Scrape Facebook profiles with SerpApi's Facebook Profile API. Look up a Facebook page or profile by its username or ID, and get its name, ID, category, intro text, follower count, verification, profile picture, cover photo, links to its website and other social networks, and photos, plus the address, phone number, email, opening status, price range, rating, and reviews of businesses, and the city, work, and education of public figures.
Get the details of a Facebook page or profile with a simple GET request:
https://serpapi.com/search?engine=facebook_profile&profile_id=Meta&api_key=SERPAPI_API_KEY
profile_idis the username or ID of the profile, from its link on Facebook, e.g.,Metainhttps://www.facebook.com/Meta, or the number in aprofile.php?id=link, e.g.,100064806517961inhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064806517961for Katz's Delicatessen. Use the username with the same capitalization as in the link.api_keyis your SerpApi API key. ReplaceSERPAPI_API_KEYwith it.
Facebook redirects some IDs to another link, and the response then has no profile and the error "Facebook Profile hasn't returned any results for this query." This happens for some numeric IDs, e.g., Meta's 100080376596424, which Facebook redirects to https://www.facebook.com/Meta, and for some usernames with a different capitalization, e.g., meta. Use the username when the profile has one, spelled as in its link or in the url of a previous response.
Register at SerpApi to get your API key, and keep it private.
Try the request live in the SerpApi Playground.
The code examples read your API key from the SERPAPI_API_KEY environment variable:
export SERPAPI_API_KEY="SERPAPI_API_KEY"Each example gets the Meta page and prints its name, category, and number of followers, followed by the title and URL of each of its links.
Send the request with curl, which prints the full JSON response:
curl --get https://serpapi.com/search \
--data-urlencode engine="facebook_profile" \
--data-urlencode profile_id="Meta" \
--data-urlencode api_key="$SERPAPI_API_KEY"Install the SerpApi JavaScript library and set your project to use ES modules:
npm install serpapi
npm pkg set type=moduleCreate an index.js file:
import { getJson } from "serpapi";
const results = await getJson({
engine: "facebook_profile",
api_key: process.env.SERPAPI_API_KEY,
profile_id: "Meta",
});
const profile = results.profile_results ?? {};
console.log(profile.name, profile.category, profile.followers);
for (const link of profile.links ?? []) {
console.log(`${link.title}: ${link.link}`);
}Run it with node index.js.
Install the SerpApi Python library:
pip install serpapiCreate a main.py file:
import os
import serpapi
client = serpapi.Client(api_key=os.getenv("SERPAPI_API_KEY"))
results = client.search({
"engine": "facebook_profile",
"profile_id": "Meta",
})
profile = results.get("profile_results", {})
print(profile.get("name"), profile.get("category"), profile.get("followers"))
for link in profile.get("links", []):
print(f"{link['title']}: {link['link']}")Run it with python main.py.
Install the SerpApi Ruby library:
gem install serpapiCreate a main.rb file:
require "serpapi"
client = SerpApi::Client.new(engine: "facebook_profile", api_key: ENV.fetch("SERPAPI_API_KEY"))
results = client.search(profile_id: "Meta")
profile = results.fetch(:profile_results, {})
puts "#{profile[:name]} #{profile[:category]} #{profile[:followers]}"
profile.fetch(:links, []).each do |link|
puts "#{link[:title]}: #{link[:link]}"
end
client.closeRun it with ruby main.rb.
Install the SerpApi PHP library:
composer require serpapi/serpapi-phpCreate an index.php file:
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
use SerpApi\Client;
$client = new Client(getenv('SERPAPI_API_KEY'), 'facebook_profile');
$results = $client->search([
'profile_id' => 'Meta',
]);
$profile = $results->profile_results ?? null;
echo ($profile->name ?? '') . ' ' . ($profile->category ?? '') . ' ' . ($profile->followers ?? '') . PHP_EOL;
foreach ($profile->links ?? [] as $link) {
echo $link->title . ': ' . $link->link . PHP_EOL;
}Run it with php index.php.
Create a Go module and install the SerpApi Go library:
go mod init example.com/facebook-profile
go get github.com/serpapi/serpapi-golangCreate a main.go file:
package main
import (
"fmt"
"os"
"github.com/serpapi/serpapi-golang"
)
func main() {
setting := serpapi.NewSerpApiClientSetting(os.Getenv("SERPAPI_API_KEY"))
setting.Engine = "facebook_profile"
client := serpapi.NewClient(setting)
results, err := client.Search(map[string]string{
"profile_id": "Meta",
})
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
profile, _ := results["profile_results"].(map[string]interface{})
fmt.Println(profile["name"], profile["category"], profile["followers"])
links, _ := profile["links"].([]interface{})
for _, item := range links {
link := item.(map[string]interface{})
fmt.Printf("%v: %v\n", link["title"], link["link"])
}
}Run it with go run ..
Create a Cargo project and add the SerpApi Rust library and Tokio:
cargo new facebook-profile && cd facebook-profile
cargo add serpapi tokio --features tokio/fullReplace src/main.rs with:
use serpapi::serpapi::Client;
use std::collections::HashMap;
use std::env;
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let mut default = HashMap::new();
default.insert("api_key".to_string(), env::var("SERPAPI_API_KEY")?);
default.insert("engine".to_string(), "facebook_profile".to_string());
let client = Client::new(default)?;
let mut parameter = HashMap::new();
parameter.insert("profile_id".to_string(), "Meta".to_string());
let results = client.search(parameter).await?;
let profile = &results["profile_results"];
println!(
"{} {} {}",
profile["name"].as_str().unwrap_or_default(),
profile["category"].as_str().unwrap_or_default(),
profile["followers"].as_str().unwrap_or_default()
);
if let Some(links) = profile["links"].as_array() {
for link in links {
println!(
"{}: {}",
link["title"].as_str().unwrap_or_default(),
link["link"].as_str().unwrap_or_default()
);
}
}
Ok(())
}Run it with cargo run.
Official libraries are also available for Java, .NET, Swift, and C++. See SerpApi integrations for setup guides, or use a simple GET request from any programming language.
Failed requests return an HTTP error status and a JSON body with an error message. The most common are 401 for an invalid API key, 400 for a missing required parameter such as profile_id, and 429 when you exceed your hourly throughput limit or run out of searches. See API status and error codes for the full list.
A request without a profile still returns 200, with search_metadata.status set to Success, search_information.profile_results_state set to Fully empty, and the error "Facebook Profile hasn't returned any results for this query.", so check for error before reading profile_results. This happens for a profile ID that doesn't exist, where Facebook shows "This content isn't available right now", and for an ID that Facebook redirects to another link.
Choose structured JSON for applications or Markdown for LLMs and AI agents:
- JSON is the default output and is useful when you need individual result fields.
- Add
output=mdto receive Markdown instead, which is more token-efficient.
Markdown is plain text, not JSON: YAML front matter with the search metadata, followed by the details of the profile as a list, and tables of its links and photos. Personal profiles also get tables of their work and education. For a request without a profile, the search information and the error follow the front matter instead. Read the response body as text instead of parsing it.
| Client | Markdown request |
|---|---|
| curl | --data-urlencode output="md" |
| Python | client.search({..., "output": "md"}) |
| PHP | $client->md([...]) |
| Go | client.Md(map[string]string{...}) |
| Rust | client.md(parameter).await? |
If your SDK doesn't have a Markdown helper yet, send a plain HTTP request with output=md and read the body as text. Learn more about Markdown output.
See the Facebook Profile API documentation for more details.
| Name | Description | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Search query | ||
profile_id |
The username or ID of the Facebook profile, from its link on Facebook (e.g., Meta in https://www.facebook.com/Meta), or the number in a profile.php?id= link (e.g., 100064806517961 in https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064806517961 for Katz's Delicatessen). Use the username with the same capitalization as in the link. When Facebook redirects the ID to another link, the response has no profile. This happens for some numeric IDs (e.g., Meta's 100080376596424, redirected to https://www.facebook.com/Meta) and for some usernames with a different capitalization (e.g., meta). |
Required |
| SerpApi parameters | ||
engine |
Set to facebook_profile. |
Required |
api_key |
Your private SerpApi API key. | Required |
no_cache |
Set to true to request fresh results instead of using the one-hour cache. Can't be combined with async. |
Optional |
async |
Set to true for later retrieval through the Searches Archive API. Can't be combined with no_cache or used with Ludicrous Speed enabled. |
Optional |
zero_trace |
Enterprise only. Set to true to skip storing search parameters, files, and metadata on SerpApi servers. |
Optional |
output |
Set to json (default), html for the raw HTML retrieved from Facebook, or md for Markdown. |
Optional |
json_restrictor |
Limit the JSON response to the fields you need. See the JSON Restrictor documentation. | Optional |
profile_results describes the page or profile: its name, IDs, pictures, follower counts, intro, and category, plus the contact details, opening status, and reviews of businesses, its links, and 9 of its photos. The field guides below describe the possible fields and their types; they aren't literal API responses.
Some fields appear only when Facebook shows them:
| Profile | Fields |
|---|---|
| A business with a location, e.g., a restaurant, museum, or hotel | address, phone, email, business_hours with whether it's open now, e.g., Closed now, and price_range, e.g., $$ for Katz's Delicatessen. Media outlets, universities, and government pages can have some of them too, e.g., an email for NASA |
| A page with reviews, e.g., Katz's Delicatessen, The Met, Meta, or The White House | rating with the share of reviewers who recommend the page, e.g., 98%, and reviews with their number, e.g., 52467 |
| A page of a company or an organization | managed_by with the organization responsible for the page, from Facebook's Page transparency, e.g., Executive Office of the President for The White House |
| A verified page or profile | verified set to true. Unverified pages, e.g., Katz's Delicatessen and The Ritz London, have no verified |
| A page with a story, e.g., the American Red Cross | has_stories set to true |
| A page or profile with intro text | profile_intro_text, and profile_type set to PAGE for pages. Pages without intro text, e.g., Nike, have neither |
A personal profile of a public figure, e.g., Mark Zuckerberg (zuck) |
profile_type set to PROFILE, and current_city, hometown, relationship, educations, and works |
| Another personal profile | alternate_name, and about_details with the work and education sections of the profile |
Each profile has an id, its numeric Facebook ID, and a url with the username as Facebook spells it, e.g., https://www.facebook.com/theritzlondon for TheRitzLondon. followers and following are strings as Facebook shows them, e.g., 106M. The links to the profile picture, cover photo, and photos are signed Facebook links that expire, e.g., 4 days after the request, so request the profile again for fresh links. There's no pagination: each response describes one profile.
profile_results describes the profile:
{
"profile_results": {
"name": "String - Name of the page or profile, e.g., Meta",
"id": "String - Facebook ID of the profile, e.g., 100080376596424",
"url": "String - Link to the profile on Facebook, e.g., https://www.facebook.com/Meta",
"gender": "String - Gender of the profile on Facebook: neuter for most pages, male or female for people and some public figures' pages, or unknown",
"verified": "Boolean - true if the profile is verified",
"profile_picture": "String - Link to the profile picture",
"cover_photo": "String - Link to the cover photo",
"has_stories": "Boolean - true if the profile has a story",
"followers": "String - Number of followers, as shown on Facebook, e.g., 106M",
"following": "String - Number of profiles the profile follows, e.g., 48",
"profile_type": "String - Type of the profile: PAGE or PROFILE",
"profile_intro_text": "String - Intro text of the profile, e.g., Connect with what you love to make things happen.",
"category": "String - Category of the profile, e.g., Company, Deli, Government organization, or Public figure",
"address": "String - Address of the business, as shown on Facebook, e.g., 205 E Houston St, New York, NY, United States, New York",
"phone": "String - Phone number, e.g., (212) 254-2246",
"email": "String - Email address, e.g., cs@katzsdelicatessen.com",
"business_hours": "String - Whether the business is open now, e.g., Closed now or Always open",
"price_range": "String - Price range, from $ to $$$$, e.g., $$",
"managed_by": "String - Organization responsible for the page, e.g., KATZ DELICATESSEN OF HOUSTON STREET INC",
"rating": "String - Share of the reviewers who recommend the page, e.g., 98%",
"reviews": "Integer - Number of reviews, e.g., 52467"
}
}verified and has_stories only appear when they're true. following is missing on some pages, e.g., Meta and Google. business_hours has the opening status Facebook shows next to the hours, not the hours themselves.
links lists the website and the other social network profiles shown on the profile, e.g., Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn:
{
"profile_results": {
"links": [
{
"title": "String - Text of the link on Facebook, e.g., meta.com",
"link": "String - URL of the link, e.g., https://meta.com/",
"icon": "String - Link to the icon of the link"
}
]
}
}photos has the 9 photos Facebook shows in the Photos section of the profile, which aren't always the latest ones:
{
"profile_results": {
"photos": [
{
"link": "String - Link to the photo",
"owner": {
"type": "String - Type of the owner of the photo, e.g., User",
"id": "String - Facebook ID of the owner of the photo, e.g., 100080376596424"
}
}
]
}
}owner.type is User for pages too.
Personal profiles of public figures, e.g., Mark Zuckerberg's, have the details from the intro of the profile:
{
"profile_results": {
"current_city": "String - Current city, e.g., Palo Alto, California",
"hometown": "String - Hometown, e.g., Dobbs Ferry, New York",
"relationship": "String - Relationship status",
"educations": [
{
"title": "String - Education, as shown on Facebook, e.g., Studied Computer Science and Psychology at Harvard University",
"name": "String - Name of the school, e.g., Harvard University",
"facebook_link": "String - Link to the Facebook page of the school, e.g., https://www.facebook.com/Harvard"
}
],
"works": [
{
"title": "String - Work, as shown on Facebook, e.g., Founder and CEO at Meta",
"name": "String - Name of the workplace, e.g., Meta",
"link": "String - Link to the workplace",
"facebook_link": "String - Link to the Facebook page of the workplace, e.g., https://www.facebook.com/Meta"
}
]
}
}Other personal profiles have about_details instead, with a section for work and for each level of education:
{
"profile_results": {
"alternate_name": "String - Alternate name of the person",
"about_details": [
{
"section_type": "String - Type of the section: work, college, or secondary_school",
"title": "String - Title of the section, e.g., Work, College, or High school",
"items": [
{
"title": "String - Work or education, as shown on Facebook",
"name": "String - Name of the workplace or school",
"facebook_link": "String - Link to the Facebook page of the workplace or school",
"duration": "String - Period of the work or education",
"location": "String - Location of the workplace",
"icon": "String - Link to the picture of the workplace or school"
}
]
}
]
}
}Give AI agents and assistants a Facebook profile lookup tool with the hosted SerpApi MCP server at https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp.
Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http serpapi https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer $SERPAPI_API_KEY"Codex, which reads the key from SERPAPI_API_KEY:
codex mcp add serpapi --url https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp --bearer-token-env-var SERPAPI_API_KEYOther MCP clients:
{
"mcpServers": {
"serpapi": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.serpapi.com/SERPAPI_API_KEY/mcp"
}
}
}The server's engine catalog includes the facebook_profile engine, and its serpapi://engines/facebook_profile resource describes the parameters. Ask your agent to get the details of a Facebook page, e.g., its followers, links, or contact details, with the facebook_profile engine. The resulting tool call looks like this:
{
"name": "search",
"arguments": {
"params": {
"engine": "facebook_profile",
"profile_id": "Meta"
}
}
}See the MCP integration guide for more clients and self-hosting.
Get Facebook profile details from your terminal or from AI agent workflows with the SerpApi CLI:
brew tap serpapi/homebrew-tap
brew install serpapi-cliThe CLI picks up SERPAPI_API_KEY from your environment. You can also run serpapi login to save a key.
serpapi search engine=facebook_profile profile_id=Meta
serpapi search engine=facebook_profile profile_id=Meta --fields "profile_results.{name, category, followers, links}"
serpapi search engine=facebook_profile profile_id=Meta output=mdUse SerpApi APIs without writing code:
- Track the followers, ratings, and reviews of your brand's Facebook page and your competitors' pages over time.
- Enrich a list of businesses with the address, phone number, email, website, and price range from their Facebook pages.
- Find the website and the Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts of a brand from the links on its Facebook page.
- Research creators, public figures, and media outlets for influencer marketing, with their category, followers, and verification.
- Check whether a page is verified and which organization manages it before partnering with or citing it.
- Give AI agents, RAG pipelines, and marketing assistants a tool to look up Facebook pages.
- Facebook Marketplace Scraper: Facebook Marketplace listings
- Instagram Profile Scraper: Instagram profiles and posts by username
- YouTube Channel Scraper: YouTube channel details and videos
- Google Maps Scraper: local businesses with their address, hours, and ratings from Google Maps
Feel free to reach out at contact@serpapi.com.