Instagram Profile API
Returns an Instagram account's public profile: bio, exact follower count, following count, lifetime post count, picture URL, verification, and author.ext.public_email from the bio.
GET /v1/instagram/profileLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Try the Instagram Profile API
See real data before writing a single line
When to use the Instagram Profile API
Use it for a quick snapshot by handle; profile/full adds recent posts and computed metrics, and profile/about adds country, month joined and contact.
From the API reference
Returns public profile information for an Instagram user including the exact integer follower count, following count, bio, profile picture URL, and verification status. author.posts_count is the account's lifetime post count, for accounts of any size, in the same call and for the same 1 credit. In the rare case that count cannot be read in time the leaf is null rather than a wrong number, and a repeat call normally fills it. Age-restricted (18+) profiles are supported. Every link in the bio is listed in author.ext.bio_links ({ title, url, link_type }, the direct address), the Facebook-side id of the account is author.ext.fbid, and author.ext.is_business says whether it is an Instagram business account. author.ext.hd_avatar_url is the full-size profile picture. When the account publishes a contact address in its bio, it is returned as author.ext.public_email; otherwise that leaf is null. Instagram's in-app tap-to-email button is not readable from any public surface, so the bio is the only source for it. To vet a creator by market, call /v1/instagram/profile/about instead: it returns the follower count and the declared country in one call, at the same price, so there is no need to call both.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Profile API?
The Profile endpoint gives you structured Instagram data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/instagram/profile: 1 credit per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 28: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 28 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/profile?handle=instagram&trim=true" && cat response.json# GET /v1/instagram/profile: 1 credit per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 28 # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/profile"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"handle": "instagram",
"trim": "true",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/instagram/profile: 1 credit per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 28_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/profile");
url.searchParams.set("handle", "instagram");
url.searchParams.set("trim", "true");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters worth sending
trim=trueSame price, lighter payload: drops the bulky raw fields.
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| handle | Yes | Instagram username without the @ symbol |
| trim | No | Set to true to skip the recent-posts read. The profile comes back faster, at the same price, with `author.last_post_at` and `computed.engagement_rate` null. |
| contact_email | No | Optional. When 1, also returns author.ext.contact_email: when the bio lists two or more email addresses, the one the creator gives for contacting them personally, copied verbatim from the bio. Null when there is one address or none, when every address belongs to a manager, agency or brand, or when the choice was not confident. author.ext.public_email is unchanged. No extra credits. (1) |
What does the Instagram Profile API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "instagram",
"endpoint": "/v1/instagram/profile",
"data": {
"author": {
"id": "25025320",
"username": "instagram",
"display_name": "Instagram",
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-lga3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/550891366_18667771684001321_1383210656577177067_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=bf7eb4&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InByb2ZpbGVfcGljLnd3dy4xMDgwLkMzIn0%3D&_nc_ohc=_dBpg1akaE4Q7kNvwFYM7uD&_nc_oc=Adon7FyLdWoU4qlxV71upGICROogjL2FcBl8yxsbgAED8LO-iYDUQwdh-6fE2_5ZogQ&_nc_zt=24&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=uZUdmerubWJW2Oihg78ZEA&_nc_ss=78a8c&oh=00_AQMqWYj2lI4SCSE84OaU1qQgetf8XJfEEQiNQv8y9mYjlA&oe=6AC59627",
"bio": "Discover what's new on Instagram 🔎✨",
"verified": true,
"followers": 686584866,
"following": 305,
"posts_count": 8612,
"likes_count": null,
"url": "http://help.instagram.com",
"private": false,
"joined_at": null,
"last_post_at": "2026-10-01T15:59:45.000Z",
"ext": {
"business_category": null
}
},
"computed": {
"engagement_rate": null,
"language": "de",
"content_category": "other",
"estimated_reach": null
}
},
"credits_used": 1,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"source": "captured",
"captured_at": "2026-10-02T15:37:22.521Z",
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the Instagram Profile API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I get Instagram profile data with an API?
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