Hashtags are one of the most powerful tools on Instagram. They help people discover content, connect with communities, and track trends across different topics. For businesses and creators, hashtags are essential for visibility—but when you’re working at scale, you need more than just manual searches.

That’s where the Instagram Graph API Hashtag Search comes in. With it, you can search hashtags programmatically, find trending content, and use insights to improve your strategy.

Limitations You Should Know

Before diving into endpoints, it’s important to understand what this API can and cannot do.

You can search for up to 30 unique hashtags per Instagram Business or Creator account in a rolling seven-day period. Once you query a hashtag, it stays active for seven days. Repeated searches for the same hashtag within that period won’t count against your quota.

You cannot comment on media objects that are discovered through hashtags. The API is for discovery, not engagement.

Hashtags used on Instagram Stories are not supported.

Emojis in hashtag searches are not allowed. If you try, you’ll get an error.

Some hashtags are restricted for safety reasons. If you include a sensitive hashtag in your request, the API will return a generic error.

Requirements Before You Start

Not every app can use hashtag search out of the box. To get access, you need to go through App Review with Meta and request approval for two things:

Instagram Public Content Access – this lets your app access public hashtag data.

instagram_basic permission – this allows you to read profile and media data from connected accounts.

Without these approvals, your hashtag search requests will fail.

Requirements:

In order to use this API, you must undergo App Review and request approval for:

the Instagram Public Content Access feature

the instagram_basic permission

How the Hashtag Search API Works

The Hashtag Search API gives you a set of nodes and edges you can call. Here’s a quick breakdown of what each one does:

GET /ig_hashtag_search – Find the ID of a hashtag based on a keyword.

GET /{ig-hashtag-id} – Fetch basic information about a hashtag.

GET /{ig-hashtag-id}/top_media – Get the most popular posts for a hashtag.

GET /{ig-hashtag-id}/recent_media – Get the most recent posts with that hashtag.

GET /{ig-user-id}/recently_searched_hashtags – See which hashtags your account has recently searched.

The first step is always to find the hashtag ID. Every hashtag in Instagram’s system has a unique ID, and you’ll need it before you can fetch posts.

Endpoint:

GET /ig_hashtag_search?user_id={user-id}&q={keyword}&access_token={token}

{user-id} → Your Instagram Business/Creator account ID.

q → The hashtag keyword you want to search (e.g., dosa).

{token} → A valid long-lived access token with the correct permissions.

Purpose:

Get the unique hashtag ID for a given keyword.

Hashtag ID is needed to fetch posts (top_media, recent_media) or insights.

Required Permissions:

To use the Hashtag Search API, your app needs the following permissions:

instagram_basic – allows reading profile and media data.

pages_read_engagement – required specifically for hashtag search functionality.

pages_show_list – needed to connect your Instagram account through its associated Facebook Page.

Example: Searching for a Hashtag

GET /ig_hashtag_search?user_id={user-id}&q=dosa&access_token={token}

Replace {user-id} with the ID of your Instagram Business or Creator account.

Replace {token} with a valid long-lived access token.

The API will return the unique ID for that hashtag.

Sample Image:

Next Steps After Getting the Hashtag ID

Once you have the hashtag ID, you can fetch:

Top posts:

GET /{hashtag-id}/top_media?user_id={user-id}&fields=id,caption,media_type,media_url&access_token={token}

Recent posts:

GET /{hashtag-id}/recent_media?user_id={user-id}&fields=id,caption,media_type,media_url&access_token={token}

Top posts show you the most popular content for that hashtag, while recent posts give you the latest activity. This is especially useful for monitoring trends in real-time or finding influencers who are actively using a keyword.

Sample Image:

Key Notes to Keep in Mind

Hashtag search works only with Instagram Business or Creator accounts, not personal accounts.

If a hashtag is banned or restricted, the API won’t return results.

Always make sure to use the user_id of your connected Business account.

Remember: the first search only gives you the hashtag ID. You’ll need to call other endpoints to get media data.

Conclusions:

Hashtags are more than just a discovery tool for Instagram users—they’re a data goldmine for businesses and creators. With the Instagram Graph API, you can programmatically search hashtags, track popular or recent content, and better understand what conversations your audience cares about.

By automating hashtag research, you save time, avoid guesswork, and make data-driven decisions about your content strategy.

Analytics of Recent and Top trending Instagram videos through Meta’s Hashtag API