# Instagram Email Scraper (`shanks0x0/instagram-email-scraper`) Actor

Discovers Instagram profiles by keyword and extracts email addresses from public bios.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shanks0x0/instagram-email-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Meherab Hossain](https://apify.com/shanks0x0) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Social media
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 email results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## 📸 Instagram Email Scraper

An [Apify Actor](https://apify.com/actors) that discovers Instagram profiles and extracts email addresses from public profile bios.

### Two Discovery Modes

#### Mode 1: Direct Usernames (✅ Works out of the box)

Provide Instagram usernames directly — no Google search needed:

```json
{
  "usernames": ["natgeo", "nasa", "bbcnews"],
  "maxEmails": 100
}
```

Scrapes each profile via Instagram's public API and extracts emails from bios + business\_email field.

#### Mode 2: Keyword Discovery via Google (🔄 Requires paid Apify proxy)

Provide keywords to Google-search for Instagram profiles:

```json
{
  "keywords": ["photographer", "founder"],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["GOOGLE_SERP"]
  }
}
```

**Requires** an Apify plan with access to the `GOOGLE_SERP` proxy group (paid). Free-tier Apify proxies are blocked by Google.

### How It Works

1. **Discovery** — Either from direct `usernames` or via Google SERP (`site:instagram.com {keyword}`)
2. **Scraping** — Instagram's internal web API (`i.instagram.com/api/v1/users/web_profile_info/`)
3. **Extraction** — `business_email` field first, regex fallback on biography text

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `usernames` | string\[] | \[] | Direct Instagram usernames to scrape |
| `keywords` | string\[] | \[] | Keywords to Google-search for profiles |
| `location` | string | "" | Optional location filter (keyword mode) |
| `maxEmails` | integer | 100 | Stop after collecting this many unique emails |
| `customDomains` | string\[] | \["@gmail.com"] | Only collect emails matching these domains |
| `engine` | string | "cost-effective" | `"cost-effective"` (httpx) or `"legacy"` (not implemented) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | {} | Apify proxy config — **see below** |

#### Proxy Configuration

| Setting | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| `useApifyProxy: false` | — | Direct connection (Instagram 429s, Google blocks) |
| `useApifyProxy: true`, `"apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]` | Free tier | Instagram 403s, Google 403s |
| `useApifyProxy: true`, `"apifyProxyGroups": ["GOOGLE_SERP"]` | **Paid** | ✅ Google works, Instagram varies |
| Custom proxy via env | `APIFY_PROXY_PASSWORD` | Bypasses Apify proxy entirely |

**Bottom line**: For Instagram scraping, use **no proxy** or a **personal residential proxy**. For Google keyword discovery, you need the **`GOOGLE_SERP`** proxy group (paid Apify plan) or bring your own.

### Output

```json
[
  {
    "email": "contact@company.com",
    "username": "company",
    "full_name": "Company Inc",
    "bio": "Building the future | contact@company.com",
    "bio_link": "https://company.com",
    "followers": 15000,
    "is_verified": true,
    "category": "Business",
    "profile_url": "https://www.instagram.com/company/",
    "keyword": "startup",
    "source": "business_email"
  }
]
```

Each profile yields one result object. `source` is `"business_email"` (from Instagram's API field) or `"bio_regex"` (extracted from bio text).

### Running

```bash
## Local
pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m src

## Apify
apify run
apify push
```

### Testing

```
pytest tests/ -v    # 74 tests, no network required
```

### Rate Limiting

Instagram rate-limits aggressively from datacenter IPs (429). The Actor retries with exponential backoff: 5s → 15s → 30s → 60s → 120s. For production use, configure a residential proxy or use direct usernames with spacing.

### Technical Notes

- Uses Instagram's `web_profile_info` API with `x-ig-app-id: 936619743392459`
- Mobile Android User-Agent for lower rate-limit footprint
- No login or session required
- Ignores post URLs, reel URLs, and non-profile Instagram paths
- Deduplicates by email address across keywords

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Keywords to search Google for Instagram profiles (optional — use usernames or keywords)

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

Direct Instagram usernames to scrape (alternative to keyword discovery). E.g. "natgeo" or "nasa"

## `location` (type: `string`):

Optional location keyword to narrow Google search

## `maxEmails` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of emails to collect before stopping

## `customDomains` (type: `array`):

Only collect emails matching these domains

## `engine` (type: `string`):

Scraping engine: 'cost-effective' (httpx) or 'legacy' (Playwright + full browser)

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify proxy configuration (leave empty for auto)

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "founder",
    "startup"
  ],
  "usernames": [],
  "maxEmails": 100,
  "customDomains": [
    "@gmail.com"
  ],
  "engine": "cost-effective",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Scraped profile data with email addresses, stored in the default dataset

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "founder",
        "startup"
    ],
    "usernames": [],
    "customDomains": [
        "@gmail.com"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shanks0x0/instagram-email-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": [
        "founder",
        "startup",
    ],
    "usernames": [],
    "customDomains": ["@gmail.com"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shanks0x0/instagram-email-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "founder",
    "startup"
  ],
  "usernames": [],
  "customDomains": [
    "@gmail.com"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call shanks0x0/instagram-email-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=shanks0x0/instagram-email-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QyfGihwdeGR4Ok7jP/builds/P6LUTDI55dVPRndOB/openapi.json