Unofficial API

Instagram Unofficial API

Meta's Graph API only covers accounts you manage. Unofficial APIs reach any public account, but self-hosted libraries mean logging in with real accounts, rotating proxies, and fixing breakage. A hosted unofficial API gives you the coverage without the upkeep.

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curl "https://api.profilequery.com/v1/profile?handle=nike" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INSTAGRAMAPI_KEY"

const res = await fetch("https://api.profilequery.com/v1/profile?handle=nike", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.INSTAGRAMAPI_KEY}` },
});

res = requests.get("https://api.profilequery.com/v1/profile?handle=nike",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {INSTAGRAMAPI_KEY}"})

What you get

Structured JSON, not raw HTML

▹Any public account: profiles, posts, reels, stories, highlights, followers
▹Comments, likers, hashtags, locations, and keyword search
▹No Instagram login, so no account of yours gets challenged or banned
▹No proxies, device emulation, or session refresh logic to run
▹Plain HTTPS + JSON: call it from Python, Node, Java, Go, or curl
▹Pay per request with no subscription; idle months cost nothing

Comparison

Your unofficial Instagram API options

"Unofficial" covers anything that reads Instagram data outside Meta's Graph API. In practice there are three approaches, and they differ mainly in who carries the operational risk.

1. Self-hosted private API libraries (instagrapi, instagram-private-api)

Libraries like instagrapi (Python) and instagram-private-api (Node) emulate the Instagram mobile app and call its private endpoints. They're capable, open source, and free to run.

▹You log in with a real Instagram account, and that account takes the risk: challenges, checkpoints, and bans are routine at volume.
▹Serious use needs residential or mobile proxies plus a pool of accounts to rotate.
▹Instagram changes app signatures and endpoints; you wait for a library update, then redeploy.
▹Best for: low-volume personal automation where you control the account.

2. DIY scraping (headless browser or GraphQL)

Driving Chrome or calling the web GraphQL endpoint directly. Anonymous access is heavily rate-limited, and logged-in access has the same ban risk as the libraries. Query IDs and page markup change with every web release.

3. A hosted unofficial API (this one)

A hosted API runs the sessions, proxies, and parsers for you and exposes stable REST endpoints. You never log in to Instagram, so there's no account to lose, and breakage gets fixed upstream without a redeploy on your side.

# instagrapi
from instagrapi import Client
cl = Client()
cl.login(USERNAME, PASSWORD)          # your account, your risk
user = cl.user_info_by_username("nike")

# hosted API: no login
import requests
user = requests.get(
    "https://api.profilequery.com/v1/profile",
    params={"handle": "nike"},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"},
).json()["data"]

What an unofficial API can't do

▹Read private accounts. Nothing legitimate can, and this API never tries.
▹Post, like, follow, or DM. This API is read-only public data.
▹Return owner-only metrics like reach, impressions, or saves. Those live in Meta's Graph API Insights.

Endpoints

Every endpoint behind this page

Get profile

1 credit

Full public profile for an account.

GET /v1/profile

Get posts

2 credits

Get followers

2 credits

A page of accounts that follow this account.

GET /v1/profile/followers

Search users

1 credit

Search accounts by keyword.

GET /v1/search/users

Example response

What comes back

{
  "data": {
    "id": "13460080",
    "username": "nike",
    "full_name": "Nike",
    "biography": "Just Do It.",
    "is_verified": true,
    "is_private": false,
    "is_business": true,
    "category": null,
    "followers": 291952375,
    "following": 264,
    "posts": 1657,
    "external_url": "http://empli.fi/nike",
    "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/.../nike.jpg",
    "public_email": null,
    "public_phone_number": null
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "3912183471120209303",
        "shortcode": "DZK3iOsRlWX",
        "type": "photo",
        "product_type": "feed",
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DZK3iOsRlWX/",
        "caption": "Just Do It.",
        "taken_at": "2026-06-04T15:59:27Z",
        "like_count": 2499414,
        "comment_count": 55165,
        "view_count": null,
        "image_url": "https://instagram.com/.../media.jpg",
        "video_url": null,
        "video_duration": null,
        "location": null,
        "author": {
          "id": "13460080",
          "username": "nike",
          "full_name": "Nike",
          "is_verified": true,
          "is_private": false,
          "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/.../nike.jpg"
        }
      }
    ],
    "next_cursor": "3919055228681437041_13460080"
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "13460080",
        "username": "nike",
        "full_name": "Nike",
        "is_verified": true,
        "is_private": false,
        "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/.../nike.jpg"
      },
      {
        "id": "27821530565",
        "username": "16mh.vl",
        "full_name": "",
        "is_verified": false,
        "is_private": true,
        "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/.../nike.jpg"
      }
    ],
    "next_cursor": "25"
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "41238621959",
        "username": "ddetoddo",
        "full_name": "TODDO ★ Coffee & Food",
        "is_verified": false,
        "is_private": false,
        "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/.../toddo.jpg"
      }
    ],
    "next_cursor": null
  }
}

Response fields

Fields returned by GET /v1/profile

Field	Description
id	Numeric account id (stable even if the username changes).
username	The account's @handle.
full_name	Display name shown on the profile.
biography	The profile's bio text.
is_verified	Whether the account has a verified badge.
is_private	Whether the account is private.
is_business	Whether this is a business/professional account.
category	Business category label when set (e.g. "Sportswear"); null otherwise.
followers	Number of accounts following this account.
following	Number of accounts this account follows.
posts	Total number of posts on the profile.
external_url	The clickable link in the bio, if any.
profile_pic_url	URL of the account's profile picture.
public_email	Public contact email, if the account exposes one; null otherwise.
public_phone_number	Public contact phone number, if exposed; null otherwise.

No login required

Nothing to authenticate but your API key

No OAuth flow

One static API key in an Authorization: Bearer header. No redirect, no refresh tokens, no expiring session.

No Meta app review

Never touch Meta's developer platform, Business Verification, or a connected Facebook Page. Sign up directly with Instagram API.

Public data only

Every endpoint returns only what's already visible on Instagram without logging in. Private accounts are never accessible.

Pricing

1 credit per request. Credits start at $8.00 per 1,000 and drop to $6.00 per 1,000 at volume — no subscription, no minimums. New accounts get 50 free credits.

See full pricing

FAQ

Instagram Unofficial API, explained

Is there an official Instagram API for public data?

Not for arbitrary accounts. Meta's Instagram Graph API covers business and creator accounts you've connected, plus limited Business Discovery and hashtag search (capped at 30 unique hashtags per 7 days). Reading any public profile at scale requires an unofficial API.

What's the difference between the Instagram private API and an unofficial API?

The "private API" is the set of endpoints Instagram's own apps use. Unofficial APIs are tools built on top of them: self-hosted libraries like instagrapi, or hosted services like this one that handle the sessions and proxies for you.

Will using this get my Instagram account banned?

No. You never give us an Instagram login, and requests don't touch your account. You authenticate with an API key only.

Is this a good instagrapi alternative?

If you're using instagrapi to read public data (profiles, posts, followers, comments, hashtags), yes: the same data without account logins or proxy management. If you need write actions like posting or DMs, instagrapi does things this API deliberately doesn't.

How much does it cost?

Most lookups are 1–2 credits. Credits start at $8.00 per 1,000 with no subscription, and new accounts get 50 free.

Instagram Profile API

Instagram Scraper API

Instagram GraphQL API

Instagram data in BigQuery

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