How to use instagram API for Login

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Using Instagram’s API for login involves implementing Instagram’s OAuth 2.0 authorization. This process allows users to log in to your application using their Instagram credentials, and it provides your application with access to their Instagram data. Here is a step-by-step guide to set this up:

Step 1: Create an Instagram App

  1. Go to the Facebook Developer Portal.
  2. Log in with your Facebook account.
  3. Click on “My Apps” and then “Create App”.
  4. Choose “Consumer” for the app type, and click “Next”.
  5. Provide the necessary details (e.g., App Name, App Purpose) and click “Create App”.

Step 2: Configure Instagram Basic Display

  1. In your app’s dashboard, go to “Add a Product” and select “Instagram”.
  2. Select “Set Up” under the Instagram Basic Display product.
  3. Configure the Instagram Basic Display by clicking “Create New App” under “Instagram Basic Display”.
  4. Fill in the required fields (e.g., Display Name, Valid OAuth Redirect URIs).
  5. Add the redirect URI that Instagram will use to send the access token after authentication (e.g., https://yourwebsite.com/auth/instagram/callback).

Step 3: Implement OAuth 2.0 Authorization

To use Instagram for login, you need to follow these OAuth 2.0 steps:

Step 3.1: Direct User to Instagram’s Authorization URL

When the user clicks the “Login with Instagram” button on your website, redirect them to the Instagram authorization URL:

<a href="https://api.instagram.com/oauth/authorize?client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI&scope=user_profile,user_media&response_type=code">
Login with Instagram
</a>

Replace YOUR_CLIENT_ID with your Instagram app’s Client ID and YOUR_REDIRECT_URI with the URL you specified during the app setup.

Step 3.2: Handle the Authorization Code

After the user authorizes your app, Instagram redirects them to your specified redirect URI with a code parameter.

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/auth/instagram/callback?code=AUTHORIZATION_CODE

Step 3.3: Exchange the Authorization Code for an Access Token

Use the authorization code to request an access token from Instagram:

import requests

def get_access_token(auth_code):
url = 'https://api.instagram.com/oauth/access_token'
payload = {
'client_id': 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID',
'client_secret': 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET',
'grant_type': 'authorization_code',
'redirect_uri': 'YOUR_REDIRECT_URI',
'code': auth_code
}
response = requests.post(url, data=payload)
return response.json()

auth_code = 'AUTHORIZATION_CODE_RECEIVED_FROM_REDIRECT'
access_token_info = get_access_token(auth_code)
access_token = access_token_info['access_token']
user_id = access_token_info['user_id']

Replace YOUR_CLIENT_ID, YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET, and YOUR_REDIRECT_URI with your app’s respective values.

Step 3.4: Use the Access Token to Access User Data

Once you have the access token, you can use it to make requests to Instagram’s API to fetch user data:

def get_user_profile(access_token):
url = f'https://graph.instagram.com/me?fields=id,username&access_token={access_token}'
response = requests.get(url)
return response.json()

user_profile = get_user_profile(access_token)
print(user_profile)

Step 4: Implementing the Login Flow in Your Application

You can implement the login flow in your web application using the following steps:

  1. Login Button: Place a “Login with Instagram” button on your website.
  2. Redirect to Instagram: When the button is clicked, redirect the user to the Instagram authorization URL.
  3. Handle Redirect: Create a route in your application to handle the redirect from Instagram with the authorization code.
  4. Exchange Code for Token: Exchange the authorization code for an access token.
  5. Fetch User Data: Use the access token to fetch user data from Instagram.
  6. Authenticate User: Use the fetched user data to authenticate the user in your application.

Example Implementation in Flask

Here’s a simple example of how you might implement this flow in a Flask web application:

from flask import Flask, redirect, request, session, url_for
import requests

app = Flask(__name__)
app.secret_key = 'your_secret_key'

CLIENT_ID = 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID'
CLIENT_SECRET = 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET'
REDIRECT_URI = 'YOUR_REDIRECT_URI'

@app.route('/')
def home():
return '<a href="/login">Login with Instagram</a>'

@app.route('/login')
def login():
instagram_auth_url = (
f'https://api.instagram.com/oauth/authorize?client_id={CLIENT_ID}'
f'&redirect_uri={REDIRECT_URI}&scope=user_profile,user_media&response_type=code'
)
return redirect(instagram_auth_url)

@app.route('/auth/instagram/callback')
def callback():
code = request.args.get('code')
access_token_info = get_access_token(code)
access_token = access_token_info['access_token']
user_profile = get_user_profile(access_token)
return f'Logged in as {user_profile["username"]}'

def get_access_token(auth_code):
url = 'https://api.instagram.com/oauth/access_token'
payload = {
'client_id': CLIENT_ID,
'client_secret': CLIENT_SECRET,
'grant_type': 'authorization_code',
'redirect_uri': REDIRECT_URI,
'code': auth_code
}
response = requests.post(url, data=payload)
return response.json()

def get_user_profile(access_token):
url = f'https://graph.instagram.com/me?fields=id,username&access_token={access_token}'
response = requests.get(url)
return response.json()

if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run(debug=True)

This example demonstrates the entire flow, from redirecting the user to Instagram for authentication, handling the callback with the authorization code, exchanging the code for an access token, and finally retrieving the user’s profile information.