Are you stuck while using most of the Instagram-based applications? If yes, you need to know how to get an Instagram client ID (access token). Since the concept is fairly new and involves a lot of technical understanding and input, it isn’t surprising that people aren’t often aware of the subject or how to get the same.
After a lot of research and better understanding, we have managed to sort out all the important information that you need to be mindful of.
This post gets into the details about Instagram access tokens, the significance, and how you can get one for yourself.
What is an Instagram Client ID (Access Token)?
An access token is an opaque string that helps with the proper identification of the user, app, or the page that one is trying to access. Typically, any kind of authenticated request via Instagram will need an Instagram Client ID or access token.
The use of Instagram access token is typically used for almost every kind of Instagram-based app that you are indulging in.
How to Get an Instagram Access Token?
Now that you know what an access token does, let us walk you through the steps on how to get an Instagram client ID (access token).
Since the process involves a lot of technicalities, we have broken them down into six individual steps that you can thoroughly follow for the best results. Here’s what you need to do:
Start with the Facebook app
The very first step is to create a Facebook app. This is what sorts out most of the process and streamlines getting the token.
- You need to visit https://developers.facebook.com/ .
- Once you are there, click on My Apps and you have to create a new app from there.
- Once done, navigate to Settings and then tap on Basic
- Once you are there, click on Add Platform
Work on the Instagram basic display
Once you are done with the Facebook app, the next step is to move ahead and then build your Instagram’s basic display.
- For doing this, you need to click on the Products button under Facebook developers
- Find an Instagram product from the drop-down list
- Click on Set up
To complete the profile, you need to keep a check on multiple factors, including:
- The first thing is the display name. This is where you need to enter the name of the newly created Facebook app in the previous step.
- You have to enter the website URL and then ensure to save the changes that you make.
- Also, make the changes to the URL that authenticates the deauthorization notifications. You must do this.
Once you are done with these basic steps, you can then move ahead to the next part of how to get an Instagram client ID (access token).
Add the Instagram test user
Under the Facebook developers section, you need to navigate to Roles and then find the Instagram Testers section.
- From there, tap on “Add Instagram testers” enter the name of your Instagram account, and click to forward the invitation.
- In another fresh tab on the browser, open www.instagram.com and sign in to the Instagram account that you just sent the invite to.
- You will find the invite under Edit Profile > Apps and Websites > Tester Invites and accept the invitation.
Authentication process
Once your Instagram account is eligible and integrated with the Facebook app, you need to authenticate the test user next.
Here’s what you have to do:
- First, you need to find Instagram’s App ID. You can find it in this address – App Dashboard > Products > Instagram > Basic Display > Instagram App ID.
- Once you have that, replace the App ID with the Instagram App ID in the Authorization Window URL.
- Once done, you need to open your browser and then load the Authorization Window URL.
- For authentication, you need to sign in to the specific Authorization Window that pops up.
- Click on “Authorize” for granting your made Facebook app access to the individual data you are working with.
- This will then redirect you to the Authorization code.
Exchange the code
Once you have the authentication code with you, the user can then go ahead and exchange it for the Instagram access token. Here’s what you need to do:
Open any command line tool and type in the following:
curl -X POST \ https://api.instagram.com/oauth/access_token \ -F client_id={app-id} \ -F client_secret={app-secret} \ -F grant_type=authorization_code \ -F redirect_uri={ redirect-uri} \ -F code={code}
The {app-id}, {app-secret}, {redirect-uri}, and {code} are generic. You need to enter your Instagram app ID there.
Following this, the API will redirect the user with a JSON encoded object with the token. Copy the access token. It should look something like this –
{ “access_token”: “IGQVJ…”, “user_id”: 17841405793187218 }
Query the user node
The last step in the process is to query the user node for the subjective user ID and the username that you have. You need to swap out the user ID and the access token with the one that you receive, as shown in the last step.
If you were confused about how to get an Instagram client ID (access token), we hope this guide gives you a quick rundown of all the steps. It is no doubt a very complicated process. However, we’d recommend that you focus on sorting out the issue by following the individual steps that we have mentioned here. Also, if you are looking to enhance the reach of your account, you can buy Instagram likes to have a better engagement rate.