Instagram

The Instagram API built for developers

Read and reply to comments, manage DMs, track mentions, and publish photos, videos, carousels, stories, and reels through a single REST endpoint. SocialAPI.ai handles Meta Graph API pagination, rate limits, and token refresh so you can ship features instead of reading platform docs.

Free tier available
Instant API key
MCP server included

What you can do with Instagram.

Supported

Comments

Read, reply, hide, unhide, like, unlike, and delete comments on any post.

Supported

Direct Messages

List conversations, read message threads, and send replies via the Instagram Messaging API.

Supported

Mentions

Retrieve posts and stories where your account is mentioned or tagged.

Supported

Publishing

Create and schedule photos, videos, carousels, stories, and reels with full media upload support.

Supported

Webhooks

Receive real-time events for new comments, messages, and mentions via Meta webhook subscriptions.

See it in action.

List comments on an Instagram post

api.social-api.ai
1curl -s https://api.social-api.ai/v1/inbox/comments/<post-id> \
2  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>" | jq
3
4# Response
5{
6  "data": [
7    {
8      "id": "<comment-id>",
9      "platform": "instagram",
10      "author": { "username": "designfan", "profile_url": "..." },
11      "text": "Love this design! Where can I get one?",
12      "like_count": 12,
13      "created_at": "2026-03-20T14:32:00Z"
14    }
15  ],
16  "pagination": { "next_cursor": "<cursor>" }
17}

Fetch all comments for a specific post with a single API call. Pagination, rate-limit retries, and token refresh are handled automatically.

Why developers love Instagram on SocialAPI.ai

1

Unified comment management

Read every comment across all your Instagram posts through one paginated endpoint. Reply, hide, like, or delete comments without switching between Graph API versions or managing cursor-based pagination yourself. SocialAPI.ai normalizes comment data into a consistent schema regardless of whether the comment is on a photo, reel, or carousel.

2

Instagram DM inbox

Access Instagram Direct conversations and messages through the same API you use for comments. List open conversations, read full message threads, and send text replies. SocialAPI.ai manages the Instagram Messaging API scopes and 24-hour messaging windows behind a simple POST endpoint.

3

Multi-format publishing

Publish photos, videos, carousels, stories, and reels through a single endpoint. Upload media via presigned URLs, attach captions and alt text, then publish immediately or schedule for later. SocialAPI.ai handles the two-step container creation flow that the Instagram Content Publishing API requires.

4

Real-time webhook events

Receive instant notifications when someone comments on your posts, sends you a DM, or mentions your account. SocialAPI.ai verifies Meta webhook signatures, deduplicates events, and forwards them to your configured webhook endpoints with exponential-backoff retries.

5

Mention and tag tracking

Monitor when other accounts mention or tag your Instagram profile. The mentions endpoint returns the post content, author details, and media URLs so you can build brand monitoring, UGC collection, or automated response workflows.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Do I need a Facebook Page to use the Instagram API?

No. SocialAPI.ai uses the Instagram API with Instagram Login flow (launched by Meta in July 2024), which lets you connect any Instagram Business or Creator account directly via OAuth, without linking a Facebook Page. You only need a personal Facebook account if you are registering your own Meta developer app.

Can I send DMs to users who haven't messaged me first?

No. Instagram only allows replies within existing conversations. You can respond to users who have messaged your account, but you cannot initiate new DM threads. This is an Instagram platform policy.

How does SocialAPI.ai handle Instagram rate limits?

SocialAPI.ai tracks Meta Graph API rate-limit headers on every request and automatically queues retries with appropriate backoff. If a rate limit is hit, the API returns a 429 status with a Retry-After header so your application can handle it gracefully.

Can I publish Instagram Reels through the API?

Yes. Upload your video via the media upload endpoint, then create a post with the type set to reel. SocialAPI.ai handles the container creation, status polling, and final publish step that the Instagram Content Publishing API requires.

What Instagram account types are supported?

SocialAPI.ai works with Instagram Business and Creator accounts. Personal accounts are not supported by the Instagram API. You can convert a personal account to a professional account in the Instagram app settings.

Get started today

Ready to unify your social interactions?

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