Instagram isn’t just a place for sharing posts and stories—it’s also a powerful marketing platform. For developers and marketers, the Instagram Graph API provides access to rich analytics, automation, and publishing features. Whether you want to track performance, automate posting, or discover trending hashtags, the API gives you the building blocks to create your own reporting dashboards and tools.

In this guide, we’ll go through the different Instagram APIs, the key metrics and dimensions they provide, and how you can use them for deeper insights.

Understanding Dimensions

In Instagram analytics, dimensions describe attributes of your data. Think of them as the “labels” that add context to metrics.

For example, a post’s type (photo, video, reel, or story) is a dimension. The username that published it, the timestamp it went live, or the city your audience is located in—these are all dimensions. They don’t tell you “how many,” but they describe “what” and “where.”

Common dimensions include:

media_type (image, video, reel, story)

username (your account handle)

timestamp (time the post was published)

country or city (audience location)

Understanding Metrics

While dimensions describe your data, metrics measure it. They are the numbers you’ll use to track performance.

Examples include:

follower_count — total number of followers

impressions — how many times your content was displayed

reach — number of unique accounts that saw your content

engagement — combined likes, comments, shares, and saves

profile_views — number of people who visited your profile

follows_count — number of new followers gained

Metrics answer the “how many” and “how often” questions that marketers care about.

Account-Level Metrics

Not all analytics live at the post level. Instagram also gives you account-wide insights through the Insights API. These help you monitor overall growth and engagement.

Some of the most valuable account metrics include:

Total followers and growth over time

Profile views

Reach and impressions across all content

New followers vs. unfollowers

Engagement with contact options such as website clicks, email taps, calls, and directions

This is the data you’d use when reporting overall brand performance, not just the success of a single post.

Media-Level Metrics

When you want to drill down into specific content, media-level metrics provide detailed insight into posts, reels, and stories. Each format has its own set of analytics:

Photos and Videos → likes, comments, engagement, views, reach, saves, shares

Reels → views, shares, and total interactions (likes, saves, comments, shares)

Stories → reach and views within 24 hours, exits, replies, taps forward/back, swipe actions

Carousels → older metrics like album reach, album impressions, album saves (many are now deprecated)

For example, if you post a reel, the key metric is the number of plays it receives and how many people share it. If you post a story, you’ll want to track exits, replies, and how people tap through your slides.

Reels Metrics

Views – number of times the Reel played.

Reel shares

Total reel interactions – Includes likes, saves, comments, and shares.

Carousel (Deprecated metrics but still noted)

Album engagement, album reach, album impressions, album saves.

Stories (last 24 hours)

Views

Reach

Impressions (deprecated)

Exits – how often users exited the story.

Replies – story replies and quick reactions.

Taps forward/backwards – taps to move through slides.

Business Account Media-Level Metrics

These platforms often provide a suite of additional metrics beyond hashtags and comments:

Follower growth trends and demographics (age, gender, location)

Reach and impressions over time (hour-by-hour, daily, or across content types)

Engagement breakdowns (likes, saves, shares, comments)

Content-level performance summaries for Posts, Reels, Stories

Main Types of Instagram APIs

Instagram Graph API

Instagram Insights API

Instagram Hashtag Search API

Instagram Business Discovery API

Instagram Content Publishing API

Instagram Comments and Replies API

The Main Instagram APIs

Instagram provides several APIs, each with its own purpose. Together, they form the foundation for analytics and automation.

1. Instagram Graph API

This is the core API for Business and Creator accounts. It lets you fetch account details, media objects, and insights.

Get account information such as username, biography, followers count, and website.

Retrieve a list of media objects (posts, reels, stories).

Access insights for media and accounts.

Track engagement like likes, comments, and shares.

To use it, you’ll need a Facebook Graph API access token with permissions such as instagram_basic, instagram_manage_insights, and pages_show_list.

Methods Used

/{ig-user-id} — Getting account details (username, biography, followers count, website)

/{ig-user-id}/media — List media (posts, reels, stories)

/{ig-media-id}/insights — Getting insights for a specific media

/{ig-user-id}/insights — Getting account-level insights

Important Features

Profile Insights

Access profile data like followers, biography, profile, website, and account type.

Media Insights

Retrieve analytics for posts, reels, and stories (reach, impressions, saves, profile_views, engagement).

Engagement Tracking

Track likes, comments, and shares for individual posts.

Authentication & Authorization

Requires Facebook Graph API access token with permissions (instagram_basic, instagram_manage_insights, pages_show_list).

2. Instagram Insights API

This API is dedicated to analytics and reporting.

Fetch account insights (followers, reach, impressions).

Pull post-level insights (reach, saves, shares, likes).

Access audience demographics (age, gender, location).

Track website clicks and profile visits.

Methods Used

/{ig-user-id}/insights — Account insights

/{ig-media-id}/insights — Media insights

Important Features

Audience Insights

Followers by age, gender, location.

Content Insights

Performance per post (reach, impressions, saves, shares).

Profile Insights

Website clicks, profile visits.

3. Instagram Hashtag Search API

This API is useful for trend discovery and campaign tracking.

Search for hashtags by keyword.

Retrieve recent or top media for a specific hashtag.

Analyze engagement (likes, comments, reach) on hashtagged posts.

Hashtags are particularly powerful for tracking campaigns or monitoring brand visibility.

Methods Used

ig_hashtag_search — Search for hashtags by keyword

/{ig-hashtag-id}/recent_media —- Get recent posts for a hashtag

/{ig-hashtag-id}/top_media — Get top posts for a hashtag

Dimensions & Metrics

Metrics — likes, comments, engagement rate, reach

Dimensions — hashtag_id, hashtag_name, media_id, username, timestamp

4. Instagram Business Discovery API

With this API, you can discover information about other Business or Creator accounts.

Fetch follower count and media count.

Analyze captions, media types, and timestamps.

Look at public stats for competitors or partners.

Metrics & Dimensions

followers_count

media_count

like_count, comments_count

caption, media_type, timestamp

5. Instagram Content Publishing API

This API automates posting. Instead of manually uploading content, you can create media containers, publish posts, and check publishing limits.

Upload images, videos, and carousels.

Schedule posts programmatically.

Respect Instagram’s publishing quotas to avoid errors.

Methods Used

/{ig-user-id}/media → Upload media (images, videos, carousels)

/{ig-user-id}/media_publish → Publish uploaded media

/{ig-user-id}/content_publishing_limit → Check publishing limits

Important Features

Post Scheduling

Automate posting at specific times.

Content Automation

Upload reels, videos, images via API.

Quota Management

Control posting frequency within Instagram limits.

Key Notes

Only Business and Creator accounts can use these APIs.

A valid long-lived access token is required for all requests.

Publishing is a two-step process: first create a media container, then publish it.

Insights can only be retrieved for your own account and posts.

Hashtag searches are capped at 30 unique hashtags within a rolling 7-day window.

Many older carousel metrics are now deprecated, so focus on current endpoints.

Conclusion

For developers and marketers, Instagram’s APIs unlock the ability to measure, automate, and optimize at scale. Whether you’re pulling insights for a campaign, discovering hashtags, analyzing competitors, or automating content publishing, each API serves a distinct role.

The key to success lies in combining these APIs to build your own dashboards, reporting tools, or scheduling systems. By understanding metrics, dimensions, and the available endpoints, you can move beyond manual reporting and create a streamlined, data-driven Instagram strategy.

Fetch Instagram Insights and Additional Meta data with Graph API Fields