Recently, I have noticed that adding ?_a=1 at the end of an Instagram user's name no longer returns a JSON object that describes the information on the page.
For example: https://www.instagram.com/{username}/feed/?__a=1 The link used to return a large JSON object about each post.
Was this removed by Instagram or is it just me? Also is there a stronger alternative to be able to read post data from a user without having the be signed in to their account?
Thanks
Based on other answers to the same question, it looks like the feed works intermittently for years.
I tried /channel/ instead of /feed/ as others suggested, but the same error persisted.
Some suggest it's an invalid user agent header that causes issues.
This API URL I found from an XHR request when logged in also returns a user agent error if accessed directly.
https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/fbsearch/accounts_recs/{username}
{"message":"useragent mismatch","status":"fail"}