasets, or feed public result links into a downstream workflow. Stable record IDs, deduplication, strict limits, and explicit run diagnostics make the output easier to automate than manually browsing and copying cards.

How to use Snapchat search scraping

1. Open the Actor’s Input tab.
2. Enter a public search phrase.
3. Select the content types and a small maxItems value.
4. Keep direct browser access for the first attempt; enable standard Apify Proxy only when the direct route is unavailable.
5. Start the run and download the successful records from the Dataset tab.

The Actor uses one bounded Playwright browser session because Explore cards are rendered dynamically. It does not log in, call private APIs, solve CAPTCHAs, or bypass access controls.

Input

Important fields are query, contentTypes, maxItems (1–100), maxPages (1–10), pageScrollDelayMs, requestDelayMs, locale, headless, maxResponseBytes, timeoutSecs (5–60), and standard proxyConfiguration.

{
  "query": "coffee",
  "contentTypes": ["lens", "spotlight", "user"],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "maxPages": 2,
  "headless": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}

Output

The dataset contains successful public result cards only. Diagnostics remain in OUTPUT_SUMMARY and its OUTPUT compatibility alias, while SOURCE_METADATA documents the access policy and browser transport.

{
  "recordType": "lens",
  "status": "success",
  "query": "coffee",
  "title": "Coffee Lens",
  "url": "https://www.snapchat.com/unlock/?type=SNAPCODE&uuid=...",
  "position": 1,
  "sourceTransport": "Playwright via Apify Proxy"
}

You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

Data table

Field	Description
recordId	Stable hash of result type and URL
recordType	lens, spotlight, user, place, or topic
title, description	Visible card text
url, imageUrl	Normalized public links
username, topic, placeName	Type-specific identity when visible
position	Result order in the normalized output
sourceUrl, httpStatus	Request provenance
proxyUsed, scrapedAt	Transport and collection metadata

How much does it cost to scrape Snapchat search?

Cost is mainly the browser’s run time and memory. A one-page, low-item run is typically cheapest. Free-tier users can apply available platform credits; actual cost depends on the current Apify plan, proxy choice, and page response time. Keep maxPages and delays as low as your use case permits.

Tips and advanced options

Start with one page and 5–25 items. Filter contentTypes to reduce irrelevant output. Use a locale that matches the audience you are researching. Requests use one browser attempt with no full-session retry loop; an access-controlled page therefore ends promptly with an explicit diagnostic rather than multiplying traffic or cost.

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

Results can vary by time, locale, region, and Snapchat layout. An empty dataset can be valid when the target returns no cards or blocks the session; inspect OUTPUT for the reason. This Actor collects only public information, and users are responsible for complying with Snapchat’s terms, privacy rights, intellectual-property rules, rate limits, and applicable law. Use the Actor’s Issues tab for reproducible bugs or to discuss a custom solution.