Tutorial: Scraping User Videos with Fast TikTok API
The Fast TikTok API’s USER
scraping type allows you to gather data about a specific TikTok user’s profile and videos.
This is invaluable for competitor analysis, influencer identification, and understanding individual content strategies.
This guide will focus on using the API’s input UI for the USER
type. More details
about The Fast TikTok API.
Why Scrape User Data?
Scraping user data provides several benefits:
- Competitor Analysis: Track the content, engagement, and growth of your competitors.
- Influencer Identification: Find relevant influencers in your niche.
- Content Strategy Insights: Understand what types of videos perform well for specific users.
- Audience Research: Indirectly gain insights into a user’s audience by analyzing their content.
Key Input Fields for USER
When you select USER
in the “Choose Scrapping Type” (type
) field, the following input fields are used:
-
type
(Choose Scrapping Type): Set this toUSER
. -
url
(Start URL to scrape): This is where you provide the URL of the TikTok user’s profile page. The format ishttps://www.tiktok.com/@username
. For example, for the user@tiktok
, the URL would behttps://www.tiktok.com/@tiktok
. Accuracy is crucial here. You can find this URL by visiting the user’s profile on the TikTok website and copying it from your browser. -
limit
(limit): Located under the “Number of videos per search” section (expand it by clicking the>
). This is a soft limit, meaning the API will retrieve at least this many videos from the user’s profile. -
isUnlimited
(Is Unlimited): Also under “Number of videos per search.” Setting this totrue
will attempt to retrieve all videos from the user’s profile. Exercise caution: Users with a large number of videos will take a long time to scrape, and you may encounter rate limits.
Input UI Visualization:
Note that region
, keyword
, sortType
, publishTime
, and urls
are not used with the USER
type.
Example Scenarios
Example 1: Get the first 50 videos from the user @natgeo.
- Find the user’s profile URL: Go to TikTok and find Charli D’Amelio’s profile. The URL
is
https://www.tiktok.com/@natgeo
. - Configure the input:
type
:USER
url
:https://www.tiktok.com/@natgeo
limit
:50
isUnlimited
:false
Example 2: Try to get all videos from a user with a very large number of uploads (use with caution!).
type
:USER
url
:https://www.tiktok.com/@someuser
(replace with the actual URL)limit
:100
(Start with a limit, even if you intend to useisUnlimited
)isUnlimited
:true
(Only after testing with a limit)
Example 3: Get at least 20 videos from a new user @MyNewAccount.
type
:USER
url
:https://www.tiktok.com/@MyNewAccount
limit
:20
isUnlimited
:false
Tips and Considerations
- Verify the Profile URL: Double-check the URL to ensure it’s correct. A typo will result in errors.
isUnlimited
Risks: Be extremely cautious withisUnlimited
, especially for users with a large number of videos. Always start with alimit
to test.- User Privacy: Be mindful of user privacy and ethical considerations when scraping user data. Only collect publicly available information and use it responsibly.
- Rate Limits: TikTok has rate limits to prevent abuse. If you’re making a large number of requests, you may need to implement delays or use multiple API keys.