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Social Media Scraping API: One API for All Platforms (2026)

March 2, 2026
9 min read
S
By SociaVault Team
Social Media ScrapingAPIData ExtractionTikTokInstagramTwitterYouTubePythonJavaScript

Social Media Scraping API: One API for All Platforms

Building an app that needs social media data? You could write individual scrapers for each platform. Maintain proxies. Handle rate limits. Fix things when platforms change their HTML.

Or you could use a social media scraping API and skip all that.

This guide shows you how to extract data from TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more—using one unified API.

What is a Social Media Scraping API?

A social media scraping API handles the hard parts of data extraction:

You DoThe API Does
Make HTTP requestsProxy rotation
Receive JSON dataCAPTCHA solving
Build your appRate limit handling
Browser automation
Anti-bot detection bypass
Data parsing & normalization

You call an endpoint, you get clean data. That's it.

Platforms You Can Scrape

PlatformData Types
TikTokProfiles, videos, comments, followers, hashtags, sounds
InstagramProfiles, posts, reels, stories, comments, followers
Twitter/XProfiles, tweets, threads, followers, trends, search
YouTubeChannels, videos, comments, transcripts, playlists
LinkedInProfiles, companies, jobs, posts
FacebookPages, posts, comments, ad library
RedditSubreddits, posts, comments, users
ThreadsProfiles, posts, replies

Quick Start

1. Get Your API Key

Sign up at sociavault.com and grab your API key from the dashboard.

2. Make Your First Request

const API_KEY = 'your_api_key';

// Scrape a TikTok profile
const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/tiktok/profile?username=khaby.lame',
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`
    }
  }
);

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

3. Use the Data

// Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "username": "khaby.lame",
    "nickname": "Khabane lame",
    "followers": 162000000,
    "following": 78,
    "likes": 2500000000,
    "videos": 1200,
    "bio": "If u wanna laugh u are in the right place",
    "verified": true
  }
}

Platform Examples

TikTok Scraping

// Get TikTok profile
async function getTikTokProfile(username) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/tiktok/profile?username=${username}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get TikTok videos
async function getTikTokVideos(username, limit = 20) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/tiktok/videos?username=${username}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get hashtag posts
async function getTikTokHashtag(hashtag, limit = 50) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/tiktok/hashtag?tag=${hashtag}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

Related: Extract TikTok Data

Instagram Scraping

// Get Instagram profile
async function getInstagramProfile(username) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/instagram/profile?username=${username}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get Instagram posts
async function getInstagramPosts(username, limit = 12) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/instagram/posts?username=${username}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get Instagram reels
async function getInstagramReels(username, limit = 10) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/instagram/reels?username=${username}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get post comments
async function getInstagramComments(postUrl, limit = 100) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/instagram/comments?url=${encodeURIComponent(postUrl)}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

Related: How to Scrape Instagram Data

Twitter/X Scraping

// Get Twitter profile
async function getTwitterProfile(username) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/twitter/profile?username=${username}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get tweets
async function getTweets(username, limit = 20) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/twitter/tweets?username=${username}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Search tweets
async function searchTweets(query, limit = 50) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/twitter/search?q=${encodeURIComponent(query)}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

Related: Twitter Scraping API

YouTube Scraping

// Get channel info
async function getYouTubeChannel(channelUrl) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/youtube/channel?url=${encodeURIComponent(channelUrl)}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get video info
async function getYouTubeVideo(videoUrl) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/youtube/video?url=${encodeURIComponent(videoUrl)}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get video comments
async function getYouTubeComments(videoUrl, limit = 100) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/youtube/comments?url=${encodeURIComponent(videoUrl)}&limit=${limit}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

Related: YouTube API Alternative

LinkedIn Scraping

// Get LinkedIn profile
async function getLinkedInProfile(profileUrl) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/linkedin/profile?url=${encodeURIComponent(profileUrl)}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

// Get company info
async function getLinkedInCompany(companyUrl) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/linkedin/company?url=${encodeURIComponent(companyUrl)}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return response.json();
}

Related: LinkedIn Scraping API

Python SDK

import requests

class SociaVaultClient:
    def __init__(self, api_key):
        self.api_key = api_key
        self.base_url = 'https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape'
    
    def _request(self, endpoint, params=None):
        response = requests.get(
            f'{self.base_url}/{endpoint}',
            params=params,
            headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {self.api_key}'}
        )
        return response.json()
    
    # TikTok
    def tiktok_profile(self, username):
        return self._request('tiktok/profile', {'username': username})
    
    def tiktok_videos(self, username, limit=20):
        return self._request('tiktok/videos', {'username': username, 'limit': limit})
    
    # Instagram
    def instagram_profile(self, username):
        return self._request('instagram/profile', {'username': username})
    
    def instagram_posts(self, username, limit=12):
        return self._request('instagram/posts', {'username': username, 'limit': limit})
    
    def instagram_followers(self, username, limit=100):
        return self._request('instagram/followers', {'username': username, 'limit': limit})
    
    # Twitter
    def twitter_profile(self, username):
        return self._request('twitter/profile', {'username': username})
    
    def twitter_tweets(self, username, limit=20):
        return self._request('twitter/tweets', {'username': username, 'limit': limit})
    
    # YouTube
    def youtube_channel(self, url):
        return self._request('youtube/channel', {'url': url})
    
    def youtube_video(self, url):
        return self._request('youtube/video', {'url': url})
    
    # LinkedIn
    def linkedin_profile(self, url):
        return self._request('linkedin/profile', {'url': url})
    
    def linkedin_company(self, url):
        return self._request('linkedin/company', {'url': url})


# Usage
client = SociaVaultClient('your_api_key')

# Get TikTok data
profile = client.tiktok_profile('charlidamelio')
print(f"Followers: {profile['data']['followers']:,}")

# Get Instagram data
posts = client.instagram_posts('nike', limit=10)
for post in posts['data']:
    print(f"Likes: {post['like_count']:,}")

Use Cases

1. Cross-Platform Influencer Analysis

async function analyzeInfluencer(handles) {
  const results = {};
  
  // TikTok
  if (handles.tiktok) {
    const tt = await getTikTokProfile(handles.tiktok);
    results.tiktok = {
      followers: tt.data.followers,
      engagement: await calculateTikTokEngagement(handles.tiktok)
    };
  }
  
  // Instagram
  if (handles.instagram) {
    const ig = await getInstagramProfile(handles.instagram);
    results.instagram = {
      followers: ig.data.follower_count,
      engagement: await calculateInstagramEngagement(handles.instagram)
    };
  }
  
  // YouTube
  if (handles.youtube) {
    const yt = await getYouTubeChannel(handles.youtube);
    results.youtube = {
      subscribers: yt.data.subscriber_count,
      totalViews: yt.data.total_views
    };
  }
  
  // Calculate total reach
  results.totalReach = Object.values(results)
    .reduce((sum, p) => sum + (p.followers || p.subscribers || 0), 0);
  
  return results;
}

Related: Build an Influencer Database

2. Competitor Monitoring

async function monitorCompetitors(competitors) {
  const report = [];
  
  for (const competitor of competitors) {
    const data = {
      name: competitor.name,
      platforms: {}
    };
    
    // Check each platform
    for (const [platform, handle] of Object.entries(competitor.handles)) {
      const profile = await scrapeProfile(platform, handle);
      data.platforms[platform] = {
        followers: profile.data.followers || profile.data.follower_count,
        posts: profile.data.media_count || profile.data.videos
      };
    }
    
    report.push(data);
  }
  
  return report;
}

// Usage
const competitors = [
  { name: 'Nike', handles: { instagram: 'nike', tiktok: 'nike', twitter: 'nike' } },
  { name: 'Adidas', handles: { instagram: 'adidas', tiktok: 'adidas', twitter: 'adidas' } }
];

monitorCompetitors(competitors).then(console.table);

3. Content Aggregation

async function aggregateContent(hashtag, platforms = ['tiktok', 'instagram', 'twitter']) {
  const content = [];
  
  for (const platform of platforms) {
    let posts;
    
    switch (platform) {
      case 'tiktok':
        posts = await getTikTokHashtag(hashtag, 20);
        break;
      case 'instagram':
        posts = await getInstagramHashtag(hashtag, 20);
        break;
      case 'twitter':
        posts = await searchTweets(`#${hashtag}`, 20);
        break;
    }
    
    posts.data.forEach(post => {
      content.push({
        platform,
        id: post.id,
        text: post.caption || post.text || post.description,
        likes: post.likes || post.like_count,
        author: post.author || post.username,
        url: post.url || post.post_url
      });
    });
  }
  
  // Sort by engagement
  content.sort((a, b) => b.likes - a.likes);
  
  return content;
}

4. Sentiment Analysis

from textblob import TextBlob

def analyze_sentiment(comments):
    sentiments = []
    
    for comment in comments:
        text = comment.get('text', '')
        blob = TextBlob(text)
        
        sentiments.append({
            'text': text[:100],
            'polarity': blob.sentiment.polarity,  # -1 to 1
            'subjectivity': blob.sentiment.subjectivity,
            'sentiment': 'positive' if blob.sentiment.polarity > 0.1 
                        else 'negative' if blob.sentiment.polarity < -0.1 
                        else 'neutral'
        })
    
    # Aggregate
    positive = sum(1 for s in sentiments if s['sentiment'] == 'positive')
    negative = sum(1 for s in sentiments if s['sentiment'] == 'negative')
    neutral = sum(1 for s in sentiments if s['sentiment'] == 'neutral')
    
    return {
        'total_comments': len(sentiments),
        'positive': positive,
        'negative': negative,
        'neutral': neutral,
        'positive_rate': f"{(positive/len(sentiments)*100):.1f}%",
        'avg_polarity': sum(s['polarity'] for s in sentiments) / len(sentiments)
    }

# Usage
client = SociaVaultClient('your_api_key')
comments = client.instagram_comments('https://instagram.com/p/ABC123', limit=200)
sentiment = analyze_sentiment(comments['data'])
print(sentiment)

Related: Social Media Sentiment Analysis

Error Handling

async function safeScrape(platform, endpoint, params) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape/${platform}/${endpoint}?${new URLSearchParams(params)}`,
      { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` } }
    );
    
    if (!response.ok) {
      if (response.status === 429) {
        // Rate limited - wait and retry
        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 5000));
        return safeScrape(platform, endpoint, params);
      }
      throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
    }
    
    const data = await response.json();
    
    if (!data.success) {
      throw new Error(data.error || 'Unknown error');
    }
    
    return data;
    
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`Error scraping ${platform}/${endpoint}:`, error.message);
    return { success: false, error: error.message };
  }
}

Pricing Comparison

ServicePricingPlatforms
SociaVault$0.001/request25+
Bright Data$500+/monthLimited
PhantomBuster$69-439/month10+
Apify$49-499/monthVaries
Build yourself$300-500/monthWhatever you build

Related: Best Social Media Scraping APIs Compared

Getting Started

  1. Sign up at sociavault.com
  2. Get 50 free credits - no credit card required
  3. Copy your API key from the dashboard
  4. Start scraping with the examples above

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, scraping publicly available data is legal. The hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn case (2022) established that public data isn't protected by the CFAA. See our legal guide.

Which platforms can I scrape?

TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, Threads, and more. Check the documentation for the full list.

How fast is the API?

Most requests complete in 1-5 seconds. Larger requests (like follower lists) may take longer depending on volume.

Do I need to manage proxies?

No. The API handles all proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and anti-bot detection automatically.

Related guides:

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