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Notes from the data layer

Engineering notes and practical guides on building with social media data. Written by the people running the pipeline, so the limitations are in here too.

How to Get Pinterest Data with an API

Pinterest's official API only reads your own account and bars caching. Here's how to search public pins by keyword and get engagement and destination domains as JSON.

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How to Scrape Instagram Hashtags with an API

Instagram's official API caps hashtag search at 30 tags per 7 days, Business accounts only. Here's how to pull posts, reels, and related tags for any hashtag as JSON.

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TikTok Profile Viewer: See Any Account Anonymously

View any public TikTok account's stats and videos anonymously, no login and no trace. What a profile viewer shows, why it's private, and how to do it at scale with an API.

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How to Use the Reddit API in Python (PRAW & Beyond)

Set up PRAW, pull posts and comments in Python, and handle Reddit's 2026 walls: the 100 QPM limit, mandatory app approval, and no commercial use without a paid deal.

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Facebook Ad Library API: Pull Competitor Ads as JSON

Meta's official Ad Library API only returns political ads outside the EU. Here's how to pull any advertiser's Facebook and Instagram ads as JSON, and what the data includes.

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How to Use the Twitter (X) API in Python (2026)

Four ways to get X data in Python: the official API via Tweepy, dead free scrapers, DIY browser automation, and a third-party data API. What each costs and when to use it.

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TikTok Research API vs a Data API: What Each Gives You

TikTok's Research API is free but academic-only and bans commercial use. A data API is commercial and self-serve. Here's what each gives you and who it's for.

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Instagram Follower Tracker: Track Any Account with an API

Instagram hides the follower list, even from its own API. Here's what a follower tracker can actually do: track follower count and growth for any public account.

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How to Get LinkedIn Jobs Data with an API

LinkedIn has no self-serve jobs API. Here's how to pull LinkedIn job postings as structured JSON by keyword or company, what fields you get, and what it costs.

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How to Download Instagram Videos with an API

Pass a public Instagram Reel URL and get a direct MP4 link back. How to download Instagram videos with an API, why the link expires, and what it costs.

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Proxycurl Alternatives for LinkedIn Data (2026)

Proxycurl shut down in 2025. The replacements split into three models: real-time scrapers, dataset providers, and account-based APIs. Compared by price, freshness, and risk.

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How to Search Threads by Keyword with an API

Two ways to search public Threads posts by keyword: Meta's gated official API, or a data API with no app review. Endpoints, fields, limits, and a code example.

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How to Scrape YouTube Comments with an API

Three ways to scrape YouTube comments in 2026: the official Data API, a DIY scraper, or a data API. What each costs, the quota math, and how to export to CSV.

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Instagram Comments Viewer: See and Export Every Comment

See every comment on any public Instagram post without scrolling, and export them to CSV, Excel, or JSON. Read one post free, or pull comments at scale with an API.

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Best Social Media APIs in 2026

The best social media API depends on one question: do you want to post, or to read? A field guide to posting APIs, data APIs, and analytics APIs, compared honestly.

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TikTok Comment Viewer: How to Read and Export Comments

How to view all comments on any public TikTok video and export them to CSV or JSON. Read them in seconds, or pull them at scale with an API for real analysis.

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LinkedIn Ad Library API: Pull Competitor Ads as JSON

LinkedIn's Ad Library is a website with no usable API. Here's how to pull competitor LinkedIn ads as structured JSON by keyword, and what the data does and doesn't include.

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Best LinkedIn Scraping APIs in 2026

The biggest LinkedIn API shut down in 2025. Here are the LinkedIn scraping APIs still standing in 2026, compared by data, price, method, and compliance.

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Threads Has No Public API. Here's What You Can Still Get

Meta's Threads API is publish-only and scoped to your own account. Here's why there's no public read API, and how to still pull public Threads data as JSON.

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ScrapeCreators Alternatives for Social Media Data (2026)

ScrapeCreators is fast and broad, but returns raw per-endpoint JSON with no cache. Honest alternatives compared by schema, price, and who each is for.

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Best Social Search APIs in 2026

The best social search API depends on whether you need one platform, many platforms in one call, or continuous monitoring. Providers compared by coverage, price, and fit.

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Best Instagram Data APIs in 2026

The best Instagram data API depends on the job. Seven providers compared by real price per 1,000, coverage, and who each one is actually for.

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How to Search Reddit by Keyword with an API

Search Reddit by keyword with an API: the 1,000-result cap, how to search comments and old posts, getting past the limit, and monitoring mentions.

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How to Scrape Reddit with an API

How to scrape Reddit in 2026: the four methods, why the .json trick keeps breaking, how to handle 429 and 403 blocks, and the no-maintenance API path.

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Reddit API Pricing: What It Costs and What to Use Instead

What the Reddit API costs in 2026 ($0.24 per 1,000 calls), what the free tier really gets you, why Reddit started charging, and the alternatives for Reddit data.

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Apify Alternatives for Social Media Data (2026)

Apify is a great general scraping platform, but pricey and fiddly for social data. Honest alternatives compared by price, coverage, and who each is for.

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How to Scrape Instagram Comments with an API

Pull every comment on a public Instagram post or reel with one GET request. Real response shape, pagination, credit cost, and the replies caveat.

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Social Listening APIs: What You Need to Build One

The data layer behind a social listening tool: search, comments, stats and profiles across 33 platforms. What to build, what to buy, and what it costs.

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LinkedIn API Pricing: What It Costs and What You Can't Get

What LinkedIn's official API actually costs, why most developers can't get profile or company data from it, and the priced alternative for the data you need.

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How to Get a TikTok Transcript (Free Tool and API)

Get the full text of any public TikTok in seconds. Paste a URL into a free tool, or pull transcripts at scale with one GET request. Real data, real limits.

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How to Get a TikTok Video Transcript in Python

Pull the spoken text from any public TikTok in Python with one GET request. Real response shape, why segments is null, and error handling.

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Why Your Video Transcript Has No Timestamps

Transcripts built from platform caption files come back as flat text with segments null. Here is why, which platforms do it, and how to code for it.

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