Would you like to extract large amounts of Instagram data from the platform? The only way out of that situation is to scrape the website. Let’s discover what the best Instagram data scraper on the market is - as well as how you can build your own. Instagram, the popular platform for sharing photos and videos that Facebook owns, has become a key generator of social data.

There are a few differences between Instagram and Facebook regarding how much personal information it holds. However, a wealth of other information still has a personal touch and is overwhelming, especially for a millennia-old generation. A user’s profile on Instagram, a post (a picture or a video), an Instagram email scraper, an Instagram bio scraper, and its associated comments are the primary identifiers of interest on Instagram.

Social researchers and businesses demand this data to fine-tune their workflow, better understand their audience, develop better content, and carry out other research such as creating educational materials.

However, you need to be aware of several restrictions regarding API calls and data limits with the official Instagram API. With the help of this API, you can only access the data you have on your Instagram account. It is necessary to work outside the confines of the official Instagram API to access publicly available information that is not directly tied to your account. This will require the use of automation tools known as Instagram scrapers.

Instagram scraper is a computer program that automate obtaining data from Instagram using the data available on the Instagram platform. This is done by sending HTTP requests to web pages related to the content of interest so they can download; the required data can be parsed from the page and stored in a database if necessary.

There are a lot of Instagram scrapers available on the market; however, in this article, we will show you which ones are the best on the market and how you can build your own if you know how to code. We first need to overview of how we can scrape Instagram can scrape briefly.

What is Instagram Scraping?

Instagram has an apparent policy regarding using scrapers, crawlers, and other automation bots on its platform. The Instagram Terms of usage specify that web scrapers are not permitted on the Instagram platform because of what is contained in its terms of use.

To prevent automated access and traffic on Instagram’s platform, the company has one of the industry’s most robust, effective, and intelligent anti-bot systems. Despite this, people continue to scrape Instagram data - and you can’t blame them; the official Instagram API does nothing to help matters. It is essential to remember that just because people are not scraping Instagram doesn’t mean you will be able to do that.

The company has been at the forefront of fighting against bots in the industry, halting many services like the popular Mass Planner. Having said that, if you have the right system in place, you can scrape Instagram information at any scale without being detected and prevented from doing so.

It would help if you took care of proxies, as they are the essential tool you must use. There is no doubt that Instagram tracks IP addresses and is very smart at detecting proxies, so mobile proxies are the proxies of choice for Instagram users. However, you can use residential proxies if you can’t afford them.

Scraping Instagram using Python and Selenium

It is impossible to reverse engineer the Instagram mobile application, so you should focus on the Instagram web application since that’s the one you will be able to reproduce the requests it makes quickly. To provide you with a near-native and responsive experience, Instagram uses JavaScript heavily, meaning there are many XHR and AJAX requests to handle.

This is why the combo of Requests and BeautifulSoup is unsuitable for scraping Instagram. Headless browsers are capable of displaying and executing JavaScript, which is something that headless browsers can. Using Selenium as a python developer is one of the best ways to automate your browsers in a headless mode, as it is one of the most popular and influential browser automation tools on the market today.

According to what you already know, some data on Instagram is available publicly, and you can access it even if you are not logged in. There are profiles, posts, hashtags, comments, and places included in this category. Rather than worrying about this, try to focus on other areas that do not require a login. Do you know why?

When you use an automation tool to access Instagram while logged in, the anti-bot system can detect you, and if that happens, your IP gets blocked, and your account gets banned. Creating reports to scrape means you can evade the check activated on logged-in accounts and their activities, but you must also be good at engineering your scraping bot.

You can use this Instagram scraper to scrape comments from posts on Instagram. You may find many simple proof of concept scrapers built with Python and Selenium to demonstrate how easy it is to create an Instagram scraper. Still, when it comes to usability and practicality, they suck in your precious time and resources.

With Crawlbase, you can avoid just that by signing up for the Crawling API, which allows you to crawl and scrape the web with just a few clicks!

Firstly, you must sign up with Crawlbase and get the 1000 free requests to see how the Crawling API works.

Secondly, you need a link to an Instagram post to scrape data from. Here, we would go for Information Nigerian, whose post shows a Nigerian Vice President and Speaker meet to discuss electricity as a support to Nigerians.

Then, you would need to go to the Try Crawling API in the docs so that you can scrape the desired web page with just a click.

Try Crawling API docs

Then, you would need to go to the in the docs so that you can scrape the desired web page with just clicks.

Here, we will scrape the Instagram post very simply for demonstration purposes. You may go ahead and choose whatever suits your needs.

Optional parameters Execute request

This is the response in JSON format.

JSON result

The result which is very descriptive JSON format and in proper structure.

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{
  "original_status": 200,
  "pc_status": 200,
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/CAbDmzDnSvn/",
  "body": {
    "alert": "A generic web scraper has been selected. Please contact support if you require a more detailed scraper for your given URL.",
    "title": "Information Nigeria on Instagram: \"Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila meet to discuss offering electricity as a palliative to Nigerians. . . #informationnigeria\"",
    "favicon": "https://static.cdninstagram.com/rsrc.php/yv/r/BTPhT6yIYfq.ico",
    "meta": {
      "description": "Information Nigeria shared a post on Instagram: \"Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila meet to discuss offering electricity as a palliative to Nigerians. . . #informationnigeria\". Follow their account to see 36628 posts.",
      "keywords": ""
    },
    "content": "",
    "canonical": null,
    "images": [],
    "og_images": [
      "https://scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/98308968_2503670733296911_946023067187937347_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s640x640&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=CHMf465EZUIAX8LiITr&_nc_ht=scontent-frx5-1.cdninstagram.com&oh=00_AT9qvGDtIQcVHhnZKzBdHqkmN0mbqCN_IR-Jbb9C60besQ&oe=62E88A53"
    ],
    "links": []
  }
}

Best Instagram Scrapers

Using Instagram scraper, you can still access the data you need on Instagram even if you are not a coder. It is essential to choose the right tool for the job. Furthermore, it would be best if you made sure that the bot you choose is appropriately configured to make sure that you can avoid getting detected and blocked. You can use the following 5 Instagram scrapers to scrape Instagram data.

1. Crawlbase

Several web automation tools known as actors can be found on Crawlbase, including the Instagram Scraper. You can use Instabio Scraper to extract public data from Instagram, including posts, comments, places, hashtags, and more. Even though the tool supports search queries, you can also provide it with a list of URLs so it can run a search for those URLs.

As for Crawlbase as a platform, I particularly like its API-based automation tools, such as Instagram Scraper, which can be easily integrated into custom programs. In addition, you are also able to choose whether to save scraped data as an Excel or CSV file.

2. BrightData

Many Instagram scrapers are already available on the market. Still, if you’re looking to scrape publicly available Instagram data, then Data Collector is one of the best scrapers you should use. This Instagram scraper is provided by Bright Data, among the leading providers of proxy services in the market. Among the many Instagram collectors that Data Collector has, there are collectors for the profiles, posts, and hashtags on Instagram.

If that’s what you want, they have a predefined data set for Instagram influencers. If you wish to take advantage of this service, you must register, add funds to your account, and log in to begin using the service. Your data of interest will be in your hands in no time with this service, which eliminates any risk of you being blocked.

3. Octoparse

For scraping Instagram data, are you looking for a website scraper that is very reliable, tested, and trusted? As a result, Octoparse should be listed as an option on the list of possibilities. In addition, it features Instagram scraping templates, making it relatively easy and faster for you to complete all of your scraping tasks.

As with all the other tools mentioned above (except Crawlbase Instagram Scraper), Octoparse is a visual scraping tool that does not require any coding skills on your part to use. It is possible to use Octoparse as a cloud-based tool or a desktop application that can be downloaded and installed. You can try Octoparse for free before committing, and you’re sure it works.

4. Jarvee Instagram Scraper

Jarvee remains one of the most powerful and best tools for those who are into Instagram automation, as it has survived updates designed to discourage botting. Besides being one of the best scraping tools for Instagram, you can also use it to find market trends.

Check out this official tutorial from Jarvee for instructions on setting up Jarvee for scraping Instagram. You must find the best settings and ensure you know what you’re doing. Jarvee is not only a tool that works for Instagram but also for other social media platforms as well. This is a Windows-based tool that needs to be paid for.

5. Webscraper.io Chrome Extension

You should note that ScrapeStorm is another web scraper that is capable of scraping publicly available Instagram data very well. You can use the ScrapeStorm application to scrape every website on the Internet. Its general purpose is that it can scrape any website on the Internet. This program scrapes websites undetectably and scrapes what users can see for you based on what they can see.

One thing that makes ScrapeStorm different from every other product on this list is that it requires no training as it can detect data points intelligently, thanks to the use of Artificial Intelligence. Several operating systems are supported by ScrapeStorm, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It can also be used as a web-based application. The tool is a paid one, but there is a trial version that you can take advantage of.

Conclusion

Aside from being one of the most complicated websites to scrape on the Internet, Instagram has many mechanisms to prevent tampering, making it one of the most challenging websites for botting. Despite the anti-scraping techniques that Instagram has implemented, experienced developers still manage to scrape Instagram. You can use the Instagram scrapers discussed above if you aren’t experienced enough to develop your scrapers to scrape Instagram.

Among the best web scraping tools mentioned above, we recommend Crawlbase. This application is effortless to use, and you will be able to download the scraped data in the format you prefer. It also offers you to store data on the cloud. These Instagram bio and email scrapers can help you retrieve large amounts of data accurately and efficiently.