No platform login
Search public Instagram posts without connecting your own Instagram account.
Instagram · free lookup
Search public Instagram posts
Type a word or phrase and see public Instagram posts that match, with the counts each one is carrying. Free with a Sourcevine account.
Public posts only 2 credits a run Read time shown
2 credits per run, from your own balance. Sourcevine account required, no Instagram login. No account? Get 100 free credits, once →
How it works
From URL to result
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Type a word or phrase
Enter what you would type into Instagram's own search. No link and no Instagram login.
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Read the matching posts
One page of public posts for that phrase, each with the counts Instagram publishes for it.
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Check freshness
Every successful search includes the time Sourcevine read the results.
Recorded example
What a real one looked like
recorded “latte art”
- Results
- 12
A real response from /v1/instagram/search, kept so this page can
show something true without spending anyone’s credits. Run the tool
above for a live read of your own link.
Why Sourcevine
What to know about this lookup
Twelve per page, not twenty
Instagram returns a shorter page than the other platforms: twelve posts and reels, with likes, comments, and views where the post is a video.
Timestamped answer
The result includes when the results were read, so what you saw is easier to reconcile later.
Use cases
Where this lookup fits
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Campaign and hashtag checks
Confirm what is being posted under a tag, and how those posts are performing publicly, without an Instagram login.
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Content planners
See what is already published on a topic, and how it is doing, before briefing more of it.
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Analysts
Collect the public posts for a phrase into a dataset, page by page through the API.
Boundaries
What this tool will not return
- Public data only
Private accounts and restricted content are not accessed. Deleted resources return an availability status.
- No contact fields
Bios, emails, phone numbers, addresses and messenger handles are outside this product boundary.
- No still-image view count
A reel publishes a play count; a still image usually does not. An empty view figure means Instagram did not report one, not that nobody saw it.
Questions
Before you run it
How many results do I get?
One page, the same page the API returns. The API also hands back a cursor so you can walk to the next one; this page shows the first.
Is this everything Instagram has?
No. It is what Instagram returns publicly for that phrase, in the order it returns it. Nobody outside the platform can see the whole index.
What does this not show me?
Private or restricted content, bios and contact details are not returned. A platform may show a sign-in prompt for public content; the scope is public data, not whether the platform presents a login screen. If an account is private, the tool says so.
Do I need an account?
Yes, a free Sourcevine account; you never log in to the platform itself. Signing up gives you 100 credits once, no card, and they do not renew. A lookup spends one or two of them, and you can see every run in your dashboard. When they are gone, a prepaid pack tops the balance up and never expires.
API
Searching Instagram regularly?
Run the same search from your own code, and follow the cursor past the first page of posts.
/v1/instagram/search
- Matching posts for a phrase
- A cursor for the next page
- No platform login required