I was playing with the Instagram API and I noticed something. I can see only myself when requesting things like likes on my own media. Also, for media that is not mine, it returns a 404:
{
"meta": {
"error_type": "APINotFoundError",
"code": 400,
"error_message": "invalid media id"
}
}
Also, for the follower list, it returns nothing, or myself only for people I've followed. Why is this so?
I have also set the right scopes in my access token.
This is part of the Instagram API's new security feature.
Read this page to know more about. Everything can be seen in this line:
Every new app created on the Instagram Platform starts in Sandbox mode. Apps in this mode can use any API endpoint but are restricted to a limited number of users and media. This is great for developing and testing your app.
To go Live and fully access Instagram content, you will need to submit your application for review and approval. Once reviewed, you will only be able to request users the Permission Scopes for which your app was approved. Because of this, your application may not be able to use some API endpoints unless the corresponding permissions were reviewed and approved.
(Emphasis mine.)
That means that you can only see some things when your app is in sandbox mode. That will be your media and yourself.
If you didn't like a post and requested to see who liked it, you will get back no one!
You need your app to be reviewed. That means the Instagram team will take a look at it, and if it's valid, that will approve your review.
Read this page on how to submit your review, this page on what's valid for review, and this page on the criteria for the review.