Skip to main content

​
Instagram API Restrictions Overview

Instagram’s official API (Graph API) has significant restrictions that make it difficult for developers to access data.

​
Major Restrictions

Instagram’s Requirement:
  • Must convert to Business or Creator account
  • Personal accounts cannot access API
  • Requires Facebook Page connection
Impact:
  • Can’t track competitor posts
  • Can’t analyze influencer content
  • Limited to your own account
The Process:
  1. Create Facebook Developer account
  2. Create Facebook App
  3. Submit for app review (2-8 weeks)
  4. Provide use case documentation
  5. Wait for approval
Rejection Reasons:
  • Unclear use case
  • Privacy concerns
  • Competitive analysis (not allowed)
  • Data scraping (not allowed)
What You Can Access:
  • ✅ Your own posts/reels
  • ✅ Your account insights
  • ✅ Your follower demographics
What You Cannot Access:
  • ❌ Competitor posts
  • ❌ Influencer analytics
  • ❌ Trending content data
  • ❌ Public post metrics
Instagram API Limits:
  • 200 calls per hour per user
  • 4,800 calls per day per app
  • Throttling during peak times
Quota Exceeded:
  • API returns error
  • Must wait for reset
  • No quota increase for most apps

​
Comparison Table

RestrictionInstagram Graph APIContentStats.io
Business Account✅ Required❌ Not needed
Facebook Page✅ Required❌ Not needed
App Review✅ Required (weeks)❌ Not needed
Track Own Content✅ Yes✅ Yes
Track Any Public Post❌ No✅ Yes
Rate Limit200/hour60-300/min
OAuth Setup✅ Required❌ Simple API key
Hourly Tracking❌ Manual✅ Automatic

​
Why These Restrictions Exist

Instagram implements these restrictions to:
  1. Protect User Privacy: Prevent mass data collection
  2. Control API Access: Limit who can access data
  3. Prevent Scraping: Stop automated data collection
  4. Business Model: Drive users to Instagram Insights
  5. Platform Security: Reduce abuse and spam

​
How ContentStats.io Works Differently

We provide Instagram analytics without requiring:
  • ❌ Business account conversion
  • ❌ Facebook Page connection
  • ❌ App review process
  • ❌ OAuth implementation
  • ❌ Account ownership
Our Approach:
  • ✅ Track ANY public post
  • ✅ Simple API key authentication
  • ✅ Instant access
  • ✅ Hourly automated tracking

​
Use Cases Blocked by Restrictions

​
1. Competitor Analysis

// ❌ Impossible with Instagram API
// (Requires account ownership)

// ✅ Easy with ContentStats.io
const competitors = [
  '@competitor1',
  '@competitor2',
  '@competitor3'
];

competitors.forEach(async (username) => {
  const posts = await getTopPosts(username);
  posts.forEach(post => trackPost(post.url, 14));
});

​
2. Influencer Vetting

// ❌ Instagram API: Cannot access influencer data

// ✅ ContentStats.io: Track any public post
async function vetInfluencer(instagramUrl) {
  const data = await trackPost(instagramUrl, 7);
  const post = await getPost(data.id);
  
  return {
    engagement_rate: calculateEngagement(post),
    views: post.views
  };
}

​
3. Market Research

// ❌ Instagram API: Can't access trending posts

// ✅ ContentStats.io: Track trending content
const trendingHashtags = ['#fashion', '#beauty', '#fitness'];

trendingHashtags.forEach(async (tag) => {
  const posts = await getTopPostsByHashtag(tag);
  posts.forEach(post => trackPost(post.url, 3));
});

​
Workarounds & Limitations

​
Official Workarounds

  1. Instagram Insights (Mobile App)
    • ✅ Free
    • ❌ Manual export only
    • ❌ No API access
    • ❌ Own content only
  2. Third-Party Tools
    • ✅ Some automation
    • ❌ Expensive ($50-500/month)
    • ❌ Limited by Instagram restrictions
    • ❌ Can be blocked
  3. Manual Tracking
    • ✅ Free
    • ❌ Time-consuming
    • ❌ Error-prone
    • ❌ No automation

​
ContentStats.io Solution

  • ✅ Automated: Hourly snapshots
  • ✅ Affordable: $0.015/snapshot
  • ✅ No Restrictions: Track any public post
  • ✅ API Access: Full programmatic access

​
Getting Started

1

Sign Up

Create account at contentstats.ioNo business account or Facebook required
2

Get API Key

Instant API key generation from dashboard
3

Start Tracking

curl -X POST https://contentstats.io/api/v1/videos/track \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"video_link": "https://instagram.com/p/ABC/", "duration_days": 7}'

​
Common Questions

No. You don’t need to connect your Instagram account. We don’t require any Instagram login.
Yes! Use both:
  • Instagram API for posting and managing your own content
  • ContentStats.io for analytics and competitor tracking
We focus on public post metrics. We don’t provide:
  • Private account data
  • Stories analytics
  • Direct message data
  • Follower lists

​
Next Steps

Track Instagram Posts

Complete guide

Instagram API Guide

Developer docs

API Reference

Technical documentation

Pricing

See costs