Questions developers ask.
Straight answers about public Instagram, TikTok, X, and Reddit data. Each page has one question, one answer, a working request, and the real response.
InstagramHow do I get an Instagram follower count without logging in?Call one profile endpoint with the username. The follower count comes back as an integer, with no Instagram login, no Meta app, and no app review.Read the answerInstagramHow do I get an Instagram user ID from a username?Call the profile endpoint with the username. The response carries the platform ID in data.id. Store that ID. Usernames change, IDs never do.Read the answerInstagramHow do I get comments on an Instagram post that is not mine?Call the post comments endpoint with the post ID. One page of comments comes back with author, text, likes, and a cursor for the next page. No Graph API, no account link.Read the answerInstagramHow do I get Instagram Reel play counts?Call the post endpoint with the Reel ID, or list a profile’s reels. Plays come back in metrics.views for any public reel. Images and carousels return null there, because they have no plays.Read the answerInstagramHow do I get Instagram hashtag posts past the 30 hashtag limit?The Graph API allows 30 unique hashtags per account per week. A public data API has no such cap. Call the hashtag posts endpoint for any hashtag, as often as you need.Read the answerInstagramHow do I get Instagram posts by location?Search places by name to get the location ID, then list its posts sorted recent or top. Public posts tagged at that place come back one page at a time.Read the answerInstagramHow do I get a competitor’s Instagram engagement rate?Read the profile for the follower count and the last posts for likes and comments, then divide. Two calls, real numbers, and nulls where Instagram hides likes. Reach and saves are not public.Read the answerInstagramHow do I track a competitor’s follower growth on Instagram or TikTok?Read the public profile on a schedule, store the count with its capture time, and chart the difference. One endpoint per platform, no history to buy, no account to connect.Read the answerInstagramIs there a webhook for new Instagram or TikTok posts?No. Neither platform notifies anyone about a public account you do not own, and Openhandle does not either. Poll the profile posts endpoint on a schedule and diff the IDs. Here is the cheap way.Read the answerInstagramWhy do Instagram image URLs expire with a 403?Instagram CDN links carry a signature that expires after a few days. Once it does, the link answers 403 and your page shows a broken image. Openhandle serves media from its own CDN, so the link you store keeps working.Read the answerInstagramThe Instagram Basic Display API is deprecated. What now?Meta retired Basic Display in December 2024. If you read public profiles or posts, switch to a public data API. If you act on behalf of users, move to Instagram Login with the Graph API.Read the answerInstagraminstaloader returns 401 "Please wait a few minutes". What now?Instagram is rate limiting your IP or session. Waiting works once, then it comes back. If you only need public profile and post data, an API that does the reading for you ends the loop.Read the answerInstagramCan I get data from a private Instagram account?No. Not the follower count, not the posts, not the stories. Openhandle returns a PROFILE_PRIVATE error and reads nothing. Here is what that answer looks like and what to do with it.Read the answerInstagramCan I get Instagram like counts when likes are hidden?No. When an account hides like counts, Instagram shows the number to nobody. The API returns null for that post, never a zero or an estimate. Here is what you still get.Read the answerInstagramCan I get story views for another Instagram account?No. Story view counts and viewer lists are visible only to the account owner. What you can read is the public story itself: media, timing, and links, for public accounts.Read the answer
TikTok
TikTokDoes TikTok have a public API?Not for reading accounts you do not own. TikTok’s Research API is for approved researchers and the Display API reads only the logged-in user. For public profiles, videos, and comments, use a public data API.Read the answerTikTokHow do I get a TikTok follower count for any username?Call the profile endpoint with the username. Followers, following, total likes, and video count come back as integers for any public account. No TikTok login, no Research API.Read the answerTikTokHow do I get the view count of a TikTok video?Call the post endpoint with the video ID. Views, likes, comments, shares, and saves come back as integers. No Research API application, no TikTok login.Read the answerTikTokHow do I search TikTok videos by keyword?Call the search posts endpoint with a query. Public videos come back one page at a time with author, caption, and metrics. No TikTok login, no Research API.Read the answerTikTokHow do I get trending TikTok hashtags and sounds?Call the trending music and trending posts endpoints for what TikTok is pushing now, and search hashtags by keyword for their post counts. Public data, one API key, no Research API.Read the answerTikTokHow do I get TikTok Research API access as a non-academic?You do not. The Research API is for researchers at qualifying academic and non-profit institutions, by application. For a company or an independent developer, public TikTok data comes from a public data API.Read the answerTikTokTikTok-Api returns empty results or a captcha. What now?TikTok detected the browser your script drives. Empty lists and captchas are the same signal. If you need public profiles and videos, an API that reads TikTok for you ends the loop.Read the answerTikTokCan I get another TikTok creator’s audience age and gender?No. Audience demographics live in the creator’s own analytics and are shown to nobody else. Tools that sell them estimate. What you can read is the public profile, videos, and region.Read the answer
X (Twitter)
X (Twitter)Is the X (Twitter) API free to read posts?No. The free tier of the X API can post but not read. Reading needs a paid monthly tier with a post cap. For public posts, profiles, and search, a per-request public data API costs a fraction.Read the answerX (Twitter)How do I search X (Twitter) posts by keyword?Call the search endpoint with a query. Latest or top posts come back one page at a time with author, text, and metrics. No monthly X API plan.Read the answerX (Twitter)How do I get replies or a full thread on X (Twitter)?Call the post comments endpoint with the post ID. Replies come back one page at a time with author, text, and metrics. Nested replies have their own endpoint. Cursors keep working.Read the answerX (Twitter)How do I get all posts from an X user past 3,200?The 3,200 cap belongs to the official X timeline endpoint. Openhandle pages a public profile as far as X shows it to a visitor, and search reaches older posts by query. Neither is a full archive.Read the answerX (Twitter)Can I get X (Twitter) posts by date range?Partly. A profile feed accepts a since timestamp and stops paging there. There is no end-date filter and no date filter on search. Bound the range yourself with createdAt.Read the answerX (Twitter)snscrape, Twint, and Nitter are dead. What now?All three read X through guest access that X removed. Nothing you install brings it back. For public posts, profiles, and search, call an API that keeps reading X for you.Read the answer
RedditIs the Reddit API free?Free for non-commercial use within a per-minute quota. Commercial use needs Reddit’s approval and a paid per-call rate. For public posts, comments, and subreddits, a public data API skips the approval.Read the answerRedditHow do I track brand mentions across subreddits?Search Reddit posts for the brand name sorted new, on a schedule, and store the IDs. Narrow to one subreddit or a time window when you need to. Then read the comment threads that matter.Read the answerRedditHow do I get a Reddit user’s post history?Call the profile posts endpoint with the username. Posts come back newest first, one page at a time, with score and comment counts. Comments have their own endpoint. Deleted content is gone.Read the answerRedditHow do I get Reddit data without an API key?You do not, reliably. Appending .json to a reddit.com URL without a token is blocked or throttled, and scripted traffic gets cut off. A key you create yourself in a minute is the honest shortcut.Read the answerRedditWhy does PRAW return 429, and how do I get more throughput?PRAW is hitting Reddit’s per-client quota, about 100 queries per minute. You cannot raise it without a commercial agreement. For public data, spread reads across time or move the heavy reads to a per-request API.Read the answerRedditPushshift is gone. How do I get Reddit history?You cannot rebuild the archive. Pushshift lost general access in 2023 and nothing public replaced it. What you can do is read what Reddit shows now and start your own history today.Read the answer