Key takeaways
- Instagram shows no storage figure: the size of the export from Meta Account > Your information and permissions > Export your information is the best measure, in GB.
- Only the account holder can run the password-protected export, and a deactivated or scheduled-for-deletion profile cannot be exported.
- The link can take up to 30 days to arrive and the download stays open for 4 days; the default option leaves out data logs, and direct messages can be left out.
- You don't need to export anything to apply: have your size, years of history and number of accounts ready, and the data vendor anonymizes the records before any AI lab sees them.
01
What is Instagram data, and why do AI labs and data vendors buy it?
The short answer
Instagram data is the history of a company's Instagram account: its photos and short videos, the captions, the dates they were posted and how the audience responded. AI labs (companies that build and train AI models) and data vendors (companies that anonymize business records and package them for those labs) buy a copy because posts tied to the products they promote show how a business presents itself to customers.
What a business account records
Instagram is a social network built around photos and short videos. A company account publishes posts, each with media, a caption and a date, and receives responses such as likes and comments. The account can also hold direct messages, which are private conversations with customers and others.
Why posts teach an AI model something
An AI model learns by studying a very large number of examples and finding the patterns in them, and those examples are called training data. A post pairs an image with the words a company chose to describe it, so a model can learn how a business names, shows and talks about what it sells. Dates place each post in time, and audience response shows which posts landed.
AI labs now want to train AI agents, software that carries out a job step by step, and an agent learns a job from records of that job being done. Marketing is one of those jobs, and a history of posts shows it being done over years. The full mechanism is in AI training data: why AI companies want your company's data.
How Instagram fits into a dataset
Instagram is usually one of several sources in a company's dataset, which may also include other video and social accounts such as TikTok and YouTube. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to. The price covers the whole dataset, not each source on its own, and what your data is worth explains what moves it.
02
Where does Instagram show how much data you have?
The short answer
Instagram does not show how much data an account holds. The best measure is the size of the export you download from Settings > Meta Account > Your information and permissions > Export your information, which you report in GB. Only someone who can sign in to the account itself can run it.
How to measure the account
The steps below produce a real number from Instagram's own export. Each step names the menu you need.
- Sign in to the company's Instagram account, then open More (bottom left on a computer) and choose Settings, then Meta Account.
- Inside Meta Account, choose Your information and permissions, then Export your information, then Create export.
- Run an export to your device, following the steps in the export section.
- When the files have downloaded, add up their sizes. That total is the number to report.
Why the media quality setting changes the number
An export lets you choose the quality of the photos and videos it contains, and higher quality makes the files larger. Report the size from an export made at high media quality, and say which quality you chose.
Who can run it
The export process is password protected, so only the account holder can run it. A profile that is deactivated or scheduled for deletion cannot be exported, as Instagram's help page for exporting your information states.
03
What should you know about your Instagram data before you apply?
The short answer
Have three facts ready: the size of your export in GB, how many years the account has been posting and how many Instagram accounts the company runs. They go into the data manifest, the written summary of which apps hold your records, how many years each covers and roughly how much. You don't need to run an export to find them, and an estimate marked as one is fine.
The size
The size is the total of the files from a full export at high media quality. If you haven't run one, give a rough estimate of the number of posts and say it is an estimate.
The years of history
Years of history run from the date of the account's first post to today.
The number of seats
Seats are the Instagram accounts the company runs. A company with a main brand account and a separate account for each location counts all of them.
What you don't need to do first
You don't need to export anything to apply, and you don't need to clean or scrub an export. The data vendor anonymizes the records before anyone else sees them, and nothing moves until a lawyer-reviewed license is signed. The application, the intro call and each later step are laid out in how to sell your company's data.
04
How do you export your full Instagram history?
The short answer
The account holder opens Settings > Meta Account > Your information and permissions > Export your information, creates an export to their own device, and picks the information, the whole date range, the format and high media quality. Instagram then emails a download link, which may take as long as 30 days, and the files can be fetched for 4 days.
Export to your device: the steps
- Sign in as the account holder, then open More > Settings > Meta Account and go to Your information and permissions > Export your information.
- Select Create export, choose the profile, click Next and choose Export to device.
- Choose the information to include. All available information is the default and Specific types of information lets you pick each kind.
- Pick the full date range, the format (JSON or HTML), the email address that should be notified and high media quality. Finish with Start export.
- When the email arrives, open Available downloads and download the files within 4 days. Earlier requests are listed under Past requests.
Instagram's export guide also offers exporting to an external service, which allows the original media to be exported.
JSON or HTML?
JSON is a structured format that software can read directly, which makes it the better choice if the data will be shared or processed. HTML arrives as a ZIP file with an index file that you open like a web page, which is easier for a person to browse.
Choosing which information to include
The default option, Available information, leaves out data logs. The Specific types of information option covers all of that and the data logs as well, and it lets you tick individual types such as photos, messages or data logs, as Instagram's page on information available to download explains.
Timing and limits
Instagram warns that the email with the download link may take up to 30 days. After it arrives, the files remain available for just 4 days, so be ready to download them the day the email lands.
What an Instagram export leaves out
The export does not include information that other people shared, such as photos where the account was tagged. Some deleted information is stored for a time for safety reasons but does not appear in the export.
How long an export takes
Instagram gives a worst case of 30 days, and many exports arrive sooner. Start the request early and watch the email address you gave.
Sources: Instagram Help Center, Review and export a copy of your Instagram information and Information available to download from your Instagram profile. Steps checked against these pages in November 2026.
05
What stays private when Instagram data is licensed?
The short answer
The company decides which kinds of information are in the export, and direct messages can be left out by picking specific types instead of everything. The data vendor anonymizes the records before an AI lab sees them. The company keeps ownership of its posts, and the license covers defined material for a defined use.
You choose what is in scope
Direct messages hold private conversations with customers, and they are the first thing most companies leave out. Choosing specific types of information when you export keeps them out, as the diagram shows.
What anonymization covers
Anonymization means replacing every detail that identifies a person, such as a name, a username or an email address, with a stand-in that is the same every time it appears. Captions and comments can mention customers by name, so the data vendor applies this to text before an AI lab sees it. The method, including what is deleted outright and how you review samples, is in how company data is anonymized for AI training.
Ownership and payment
Licensing gives the buyer limited rights to a copy, while the company keeps ownership of the originals. The terms that matter, such as exclusivity, permitted use and deletion, are covered in data licensing. micro1 pays in full within 30 days of accepting the data, usually as a single payment.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Should we choose HTML or JSON for the Instagram export?
JSON, if the data will be shared. JSON is structured and software can read it directly, and HTML is easier for a person to browse.
How long does an Instagram export take?
Instagram allows itself up to 30 days to email the link. After that, the files can be downloaded for 4 days.
Does the Instagram export include our photos and videos?
Yes, in the quality you pick, and higher quality video makes the files larger. Choose all available information for the fullest export.
Does the export include direct messages?
It can. Choose Specific types of information and untick messages if you want them left out, and tick them if you want the conversations included.
Can we export an Instagram account that is deactivated?
No. Instagram cannot export a profile that is deactivated or scheduled for deletion, so reactivate it first if you still need the history.
Do we need to export Instagram before we apply?
No. The application takes about two minutes and shares no data. You only need an approximate size, your years of history and the number of accounts the company runs for the intro call. The export is needed later, when the records are transferred after you sign the license.
What is Instagram data worth to AI labs and data vendors?
An account history is priced as part of a whole dataset rather than on its own. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, and the price depends on the years of history and how completely the records show real work. What your data is worth explains the factors.
Bottom line
Know what is in Instagram, then see what it is worth
You don't need to export anything to apply. Apply in two minutes, describe your records on the intro call, and micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to, prices the whole dataset and sends an offer 1–2 days later.
Not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures come from micro1's published pages and public reporting as of November 2026.