All endpoints
Instagram User Profile

Instagram User Profile API

Get the full profile for a single Instagram user by username or profile URL. Returns biography, follower / following counts, media count, category, external link, contact info, verification status, and "About this account" info (country the account is based in, join date, verification date, former usernames).

Price: $0.006 per request
Free tier: 50 requests/month
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Endpoint
GET /v1/instagram/user

Parameters

username
Instagram username, with or without leading @ (max 100 characters). Provide either username or url.
url
Instagram profile URL, e.g. https://instagram.com/natgeo (max 500 characters). Provide either username or url.

Response fields

user
Profile data object
username
Instagram username
full_name
Display name
user_id
Instagram user ID
biography
Profile biography text
follower_count
Number of followers
following_count
Number of accounts followed
media_count
Total number of posts
is_verified
Whether the user is verified (blue checkmark)
is_private
Whether the account is private
is_business
Whether the account is a business profile
category
Business / creator category, or empty string
external_url
External link displayed on the profile
bio_links
Additional bio link objects (url, title)
profile_pic_url
URL to standard-resolution profile picture
profile_pic_url_hd
URL to high-resolution profile picture
public_email
Public contact email, or empty string
public_phone_number
Public contact phone number, or empty string
account_based_in
Country the account is based in, or empty string
date_joined
Month and year the account joined Instagram (e.g. November 2010), or empty string
date_joined_timestamp
Unix timestamp of the join date, or null
date_verified
Month and year the account was verified, or empty string
date_verified_timestamp
Unix timestamp of the verification date, or null
former_usernames
Number of former usernames the account has used, or null
url
Link to the profile

Example Request

curl "https://apidirect.io/v1/instagram/user?username=natgeo" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example Response

{
  "user": {
    "username": "natgeo",
    "full_name": "National Geographic",
    "user_id": "787132",
    "biography": "Step into wonder and find your inner explorer with National Geographic 🌎",
    "follower_count": 274777448,
    "following_count": 194,
    "media_count": 31593,
    "is_verified": true,
    "is_private": false,
    "is_business": true,
    "category": "",
    "external_url": "http://visitstore.bio/natgeo",
    "bio_links": [
      {
        "url": "http://visitstore.bio/natgeo",
        "title": ""
      }
    ],
    "profile_pic_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/.../photo.jpg",
    "profile_pic_url_hd": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/.../photo_hd.jpg",
    "public_email": "",
    "public_phone_number": "",
    "account_based_in": "United States",
    "date_joined": "November 2010",
    "date_joined_timestamp": 1288569600,
    "date_verified": "",
    "date_verified_timestamp": null,
    "former_usernames": 0,
    "url": "https://instagram.com/natgeo"
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

Can I look up a user by URL?

Yes. Provide either username (e.g. natgeo) or url (e.g. https://instagram.com/natgeo). Pass exactly one of the two.

Does this work for private accounts?

Yes. Private accounts return basic profile data (username, full name, bio, follower / following counts, verification status). Their posts and follower lists are not accessible.

What happens if the username doesn't exist?

The endpoint returns 404 with code: "not_found". You are not charged for not_found responses.

Why is category sometimes empty?

category is only set on business and creator accounts. Personal accounts return an empty string.

What is account_based_in?

This is the country where Instagram shows the account as being based, from the account's public "About this account" info. Instagram doesn't expose this info for every account, so account_based_in, date_joined, and date_verified can be empty strings and the timestamp / former_usernames fields null.

How does pricing work?

You only pay for successful requests. The Instagram User Profile API costs $0.006 per request. There are no monthly fees or commitments. You get 50 free requests per endpoint every month.

Do I need a credit card to start?

No. You can sign up and use the free tier (50 requests/endpoint/month) without adding a payment method. You only need to add a card when you want to exceed the free tier.

Are there rate limits?

Yes, there's a concurrency limit of 5 simultaneous requests per endpoint per user. If you need more, just get in touch.

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