Instagram Following API
Scrape Instagram Following data with one API call. Returns a paginated list of the accounts an Instagram user follows. Each account includes username, display name, avatar URL, verification status, and profile URL. Pass either `handle` or `user_id`, and page through with `cursor`. A plain walk can end before the profile's following count: on most accounts it ends within a few rows of that count, and on large verified accounts Instagram caps every route at about 50 rows with no cursor, so a plain walk ends there. `data.total` carries the profile's own count on every page, so compare the rows you collected against it. Send `coverage=full` with `handle` to walk a merged list instead: each page is drawn from several reads of the list and carries no account twice inside a page, until the rows reach the count or no read has more. Across consecutive pages a handful of accounts can repeat on the pages one source covered on its own; the merged walk, which never returns an account it has already given you, runs wherever that source cannot cover the list. A full-coverage page costs 10 credits instead of 5 and takes longer, and its cursor only continues a `coverage=full` walk.
Last updated September 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Returns the accounts a user follows, each with username, display name, avatar URL, verification status, and profile URL.
Use it for the other side of the graph from followers: the accounts this user chose to follow.
Searching 65 platforms in parallel
TikTok·Instagram·
YouTube·
Facebook·
X·
LinkedIn·
Reddit·
Threads·
Pinterest·
Twitch·
Truth Social·
Snapchat·
Kick·
Bluesky·
Kwai·
Rumble·
Spotify·
Apple Music·TikTok Shop·
Amazon Shop·
Google Shopping·
Trustpilot·
TripAdvisor·
Yelp·
Linktree·
Komi·
Pillar·
lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·
Finance·
Polymarket·
Tavily·
Hacker News·
GitHub·
Perplexity·
Naver·
Utility·
Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchWhat can you do with the Following API?
The Following endpoint gives you structured Instagram data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/following?handle=mrbeast"import requests
response = requests.get(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/following",
params={
'handle': 'mrbeast',
},
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()const response = await fetch(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/following?handle=mrbeast",
{
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
},
);
const data = await response.json();Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| handle | No | Instagram username without the @ symbol. |
| user_id | No | Instagram numeric user ID. Use this for faster responses. |
| cursor | No | Pagination cursor. Use the `next_cursor` from the previous response to fetch the next page. |
| coverage | No | Send `full` to walk a merged list: accounts are added from several reads of the list and no account appears twice inside a page, until the rows reach the profile's count in `data.total`. On the pages one source covered on its own a handful of accounts can repeat across consecutive pages; wherever that source cannot cover the list the merged walk runs instead, and it never returns an account it has already given you. Requires `handle`. 10 credits a page instead of 5, settled down to 5 on any page a single read covered in full. Up to three reads are merged into one page, typically about 50 accounts, so a full list costs at most roughly the account count divided by 50, times 10 credits: on 13/09/2026 a following list of 2,652 took 54 pages and a follower list of 2,360 took 59, because the later pages of a follower walk add fewer new accounts. A page usually takes about 8 seconds and can take up to about 45, and a `503` is retried with the same cursor. A cursor from this mode only continues this mode. (full) |
What does the Instagram Following API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"endpoint": "/v1/tiktok/search/users",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"author": {
"id": "6780262640079193090",
"username": "cookingwithhel",
"display_name": "Cooking with Hel",
"avatar_url": "https://p19-common-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com/tos-alisg-avt-0068/e1547b843ed71ccc69e199147854f489~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:100:100:q70.heic?biz_tag=musically_user.user_cover&dr=8835&idc=useast8&ps=87d6e48a&refresh_token=7f24701a&s=SEARCH&sc=avatar&shcp=c1333099&shp=30310797&t=223449c4&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=bLp06YEEM1DEDR6nG%2BZt3lhGWx4%3D",
"bio": null,
"verified": null,
"followers": 4214875,
"following": 1,
"posts_count": 2341,
"likes_count": 62731828,
"url": null,
"location": null
}
},
{
"author": {
"id": "7352666564073833515",
"username": "cooking_recipescr",
"display_name": "cooking_recipescr",
"avatar_url": "https://p19-common-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com/tos-useast5-avt-0068-tx/7352667004160966699~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:100:100:q70.heic?biz_tag=musically_user.user_cover&dr=8835&idc=useast8&ps=87d6e48a&refresh_token=6df0f827&s=SEARCH&sc=avatar&shcp=c1333099&shp=30310797&t=223449c4&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=ysLi7%2FLtH4t5ebZnGzJXSfgYhnU%3D",
"bio": null,
"verified": null,
"followers": 1780390,
"following": 1,
"posts_count": 995,
"likes_count": 10060260,
"url": null,
"location": null
}
},
{
"author": {
"id": "6829580668634694662",
"username": "felizcooking",
"display_name": "Feliz Cooking",
"avatar_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com/tos-maliva-avt-0068/179d2c1fe2dc5523974abdaf232e8554~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:100:100:q70.heic?biz_tag=musically_user.user_cover&dr=8835&idc=useast8&ps=87d6e48a&refresh_token=97c11cfd&s=SEARCH&sc=avatar&shcp=c1333099&shp=30310797&t=223449c4&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=aCkp4jy6AxdG2R9otN52rtXzHNc%3D",
"bio": null,
"verified": null,
"followers": 338243,
"following": 374,
"posts_count": 464,
"likes_count": 2140124,
"url": null,
"location": null
}
}
],
"next_cursor": "30",
"total": 30,
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 1,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": "sc.eyJ2IjoyLCJjIjoiMzAiLCJwIjoiY3Vyc29yIn0",
"has_more": true,
"page_size": 30
}
}Example captured from the TikTok API. Every SocialCrawl endpoint returns this same unified schema, so your Instagram Following response has the same fields.
How does the Instagram Following API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 65 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 65 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I get the accounts an Instagram user follows via API?
Can I query the following list by user ID?
How do I paginate the full following list?
How much does the Instagram Following API cost?
What is the following list useful for?
Ask AI about SocialCrawl
Ready to scrape Instagram Following data?
Get your API key and start pulling Instagram data in under 60 seconds.