Instagram API in 2026: Graph API, Basic Display Shutdown and Alternatives
In 2026, Instagram's official API, the Instagram Platform API, only works for professional accounts (Business and Creator) that log in to your app; personal accounts have had no official API since Meta shut down the Basic Display API on December 4, 2024.
In 2026, Instagram’s official API, the Instagram Platform API, only works for professional accounts (Business and Creator) that log in to your app; personal accounts have had no official API since Meta shut down the Basic Display API on December 4, 2024. It can read and publish an account’s own media, manage comments and messages, search a capped number of hashtags, and look up other business accounts. It can’t read follower lists or arbitrary public profiles.
For public data the official API doesn’t cover, teams use scraper APIs, such as apidojo’s Instagram actors on Apify. This hub explains both routes and links to the detailed comparisons. The scraping overview is in how to scrape Instagram data in 2026.
What Happened to the Instagram Basic Display API?
Meta announced the Basic Display API’s deprecation on September 4, 2024, and from December 4, 2024 every request to it returns an error. Meta’s notice recommends migrating to the Instagram API (Meta for Developers). The Basic Display API was the one that let consumer apps read personal accounts’ profiles and media, so that route no longer exists.
How Does the Instagram Platform API Work Now?
The Instagram Platform API has 2 setups, chosen by how your users log in: Business Login for Instagram, for professional accounts without a Facebook Page, or Facebook Login for Business, for professional accounts linked to a Facebook Page. The table compares them, using Meta’s overview (Meta for Developers).
| Point | Business Login for Instagram | Facebook Login for Business |
|---|---|---|
| Users log in with | Instagram credentials | Facebook credentials |
| API host | graph.instagram.com | graph.facebook.com |
| Hashtag Search | Not available | Available, with the Instagram Public Content Access feature |
| Business verification | Not required | Required |
What Can the Official API Do?
The official API serves professional accounts managing their own presence, with limited lookups of others. Listed below are the 5 main capabilities.
- Read and publish the account’s own posts, reels and stories.
- Manage comments on the account’s own media.
- Read Insights for the account.
- Hashtag Search: up to 30 unique hashtags per account in a rolling 7-day period (Meta for Developers).
- Business Discovery: basic metadata and metrics about other Business and Creator accounts.
Business Discovery and Hashtag Search are subject to Platform Rate Limits, while other endpoints use Business Use Case rate limiting (Meta for Developers). The limits are covered in detail in Instagram Graph API limits.
What Can’t the Official API Do?
The official API can’t read personal accounts, follower or following lists, comments on other accounts’ posts, location feeds, or unlimited hashtags. The table shows the gaps and how scraper APIs fill them, with prices from apidojo’s listings on Apify.
| Task | Official API | apidojo actor |
|---|---|---|
| Read any public profile’s posts | Business and Creator accounts only, via Business Discovery | Instagram Scraper, $0.50 per 1,000 posts |
| Follower and following lists | No | Instagram User Scraper, $0.0005 per user plus $0.01 per profile |
| Many hashtags | 30 unique per 7 days | Instagram Hashtag Scraper, $0.016 per hashtag with 60 posts included |
| Location posts | No | Instagram Location Scraper, $0.50 per 1,000 posts |
| Comments on others’ posts | No | Instagram Comments Scraper API, $0.0075 per post with 15 comments included |
The full decision guide is Instagram API vs Instagram scraper, and scraper options are compared in best Instagram scrapers in 2026, compared. TikTok’s official APIs are compared in the TikTok API guide.
How Do You Find Ads Shown on Instagram?
Ads aren’t in the Instagram Platform API; Meta publishes them in its Ad Library. The steps are in how to find Instagram ads in the Meta Ad Library.
Questions people ask
Is the Instagram API free?
There's no per-call fee, but you need an approved Meta app, and some features need App Review and business verification.
Can you use the Instagram API with a personal account?
No, personal accounts lost official API access when the Basic Display API shut down; switch to a professional account.
Can the Instagram API get followers?
It returns follower counts, not follower lists.
What replaced the Basic Display API?
Meta's notice points developers to the Instagram API, which serves professional accounts.