Instagram Analysis

📊 Instagram Analytics

Status: 🚧 Initial web‐service approach scrapped.
🎯 Next up: Chrome-extension-based implementation in a fresh repo.

Working Repository: vxnquish/Unfollowers

We initially set out to build a standalone web service that would allow users to:

This service was supposed to fetch data directly from Instagram’s APIs and present it in a clean dashboard.

Official Instagram APIs
- Instagram’s Graph API requires an approved app review and only exposes limited endpoints for business or creator accounts.
- Followers/following lists and top‐likers data are not available to third-party web services without elevated permissions.
Third-Party APIs
- Undocumented endpoints exist, but most wrappers require the user’s credentials and trigger 2-factor authentication flows that are difficult to automate securely.
- Frequent breaking changes and IP-rate limits made these solutions brittle in production.
2FA & Rate-Limiting
- Instagram aggressively enforces two-factor authentication and rate limits login attempts.
- Any server-side scraper approach quickly runs into lockouts, CAPTCHA walls, or permanent bans.

Leverage the Logged-In Session
The user is already authenticated in Chrome → our extension can piggyback on those cookies to call Instagram’s private GraphQL endpoints directly.
No Extra OAuth or 2FA Hassles
We avoid separate login flows and two-factor prompts by running entirely in the browser context.
Instant Prototyping & UX
Data can be pulled live from instagram.com, and results shown immediately in a popup UI.

Archive/Scrap this initial web-service code and configuration.
Create a new GitHub repo for the Chrome Extension:
- manifest.json (MV3)
- Background service worker
- Content script for grabbing userId
- Popup UI for displaying followers/non-followers/top likers
Iterate & Maintain: keep an eye on Instagram’s front-end changes and update GraphQL query hashes as needed.