Instagram API for profile and engagement data
Read any public Instagram profile by username: followers, posts, engagement rate measured from recent posts rather than estimated, and a bio-code check that proves who controls the account. Nothing here needs a Meta app, a review submission or a linked Business account.
- Endpoints for Instagram
- 47
- Free to start
- 500 requests
- Paid from
- $69/ 30 days
One request, no application
Send a key, get an answer. Every endpoint on this page uses the same header, the same envelope and the same error codes as the other six platforms.
curl "https://api.playersells.com/v2/accounts/instagram/nasa" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $PLAYERSELLS_API_KEY"What the Instagram API returns
- username, full name and biography
- follower, following and post counts
- verified and business account flags
- profile picture URL
- the twelve most recent posts with per-post like and comment counts
- engagement rate measured from those posts, not inferred from follower count
Where the data comes from
Our own Instagram engine, live since August 2026, reading public profile pages. It runs without an Instagram account of its own, deliberately: logging in would trade away the legal footing that reading public pages stands on.
What this API cannot do
- Private accounts return only what a logged-out visitor sees: name, picture, and the counts Instagram chooses to show.
- Account creation date is not published anywhere we can read, so it is returned as null rather than estimated.
- Stories, reels insights and direct messages are not accessible without an account, and we do not use one.
Instagram endpoints
19 built specifically for Instagram, plus 28 that cover every platform.
Specific to Instagram
| Endpoint | What it does | Scope |
|---|---|---|
GET/accounts/{platform}/{handle} | Check one account against our catalog | directory:read |
GET/accounts/{platform}/{handle}/livelive | Check one account live, at the source | scrape:live |
GET/accounts/resolve | Find one handle on every platform at once | directory:read |
GET/directory/{platform} | List and filter a catalog | directory:read |
GET/directory/{platform}/{id} | One account or channel | directory:read |
GET/directory/{platform}/{id}/growth | Daily audience history | directory:read |
GET/directory/{platform}/{id}/followers | Inbound graph edges | directory:read |
GET/directory/{platform}/{id}/following | Outbound graph edges | directory:read |
POST/directory/{platform}/bulk | Resolve up to 100 records at once | directory:read |
GET/directory/{platform}/facets | Distribution of the catalog | directory:read |
GET/directory/search | Search every platform at once | directory:read |
GET/people/lookup | Find one handle across every catalog | directory:read |
GET/people/search | Find accounts matching audience and engagement criteria | directory:read |
GET/scrape/instagram/userlive | Live Instagram profile | scrape:live |
GET/scrape/instagram/verifylive | Prove ownership of an Instagram account | scrape:live |
GET/insights/instagram/{handle} | Measured Instagram engagement, placed against its cohort | insights:read |
GET/marketplace/listings | Browse active marketplace listings | marketplace:read |
POST/tools/instagram/engagementlive | Measure an Instagram account's engagement | tools:use |
POST/tools/instagram/moneylive | Estimate Instagram sponsorship earnings | tools:use |
Across all platforms
| Endpoint | What it does | Scope |
|---|---|---|
GET/accounts/platforms | What a check can answer, per platform | directory:read |
POST/accounts/check | Check up to 50 accounts at once | directory:read |
GET/directory | Catalog capability map | directory:read |
GET/scrape/status | Live backend health and capacity | scrape:live |
GET/insights/audience | Who follows an account, and what they have in common | insights:read |
GET/research/findings | Findings the research engine is willing to state | research:read |
GET/research/findings/{id} | One finding with its full test history | research:read |
GET/research/runs | Research pass history | research:read |
GET/research/events | The research changelog | research:read |
GET/engines | Operational health of every insight engine | engines:read |
GET/engines/{key} | One engine in detail | engines:read |
GET/marketplace/listings/{id} | Get one public listing | marketplace:read |
GET/marketplace/stats | Platform totals | marketplace:read |
GET/marketplace/leaderboard | Best-selling sellers | marketplace:read |
GET/marketplace/pricing | Live fee schedule and boost packages | marketplace:read |
GET/tools | List every analysis tool | tools:use |
POST/tools/valuationlive | Value an X account | tools:use |
POST/tools/shadowban-checklive | Check an X account for visibility filtering | tools:use |
POST/tools/follower-auditlive | Audit an X account's followers for fakes | tools:use |
POST/tools/engagement-calculatorlive | Measure an X account's engagement rate | tools:use |
POST/tools/best-posting-timelive | Find when an X account should post | tools:use |
POST/tools/algorithm-scorelive | Score an X account against the ranking signals | tools:use |
POST/tools/bio-optimizerlive | Score and rewrite an X bio (AI) | tools:use |
POST/tools/profile-roastlive | Roast and fix an X profile (AI) | tools:use |
POST/tools/tweet-analyzerlive | Analyze a single X post | tools:use |
POST/tools/mention-checkerlive | See who is mentioning an X account | tools:use |
POST/tools/growth-simulator | Project how long a follower target takes | tools:use |
GET/tools/profile-piclive | Fetch an X profile picture URL | tools:use |
Instagram API questions
Do I need Meta App Review to use this?
No. The Instagram Graph API requires an app, a review, and in most cases a Business or Creator account connected to a Facebook Page. This API requires an API key and nothing else, because it reads public profile pages rather than Meta's platform.
How is the Instagram engagement rate calculated?
From the twelve most recent posts: total likes plus comments, divided by posts, divided by follower count. It is measured from real post data, not estimated from follower count. When a profile has no readable recent posts the field is null rather than zero, because an unknown rate and a rate of zero are different facts.
Can I check whether someone owns an Instagram account?
Yes. The owner puts a short code in their bio and you call the verification endpoint with the username and the code. It reads the bio fresh and returns true or false along with the text it matched. This is the same mechanism our own marketplace uses before it lets anyone list an account for sale.
Does this work for private Instagram accounts?
Only as far as Instagram itself shows them publicly. You will get the username, display name, picture and whatever counts are visible to a logged-out visitor. Posts and engagement are not available, and we report that as unavailable rather than returning zeros.
The same API, on six other platforms
One key, one envelope, one bill. Reading a second platform is a different path, not a different integration.