ACCOUNT_JSON_INFO = 'https://www.instagram.com/{username}/?__a=1&__d=dis' no longer working

[andre-santos1]

Hi there! It looks like that ACCOUNT_JSON_INFO = 'https://www.instagram.com/{username}/?__a=1&__d=dis' is not working anymore.

Response is: Sorry, this page isn't available.
The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed. Go back to Instagram.

Does anyone know what I should add to the URL 'https://www.instagram.com/{username}' to get account json info?

Tks!

[beshoo]

I believe we're no longer in a golden age. We're now in a "shit age" due to Instagram's new rules. LOL. This JSON API will end soon!

[bjmeo8]

Hi there! It looks like that ACCOUNT_JSON_INFO = 'https://www.instagram.com/{username}/?__a=1&__d=dis' is not working anymore.

Response is: Sorry, this page isn't available. The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed. Go back to Instagram.

Does anyone know what I should add to the URL 'https://www.instagram.com/{username}' to get account json info?

Tks!

Hello, I also have the same issue. I think they have probably changed the magic URL parameters "?__a=1&__d=dis".

I searched all over the internet and eventually found a solution on
Reddit: (https://www.reddit.com/r/webscraping/comments/19fgptv/comment/kjjy2v7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)

and on this web scraping service's blog: (https://scrapfly.io/blog/how-to-scrape-instagram/)[https://scrapfly.io/blog/how-to-scrape-instagram/)

and their github (https://github.com/scrapfly/scrapfly-scrapers/blob/main/instagram-scraper/instagram.py](https://scrapfly.io/blog/how-to-scrape-instagram/)

To retrieve account information, you should proceed as follows:

curl -X GET "https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/?username=google" \ -H "User-Agent: iphone_ua" \ -H "x-ig-app-id: 936619743392459"

You can try the curl request directly here https://reqbin.com/curl and you will see that the response is a JSON containing the information accessible via the old method "?__a=1&__d=dis"

[beshoo]

[bjmeo8]

It seems there is a formatting issue with the initial request I submitted.
Try this:

curl -X GET "https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/?username=google"
-H "User-Agent: iphone_ua"
-H "x-ig-app-id: 936619743392459"

I just tried again, and it's working fine. Here's a screenshot:

[beshoo]

It will end soon.

…

On Sun, Jan 28, 2024 at 1:20 PM bjmeo8 ***@***.***> wrote: It seems there is a formatting issue with the initial request I submitted. Try this: curl -X GET " https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/?username=google" -H "User-Agent: iphone_ua" -H "x-ig-app-id: 936619743392459" I just tried again, and it's working fine. Here's a screenshot: Screenshot.2024-01-28.at.11-16-25.Run.Curl.Commands.Online.png (view on web) <https://github.com/postaddictme/instagram-php-scraper/assets/68184289/5dd81ba7-fe04-4aa9-8f49-cb7593725173> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1134 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABDLT2Z5SCOAXULQAIP7MELYQYQ77AVCNFSM6AAAAABCKLT3PKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMJTGU2DKNRWGQ> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[bjmeo8]

You think? Why?

Perhaps the recent restriction of their public API is related to this?:
https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/internet-security/26-billion-records-released-the-mother-of-all-breaches/

Alternatively, they may be concerned that Instagram data is being massively scraped by competitors to train their AI models. Perhaps...

[beshoo]

I have been using an Instagram scraper since 2015, which enabled me to earn $10,000 each month.
However, Instagram has recently started using AI to crack down on such activities. Although am were able to bypass the restrictions using residential proxies, Instagram is now taking further measures to put an end to this practice.
They started with hashtags and are now targeting users. It seems that even the workarounds will soon be eliminated.

[bjmeo8]

Okay, I understand your point of view. But does that mean that all the bots, scraping services, etc., in the market will soon go extinct too? Wow, that will be a tough blow for many.

[beshoo]

I agree with you. And yes

…

On Sun, Jan 28, 2024 at 1:53 PM bjmeo8 ***@***.***> wrote: Okay, I understand your point of view. But does that mean that all the bots, scraping services, etc., in the market will soon go extinct too? Wow, that will be a tough blow for many. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1134 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABDLT2YYIHGYKC6ITPADJZDYQYU4BAVCNFSM6AAAAABCKLT3PKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMJTGU2TGNJUGA> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[kvrushifa]

@beshoo how were you able to earn that much money just by scraping instagram ? :o

[beshoo]

"I didn't just scrape Instagram, I actually created a website called instaranker.com. It's a service where you can add your Instagram account and it will automatically engage with other users by liking, following, and saving their posts.

I was able to make around $300 to $400 a day from 2016 to 2020. However, things started to change after 2021 website closed at the end of 2021..

I have another website called viralcaption.com that only scrapes data. I had to remove two functions which were user information and tag information. but am sure I will close the service very soon.

[andre-santos1]

I wasn't able to reproduce your steps. But it worked as an insight for me and I did as follows:

1. Changed my browser user-agent (try this browser extension for example: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/user-agent-switcher-for-c/djflhoibgkdhkhhcedjiklpkjnoahfmg) to this:

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 9; SM-A102U Build/PPR1.180610.011; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/74.0.3729.136 Mobile Safari/537.36 Instagram 155.0.0.37.107 Android (28/9; 320dpi; 720x1468; samsung; SM-A102U; a10e; exynos7885; en_US; 239490550)

2. I pasted (without quotes) "https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/?username={username}" on Chrome and I was able to get the JSON response. ({username} must be replaced by your target username)

3. To better visualize the results I recommend installing JSON Beautifier & Editor extension on Chrome (https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/json-beautifier-editor/lpopeocbeepakdnipejhlpcmifheolpl)

[jfrenl]

Yeah i found something called ?__user=0 it's probably useless information but maybe someone else can use this. Also ?__d=1 has a same kind of response.

[beshoo]

__d has to be dis only.
ps: __user=0 did nothing!

[jfrenl]

A bit ago have i always used __d=1 to get data too until it got patched and then i moved to __d=dis. I am not sure why it has been patched.