Instagram Media Screen Text API
Returns the text shown on an Instagram post's images, read by AI: the photo, each carousel slide up to 10, or a reel's cover frame, with results per slide.
GET /v1/instagram/media/screen-textLast updated October 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the Instagram Media Screen Text API
Use it for text designed into a post, like carousel headlines; the caption lives on post and spoken words on media/transcript. Text shown later in a reel is not read.
From the API reference
Reads the text shown on an Instagram post: the headlines, list items, place names, captions and meme text creators design into a photo, a carousel slide or a reel, which the post caption never carries. What is read depends on the post. On a photo, the photo itself. On a carousel, every slide in order, 10 slides a call: the first 10 by default, and the next 10 with slide_offset=10; a longer carousel's response carries a warning giving its full slide count, and next_slide_offset names the offset that reads the rest (null when every slide has been read). On a reel or video, the cover frame by default, so it does not read text that appears only later in the video; with frames=all the whole video is read instead, up to 3 minutes (180 seconds), and the response adds subtitles (on-screen captions of the speech, kept apart from texts), a timeline of every text block with at_seconds, the second it first appears, and kind (text or subtitle), and duration_seconds. This is AI OCR of the published media. On a reel whose text was typed in Instagram's own editor, that text is also read from the post's data, exactly as typed and for every moment of the reel, and returned in native_texts (null when the reel has none; text added in another app is only in the pixels). texts is the deduplicated union of every image's text in slide order, images lists each image read with its own texts and its 0-based index in the post's media list (so a carousel caller knows which slide said what), media_type is image, video or carousel, and source says which layers produced text: native, native+ocr, ocr or none. A post with no text on it returns empty arrays (that is a real answer, not an error). If some slides cannot be read, those slides carry texts: null and the response carries a warning.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Media Screen Text API?
The Media Screen Text endpoint gives you structured Instagram data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/instagram/media/screen-text: Metered: holds 5 credits per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 32: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 32 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/media/screen-text?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fp%2FDdEqEl5Dl-S%2F" && cat response.json# GET /v1/instagram/media/screen-text: Metered: holds 5 credits per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 32 # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/media/screen-text"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdEqEl5Dl-S/",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/instagram/media/screen-text: Metered: holds 5 credits per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 32_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/media/screen-text");
url.searchParams.set("url", "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdEqEl5Dl-S/");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | Full URL of the Instagram post, reel or video (a `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/` or `/tv/` link). A share link copied from the app (`instagram.com/share/...`) works too; a share link to a profile is refused at no charge with the handle to send, and a dead one is a free 404. |
| frames | No | What to read on a reel or video. `cover` (the default) reads the cover frame for 5 credits. `all` reads the whole video, up to 180 seconds, for 10 credits, and adds `subtitles`, `timeline` and `duration_seconds`. Has no effect on photos and carousels, which are read as usual for 5 credits. (cover | all) |
| slide_offset | No | Carousels only: the 0-based index of the first slide to read, 10 slides a call. Default 0. `slide_offset=10` reads slides 11 to 20. Each image in `images` keeps its index in the whole carousel, and `next_slide_offset` gives the value for the next call. |
What does the Instagram Media Screen Text 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": "instagram",
"endpoint": "/v1/instagram/media/screen-text",
"data": {
"post_id": "3982493004019425170",
"shortcode": "DdEqEl5Dl-S",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdEqEl5Dl-S/",
"media_type": "carousel",
"texts": [
"\"Ana, dein Speicherplatz ist voll.",
"Du musst Fotos löschen\"",
"Happy Birthday"
],
"images": [
{
"index": 0,
"image_url": "https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/799346912_18623911903058728_4053280514596937734_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6",
"texts": [
"\"Ana, dein Speicherplatz ist voll.",
"Du musst Fotos löschen\""
]
},
{
"index": 2,
"image_url": "https://scontent-lga3-3.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/801354824_18623911930058728_5458856566718637155_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6",
"texts": []
},
{
"index": 6,
"image_url": "https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/800469821_18623912011058728_2315837409654874183_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6",
"texts": [
"Happy Birthday"
]
}
],
"source": "ocr",
"frame": null,
"slide_count": 20,
"warnings": [
"This carousel has 20 slides; text was read from the first 10 only."
]
},
"credits_used": 5,
"credits_remaining": 95,
"request_id": "req-hrAEsSJeTaFgF3fD",
"cached": false
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the Instagram Media Screen Text 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 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 69 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
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