Instagram API posting likes rate limit

0
votes

I created an iOS app that using Instagram API and have a critical issue posting likes to Instagram.

Using endpoint – POST /media/media-id/likes, with user-specific access token. I request scope – likes from users.

Instagram API works fine for all requests except saving likes. We can only save/post a couple hundred likes to Instagram, and then response is "We've taken extra measures to protect the Instagram API from abnormal activity. Since you have recently created your API application, please contact [email protected] to receive whitelisting for a higher rate limit."

There is other developers with same issue with no support or any feedback waiting for months.

Please, let me know if there is limits and how it works, or how to become whitelisted

I don’t want to create many Instagram API clients and assign users among them. It seems like bad acting for me, if there is official API with strict limits I want to work with it.

2
instagram
This totally sucks. I'm dev'ing an iOS app right now too, and was hoping to use the "basic+likes+comments" scope. Have you seen the same limits with comments? Also, what response_type parameter are you specifying? "code" or "access_token"? I can't for the life of me get scopes to work with response_type=access_token: stackoverflow.com/questions/20580535/… - NovaJoe

2 Answers

0
votes

Instagram takes increased measures to limit your API requests based on IP address. This is not common knowledge, it's just something I've come to know from working with the API extensively.

They've built an API that is FAR from perfect, but have been upgrading it to be "smart". Smart enough to know that a newer client, pinging the API many times just for one user, may very well be a script kiddie trying to bot the system. For this reason, they do not give you a rate limit error, they politely say "we have taken extra measures to protect our API from being spammed by bots".

The good news is, other users should still be able to access your liking mechanism. Just not you, from that IP.

1
votes

Instagram has new API limits: 100 likes/hr 60 follows/unfollows/hr per access token. That is only if you authenticate serverside and sign your headers. Check out the new authentication: http://instagram.com/developer/authentication/

I'm using it for my new site that automates likes/follows/unfollows, haven't had any problems works great. Check it out: http://instapromobiz.com