Instagram (part of Meta) gathers data through multiple, overlapping sources to keep the app running, personalize content/ads, and maintain security. If you’re studying this from a developer or research angle, you can also inspect patterns programmatically—see the open-source reference here: instagram-data-scraper
.
1) Data You Provide Directly
Account details: name, username, email/phone, birthday, profile photo
Content: photos, videos, captions, comments, Stories, Reels, messages (metadata), and in-app forms (support, verification)
Commerce: shipping addresses or payments used for in-app purchases or shops
For hands-on exploration of public fields and response patterns, review the code in this GitHub repository
.
2) Your Activity on Instagram
How you use the app: taps, views, likes, saves, shares, session duration, features used
Social graph signals: followers/following, tags, mentions, group memberships
Content interactions: watch time, replays, dwell time, completion rate on Reels/Stories
Researchers often simulate or log these signals (where permitted) to study ranking/engagement dynamics; see examples in the instagram-data-scraper project
.
3) Device, Network, and App Diagnostics
Device identifiers, OS version, app version, language, battery/network status
IP address, approximate location (from IP/GPS if allowed), and connection quality
Crash logs and performance traces used for stability and anti-abuse
Request/response samples in tools like this repo’s code
help illustrate what metadata commonly appears around public endpoints.
4) Data From Partners and Off-Platform Signals
Websites & apps using Meta/Instagram business tools (Meta Pixel, SDKs, social plugins) send event data (page views, add-to-cart, purchases) for ads measurement and targeting
Advertisers, analytics providers, and creators may share audience or conversion signals
Login with Instagram can pass limited profile info to third-party apps you authorize
5) Cookies, Storage, and Identifiers
Cookies, local storage, and mobile advertising IDs track sessions, keep you signed in, fight spam, and measure ads performance
Cross-app and cross-device matching may be used to connect activity between Instagram and other Meta services
6) Why Instagram Collects It
Personalization: ranking feeds/Reels/Explore, suggested follows, notifications
Ads & measurement: audience targeting, frequency capping, conversion attribution
Safety & integrity: spam/bot detection, policy enforcement, account recovery
Product analytics: feature quality, A/B tests, latency/crash reduction
7) Controls You Can Use
Privacy settings: account visibility (public/private), story/reel comment limits, sensitive content controls
Ad preferences: topic interests, off-Instagram activity controls (via your Meta account)
Data access & portability: download your information; revoke third-party access; delete your account
If you’re exploring compliant, public-data collection for research, auditing, or testing (respecting Instagram’s Terms, robots rules, and local laws), study the request patterns and guardrails in this instagram-data-scraper GitHub repo
.
Top comments (0)