Instagram Public Data

Instagram Public Data lets you export information about public Instagram profiles and their posts directly to your spreadsheet, workbook, or database. Whether you're tracking competitor accounts, monitoring brand mentions, or analyzing public engagement, you can automate the entire process with Coupler.io.

Why connect to Coupler.io?

• No manual downloads — Stop copying profile data and post metrics by hand. Pull data automatically on a schedule.

• Multiple destinations — Send data to Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or AI destinations like Claude and ChatGPT.

• Track multiple accounts — Monitor several public profiles in a single data flow by listing them all.

• Stay current — Schedule regular refreshes to keep your follower counts, post engagement, and other metrics up to date.

Prerequisites

• A personal Instagram account or Instagram Business account

• Access to public Instagram profiles you want to track

• A destination ready (Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or an AI destination)

Quick start

Start by connecting your Instagram account, choose "Public profiles info" or "Public profiles posts," enter the profile usernames you want to track, and run the data flow manually to test it before scheduling.

How to connect

1

Sign in to Coupler.io and create a new data flow. Choose Instagram Public Data as your source.

2

Click "Connect" and sign into Instagram. You'll be taken to Instagram's login page. Enter your credentials and authorize Coupler.io to access your account. You'll be redirected back to Coupler.io once authorization is complete.

3

Select your report type. Choose either "Public profiles info" (to get follower counts, bio, verification status, and other profile metrics) or "Public profiles posts" (to get individual post data like captions, likes, and comments).

4

Enter the Instagram profiles you want to track. Type each profile's username on a new line (e.g., instagram, nasa, yourcompetitor). Use only the usernames, not full profile URLs.

5

Choose your destination — Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or an AI destination like Claude or ChatGPT.

6

Run the data flow manually to test the connection and see your data. Once the run completes successfully, you can schedule future refreshes.

Available reports

Instagram Public Data gives you access to two distinct report types, each serving different tracking and analysis needs:

Report Type	Data Level	Refresh Frequency	Ideal Use Case
Public profiles info	Profile-level snapshot	Daily or weekly	Track follower growth, verify accounts, compare metrics across profiles
Public profiles posts	Individual post-level	Daily or weekly	Analyze engagement patterns, identify top-performing posts, monitor content strategy

Public profiles info metrics

Follower & reach metrics

Metric	Definition	Example
Follower count	Total number of accounts following this profile	1,250,000
Following count	Total number of accounts this profile follows	350
Post count	Total number of posts published (photos and videos)	245
Website	URL link in the profile bio (if available)	instagram.com

Profile identity metrics

Metric	Definition	Example
Username	The unique Instagram handle	nasa
Full name	Display name on the profile	NASA
Bio	Profile description text	Exploring the universe
Is verified	Blue checkmark status (true/false)	true
Profile picture URL	Link to the profile's avatar image	https://...
Is private	Account privacy status (public accounts only)	false

Public profiles posts metrics

Post engagement metrics

Metric	Definition	Example
Like count	Total likes on the post	48,000
Comment count	Total comments on the post	3,200
Engagement rate	Combined likes and comments as % of follower count	2.1%

Post content metrics

Metric	Definition	Example
Post ID	Unique identifier for the post	17999999999999999
Caption	Text content of the post	"Taken from orbit today"
Post type	Image, video, or carousel	image
Media URL	Direct link to the image or video thumbnail	https://...
Posted at	Timestamp when the post was published	2024-01-15T10:30:00Z

Common metric combinations

Here are helpful ways to combine metrics from both report types:

• Track engagement velocity: Pull "Public profiles posts" daily and compare like counts over time to identify trending content

• Benchmark competitor growth: Use "Public profiles info" weekly to graph follower count changes across multiple accounts

• Analyze posting cadence: Combine post count from "Public profiles info" with individual post dates from "Public profiles posts" to understand frequency

• Monitor bio changes: Compare bio text month-over-month to spot strategy shifts

Use cases by role

Marketers

Why you need Instagram Public Data: Track competitor activity and industry trends without logging into Instagram manually.

• Competitive analysis: Monitor 5–10 competitor accounts' follower counts and post engagement weekly. Spot when they launch campaigns based on post frequency spikes.

• Influencer vetting: Pull public profile metrics for potential brand partners to validate audience size and verify badge status before outreach.

• Content benchmarking: Compare your posts' like and comment counts against industry peers to identify gaps in your strategy.

• Audience insights: Track top-performing posts by engagement to understand what resonates with your audience segment.

Social Media Managers

Why you need Instagram Public Data: Automate competitor monitoring and free up time spent on manual screenshot tracking.

• Daily performance reports: Schedule "Public profiles posts" to pull overnight, so you have the latest engagement data in your spreadsheet each morning.

• Trend detection: Monitor 3–5 accounts in your niche and set up alerts when follower count jumps (sign of viral moment or paid campaign).

• Content calendar cross-check: Pull posts from accounts you admire and compare their captions, posting times, and hashtag strategies to your own schedule.

• Crisis monitoring: Track mentions and comments on public posts (if available) to catch emerging issues early.

Data Analysts

Why you need Instagram Public Data: Build dashboards and trend reports without manual data collection.

• Time-series analysis: Schedule weekly "Public profiles info" pulls and chart follower growth curves, identify seasonal patterns, and forecast growth.

• Engagement benchmarking: Combine "Public profiles posts" data with your own company data (via Coupler.io's Join transformation) to compare performance side-by-side.

• Multi-account aggregation: Use Append transformation to combine data from 10+ competitor accounts into one table, then filter and pivot by account.

• Dashboard automation: Push data to BigQuery or Looker Studio for real-time competitive dashboards that update on schedule.

Platform-specific notes

• Public profiles only: This source fetches data from public Instagram accounts only. Private account data is not available, even if you follow them.

• Instagram API limits: Meta applies rate limits to Instagram API requests. If you're tracking many profiles simultaneously, consider staggering refreshes or monitoring for rate limit errors.

• Post engagement lag: Like and comment counts may take a few minutes to update on Instagram's servers, so expect slight delays in the data.

• Deleted posts: If a post is deleted, it will no longer appear in "Public profiles posts" reports. Historical data may be lost if you don't archive old snapshots.

• Bio and metadata changes: Profile info (bio, name, follower count) is a point-in-time snapshot. Schedule regular refreshes to track changes over time.

Instagram Public Data common issues

Connection issues

Instagram login fails or "Sign in with Instagram" button doesn't work

Instagram's authentication can fail if your account has two-factor authentication enabled or if there are recent suspicious login attempts.

Fix:

1. Visit Instagram.com directly and make sure you can log in manually.

2. If 2FA is enabled, generate a fresh app password or temporarily disable 2FA during Coupler.io connection setup.

3. Clear your browser cookies and try the connection again.

4. If the issue persists, try a different browser (sometimes cache issues cause problems).

"Connection doesn't have access to any Instagram account" error

This error means the Instagram account you connected doesn't have permission to access the public data you're requesting, or there's a mismatch between your personal and Business account.

Fix:

1. Disconnect and reconnect your Instagram account in Coupler.io.

2. Make sure you're signing in with the same Instagram account that has access to the profiles you want to track.

3. If you're using a Business account, ensure it's properly linked to a Facebook Business Manager.

4. For Business accounts: go to Instagram Settings > Apps and Websites and check that Coupler.io is listed and has the correct permissions.

Can't find or log into Business Instagram from Facebook

Business accounts require a Facebook Business Manager connection, which can be tricky if your accounts are linked incorrectly or if permissions are missing.

Fix:

1. Log in to Facebook Business Manager separately and verify that your Instagram Business account is linked.

2. Go to Business Settings > Instagram Accounts and confirm the account appears there.

3. Disconnect Coupler.io, then reconnect using the same Facebook Business Manager credentials.

4. If you don't have a Business Manager, create one at business.facebook.com before attempting to connect in Coupler.io.

Missing data

Profiles I entered are not returning any data

If you're entering profile usernames but getting no results, the most common cause is a typo in the username or the account being private/deleted.

Fix:

1. Double-check the username spelling. Instagram usernames are case-insensitive but must match exactly (no spaces, no special characters except periods and underscores).

2. Visit Instagram.com directly and search for the profile to confirm it's public and still active.

3. Make sure you're entering just the username (e.g., nasa), not the URL (e.g., instagram.com/nasa).

4. If the profile is private or deleted, no data will be available. Switch to a public account.

"Public profiles posts" is empty, but "Public profiles info" has data

Some public accounts may have posts hidden from the API, or the posts may have been deleted since the last refresh.

Fix:

1. Verify that the profile actually has public posts by visiting it on Instagram.com.

2. Run the data flow again to get the latest data.

3. If the account has posts but Coupler.io returns no data, the account may have API restrictions set by Instagram. Contact Instagram support to escalate.

4. As a workaround, try "Public profiles info" only for that account and manually track posts if needed.

Follower counts are outdated or don't match Instagram

Instagram updates metrics in real time, but the API may cache data for a few minutes. If you're seeing a significant discrepancy, it could be a sync delay.

Fix:

1. Wait 5–10 minutes and run the data flow again. Instagram's backend may not have synced the latest count yet.

2. Compare the data with what you see on Instagram.com directly; if it matches Instagram, the data is correct.

3. If the discrepancy is large (hundreds of followers off), there may be a temporary API issue. Try again in an hour.

Rate limits

Data flow fails with "Error 400" or "Request failed" on large profile lists

Instagram's API applies rate limits when you request data for too many profiles at once or in rapid succession.

Fix:

1. Reduce the number of profiles in a single data flow. Instead of 20 profiles, try 5–10 per flow.

2. Space out refreshes. If you're monitoring many accounts, schedule one flow to run daily instead of hourly.

3. Split by report type. Run "Public profiles info" and "Public profiles posts" in separate scheduled flows at different times (e.g., one at 6 AM, one at 6 PM).

4. If you hit a rate limit error, wait 1 hour before retrying. Instagram throttles API access temporarily after repeated failures.

"Error 500" during data flow run

A 500 error typically indicates an issue on Instagram's server side or a temporary connectivity problem.

Fix:

1. Wait 5–10 minutes and retry. Transient server issues usually resolve quickly.

2. Check your internet connection and verify Coupler.io's status at status.coupler.io.

3. Test with a single profile. If you're tracking 20 accounts, try running with just 1 profile to isolate the issue.

4. Reconnect your Instagram account if errors persist. Sometimes a fresh OAuth token resolves backend sync issues.

5. If errors continue, contact Coupler.io support with your data flow ID.

Permission errors

"Access denied" when trying to authorize Coupler.io

This error occurs when your Instagram account doesn't have the required permissions or when the authorization scope has changed.

Fix:

1. Log out of Instagram completely (instagram.com and facebook.com).

2. Log back in, then try connecting Coupler.io again.

3. During authorization, make sure you click "Allow" or "Authorize" when prompted for permissions.

4. If you're using a Business account, verify that your role is "Admin" in the Business Manager. Other roles may not have sufficient permissions.

Destination API error when saving data

Your Instagram data is pulled successfully, but fails when writing to your destination (Google Sheets, Excel, etc.).

Fix:

1. For Google Sheets: Verify you have edit permissions on the sheet and that it's not in a shared drive with restricted access. Try reconnecting your Google account in Coupler.io.

2. For Excel/OneDrive: Ensure the file isn't locked by another user or process. Close the file in Excel and try the run again.

3. For BigQuery: Check that the dataset and table exist and that your service account has write permissions.

4. Disconnect and reconnect your destination in Coupler.io, then run the data flow again.

Instagram Public Data FAQ

What's the difference between "Public profiles info" and "Public profiles posts"?

Public profiles info gives you a snapshot of the profile itself: follower count, following count, post count, bio, verification status, and profile picture. This is account-level data.

Public profiles posts gives you individual post data: captions, like counts, comment counts, post URLs, and publish dates. This is post-level data.

Use both if you want to track both account growth and post performance. For most use cases, you'll want one or the other, not both in the same flow.

Can I track private Instagram accounts?

No. This source only works with public accounts. If an account is private, you will not be able to pull any data, even if you follow them personally.

Does "Public profiles posts" include Stories or Reels?

No. This report type includes feed posts only (photos and videos posted to the main feed). Stories and Reels are not included.

How often does follower count update?

Follower counts update in near real-time on Instagram, but the API may lag by a few minutes. If you schedule a daily refresh, you'll get yesterday's final count, not the live count at the exact moment of the run. For the most current numbers, run the data flow manually.

Can I filter posts by date range?

"Public profiles posts" returns all available posts from the profile's history. If you need only recent posts, run the data flow and then filter the data in your destination (Google Sheets, BigQuery, etc.) to show posts from the last 30 days.

What should I do if I keep getting "Error 400" or "Error 429"?

These are rate limit errors from Instagram's API. Stop running the data flow immediately and wait at least 1 hour. Then try again with fewer profiles or a less frequent refresh schedule. If you're monitoring many accounts, split them into separate flows or reduce refresh frequency (e.g., daily instead of hourly).

See the Common Issues article for detailed troubleshooting steps.

Can I combine Instagram data with data from other sources (like my analytics platform)?

Yes! Use Coupler.io's Join transformation to combine Instagram Public Data with other data sources on a common column (like profile username). For example, join Instagram follower counts with your own website analytics to correlate audience growth with traffic.

Learn more about transformations in the Coupler.io docs.

How many profiles can I track in one data flow?

Technically, you can add dozens of profiles, but we recommend keeping it to 5–10 per flow to avoid hitting Instagram's rate limits. If you need to monitor more, create separate data flows for different profile groups and schedule them at different times.

Why does my data flow fail after running successfully for weeks?

Common causes:

1. Instagram account permission changes: Your account permissions may have been reset. Try disconnecting and reconnecting your Instagram account in Coupler.io.

2. Tracked profiles went private: If a public account you're monitoring switched to private, you'll get no data for that profile. Verify the profile is still public on Instagram.com.

3. Rate limit: Instagram may be throttling requests if you've been running frequent refreshes. Increase the time between runs.

Start by running the flow manually with a single profile to isolate the issue, then reconnect your Instagram account if needed.

Can I export data to AI destinations like Claude or ChatGPT?

Yes! You can send Instagram Public Data to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Perplexity, or OpenClaw. This is helpful if you want to analyze trends, generate content recommendations, or create reports automatically.

See the Data Overview article for use cases by role, which includes examples of how to leverage AI destinations.

What happens to my data if a post is deleted?

Deleted posts will no longer appear in "Public profiles posts" reports. If you need a permanent record, make sure to archive old snapshots of your data regularly (monthly is recommended). This way, you'll have historical data even if posts are removed later.