Instagram User Embed API
Returns Instagram's embed code for a public profile (author.ext.embed_html, ready to paste into your page) and the frame it loads (author.ext.embed_url), plus the follower and post counts it shows.
GET /v1/instagram/user/embedLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the Instagram User Embed API
Use it to display a profile on your site. Private accounts, accounts that do not allow embeds and handles that do not exist return 404 at no charge; profile has the bio and following.
From the API reference
Returns the embed for a public Instagram profile. author.ext.embed_html is Instagram's own embed code for the profile (a blockquote plus the embed.js script tag), ready to paste into a page on your site, where it renders the profile card with its latest posts. author.ext.embed_url is the address of the frame that script loads (https://www.instagram.com/<username>/embed/), for placing the frame yourself. The response also carries the profile the embed shows: username, display name, picture, verification, exact follower count, post count and the account id. The embed does not show the bio or the following count, so those are null; call /v1/instagram/profile for them. Private accounts, accounts that do not allow embeds and handles that do not exist have no embed: they return 404 at no charge, and Instagram's page does not say which of the three it is.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the User Embed API?
The User Embed 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/user/embed: 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 60: the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
# --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 60 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/user/embed?handle=instagram" && cat response.json# GET /v1/instagram/user/embed: 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 = 60 # the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/user/embed"
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",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/instagram/user/embed: 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 = 60_000; // the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
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/user/embed");
url.searchParams.set("handle", "instagram");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| handle | Yes | Instagram username without the @ symbol |
What does the Instagram User Embed 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": "528817151",
"username": "nasa",
"display_name": "NASA",
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-mia3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/29090066_159271188110124_1152068159029641216_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s320x320_tt6&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InByb2ZpbGVfcGljLmRqYW5nby4xMDgwLmMyIn0&_nc_ht=scontent-mia3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=1&_nc_oc=Q6cZ2gF_ZOyacP2ZxvTwISAHsSMx5asgW1AxJ-EvdVyQnWaIqOoHbHMxaugucZE9K7U6iePJ5sy_AwBliYYR9brDmaTN&_nc_ohc=Nw8H9lTngQgQ7kNvwGnjtoO&_nc_gid=oVc10Bvl_SYb8NYf4N9zow&edm=AOQ1c0wBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oh=00_AQBRPsRNYH983CV3Cpi5GEmECZIFeJsRBFCxbj0YQVLw4A&oe=6A631B69&_nc_sid=8b3546",
"bio": "Making the seemingly impossible, possible. ✨",
"verified": true,
"followers": 104307425,
"following": 91,
"posts_count": 4853,
"likes_count": null,
"url": "https://www.nasa.gov/",
"private": false,
"joined_at": null
},
"computed": {
"engagement_rate": 0.00193,
"language": "en",
"content_category": "other",
"estimated_reach": null
}
},
"credits_used": 1,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the Instagram User Embed 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 embed data for a user?
What fields does the Instagram Embed API return?
When should I use the embed endpoint instead of profile?
Is the embed endpoint cheaper than the profile endpoint?
Can I build an Instagram link preview with the embed API?
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