Instagram User Profile API

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

Example Request

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

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://apidirect.io/v1/instagram/user",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={"username": "natgeo"}
)
print(response.json())

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": "",
    "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.

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 3 simultaneous requests per endpoint per user. If you need more, just get in touch.