Instagram hashtag search API
There are two ways to get Instagram posts by hashtag from your code: Meta's own Graph API, or a service that reads public Instagram for you. Here's what each one gives you, and the limits that usually decide between them.
Updated 2026-11-02
In their own words
Real comments from Reddit, quoted as written. Usernames are left out.
“Most of what I can actually catch without a listening setup is still tagged mentions and hashtag hits on IG/TikTok/X.”
“If you're monitoring your own account or public hashtags, the official Instagram Graph API is the route that won't keep breaking on you.”
“…breaks every time Instagram changes something and can get the account flagged or banned.”
Meta's hashtag search, and its limits
Meta's Instagram Graph API has a hashtag search. You look up the hashtag's ID, then ask for its recent or top posts. Before you build on it, know its rules:
- Your app needs Meta's approval for Instagram Public Content Access, and you call it as an Instagram account linked to a Facebook Page.
- Each account can look up 30 different hashtags in a rolling 7 days. Asking for a hashtag's posts counts too, even when you already have its ID.
- Recent posts only go back 24 hours, come at most 50 to a page, and aren't always in time order.
- You can't get the username of who posted. Promoted posts aren't returned, and hashtags Meta considers sensitive return an error.
When Meta's API is the right choice
If you track a handful of your own campaign hashtags, only need the last day, and can get through the review, it's free and it's Meta's own data. Use it.
Searching hashtags with SocialHz
No Facebook Page, no app review and no Instagram account. Search for #yourtag instead of yourtag and you get the reels tagged with it.
- Hashtags: No weekly limit on how many. Each page of results costs 1 credit, whatever the hashtag.
- What comes back: About 30 reels a page, each with its caption, link, publish time, creator, and like, comment and view counts.
- How far back: Not limited to the last 24 hours. Results come in Instagram's own order, not newest first, so page through with the cursor until you have what you need.
- Comments: Send any reel's link to the comments endpoint and you get every comment on it, with its sentiment.
Where SocialHz falls short
So you know before you start:
- Search returns reels. Photo and carousel posts with the hashtag aren't in the results, though you can fetch any post from its link.
- Results aren't sorted by date. To get one week's posts, page through and keep the ones whose published_at falls in that week.
- Only public posts. Nothing from private accounts.
Try a hashtag search
A new workspace gets a 7-day free trial. Both requests are below, ready to run from your own code.
Comments on one post
GET /api/v1/comments?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fp%2FDPq1Xv0Eh2b%2FSearch Instagram
GET /api/v1/search?platform=instagram&query=%23evcarQuestions people ask
How many hashtags can I search with the Instagram API?
With Meta's Graph API, 30 different hashtags per account in a rolling 7 days. With SocialHz there's no limit on the number of hashtags; you pay 1 credit per page of results.
Can I get hashtag posts older than 24 hours?
Not from the Graph API's recent posts, which cover the last 24 hours. SocialHz search isn't limited to the last day.
Does it tell me who posted?
Meta's hashtag search doesn't return usernames. SocialHz returns each reel's creator with it.
Can I search several hashtags at once?
Send one search per hashtag. Each one costs 1 credit per page.
Can I track a hashtag over time?
Yes. Save the search as a run that repeats every hour, every 6 hours or every day, and collect each run's reels.