Instagram scraper API

Yes. Social Fetch's Instagram routes read public profile, post, Reel, highlight, and search data over REST. You authenticate with a Social Fetch API key only — no Meta App Review, no linked Business or Creator account, no Facebook Page, and no OAuth consent screen for the account you're looking up.

Thirteen operations: profile by handle or by numeric user id, profile posts and profile Reels (separate cursor-paginated lists), a single post/Reel by URL, comments on a post/Reel, a post/Reel transcript, profile highlight albums plus one album's story items by id, and four discovery routes — profile search, hashtag search, Reel keyword search, and a trending-Reels sample. Exact paths, params, and response fields are on this hub's endpoint list and under /docs/api.

Use `GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}` when you have a username (with or without the leading `@`) — it returns the full profile card and uses `found` / `private` / `not_found` on `data.lookupStatus`. Use `GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{userId}/basic` when you already store Instagram's numeric `platformUserId` and want a lighter card without a username round-trip.

`GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}/posts` pages the mixed public grid — images, carousels (`mediaType: "sidecar"`), and in-feed video, each with like/comment counts. `GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}/reels` pages the Reels tab only, adding `playCount` per clip. They paginate independently with their own `cursor`/`nextCursor`, and that Reels route collapses private accounts into `not_found` rather than a separate `private` status.

It returns saved story highlight albums, not the ephemeral 24-hour Stories tray. `GET /v1/instagram/profiles/{handle}/highlights` lists a profile's public albums (title, cover thumbnail) in one response — no cursor, `hasMore` is always false. `GET /v1/instagram/highlights/{highlightId}` opens one album by its numeric id into the story items inside it: media URLs, timestamps, link stickers when present.

Yes. `GET /v1/instagram/posts/comments` takes a public post or Reel `url` and returns top-level comments — text, author handle, likeCount, replyCount — paginated with an opaque `cursor` while `data.page.hasMore` is true. It does not return threaded replies below a top-level comment.

Call `GET /v1/instagram/posts/transcript` with a public `/p/`, `/reel/`, or `/tv/` URL — there is no separate Reel-only transcript path. `data.transcripts` is an array of `{ id, shortcode, text }` rows; a carousel with multiple video children can return more than one row, and any row's `text` can be null even when the lookup itself succeeds. Clips that exceed the supported length fail with HTTP 400 `video_too_long_for_transcription` instead of a null row.

`GET /v1/instagram/search/profiles` finds accounts by keyword (each hit reports whether the match came from the profile or a caption via `matchedFrom`). `GET /v1/instagram/search/hashtags` lists posts under a tag with optional `datePosted` and `mediaType` filters. `GET /v1/instagram/search/reels` runs a keyword search scoped to Reels with page-based pagination (`page` / `nextPage`, not a cursor). `GET /v1/instagram/reels/trending` takes no query params and returns one fresh sample batch — call it again for another.

Every Instagram operation is a flat 1 credit per completed lookup, including each page of a paginated list. The single exception is `GET /v1/instagram/posts` with `downloadMedia=true`, which adds a 10-credit surcharge (11 total). Signup includes 100 free credits and pay-as-you-go packs don't expire. Confirm every call with `meta.creditsCharged`.

Behavior differs slightly by route: profile and profile-posts lookups return a distinct `private` value on `data.lookupStatus`, while profile Reels and post detail collapse restricted access into `not_found` or `restricted`. None of these routes invent placeholder data for content that isn't public. Social Fetch only returns publicly visible Instagram data; you're responsible for using it in line with Instagram's terms and applicable law, and we don't provide legal advice.