instagram_monitor
Operator: misiektoja and tomballgithub (project maintainers)
Monitors Instagram profiles, posts and follower changes, with local dashboards and notifications.
Social Media (SOCMINT)
Product
instagram_monitor, freely available Python software for ongoing monitoring of Instagram profiles.
Availability and source date
Restricted
As of: 17 October 2026.
No functionality test has been performed.
Use in OSINT research
Records changes to known Instagram profiles and their posts. Also compares follower counts and, with a signed-in session, the names of contacts gained or lost.
Queries
| Input | Result | Result type |
|---|---|---|
| Username / alias | New and deleted posts, plus changes to biographies, profile pictures and follower counts. With a session, also stories and changes in follower names. | Retrieved |
| URL | Monitoring of the Instagram profile at the entered profile URL, with the same change history. | Retrieved |
Features
- Records new and deleted posts and changes to biographies and profile pictures.
- Compares follower counts and, with a session, the names of followers and followed accounts.
- Saves images, videos and timestamped changes as files.
- Shows monitoring in a terminal dashboard or its own web dashboard.
- Optionally sends email, Discord or ntfy notifications.
Categories
- Social Media (SOCMINT)
Coverage
Dataset
Data from the selected Instagram profiles and their accessible content; no regional dataset of its own.
Access
Installation and deployment
Locally installable · Self-hosted
Python 3.9 or later; alternatively Docker or Docker Compose. Its own web interface; configuration, sessions and results remain in your own working directory or container volume.
Requirements
A local Python installation or Docker. Public profiles can be monitored to a limited extent without signing in. Stories and follower names require an existing Instagram session; the guide recommends importing browser cookies. Instagram Monitor uses Instaloader with its own profile resolution through search and GraphQL.
Export
CSV change logs, JSON files, images, videos and log files.
Provider
misiektoja and tomballgithub (project maintainers)
Country of establishment
Unknown
Interfaces
API
Available. Local HTTP/JSON control of its own web dashboard, for example to stop monitoring.
MCP
Not documented. Not specified in the README or reviewed configuration and usage pages.
AI agents
Not documented. Not specified in the README or reviewed configuration and usage pages.
Maintenance
Licence
GPL-3.0
Latest activity
Release 09/2026
Stars
approx. 1,600 (as of 17 October 2026)
Legal note
Limitations
- Without a session, stories, reels and lists of follower and following account names are unavailable.
- Reels monitoring is off by default; reel counting may encounter Instagram errors.
- If Instagram search cannot find a target, profile retrieval may still fail at the retired endpoint.
Guides and practical reports
Official · Install and use Instagram Monitor
Projektteam instagram_monitor · EN
Explains monitoring, follower comparison, file output and notifications.