Export Instagram DMs Directly from Your Browser — No API, No Extension

Want to export your Instagram direct messages without waiting 24 hours for Instagram's data download? InstaDM-Scraper is a lightweight, browser-based Instagram DM exporter that runs directly in your DevTools Console. Developed by @miabeyefendi, it handles Instagram's virtual scroll, detects sent/received messages by analyzing DOM rendering, and outputs a clean chronological chat log with timestamps, story replies, reactions, and media labels.

📨 InstaDM-Scraper: Browser Console Instagram DM Exporter | By: @miabeyefendi

TR | Türkçe Oku | Technical Tutorial

InstaDM-Scraper is a pure JavaScript tool that extracts your complete Instagram DM history directly from the browser.
Unlike Instagram's built-in data export (which takes 12-24 hours), this script runs instantly in your DevTools Console and outputs a clean, formatted chat log.

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🔥 Why InstaDM-Scraper?

Instagram's official data download is slow and the format is messy.
InstaDM-Scraper gives you instant results with a structured output.

• 🚫 No API Keys Required
  Runs entirely in your browser — no tokens, no OAuth, no third-party services.

• 🔄 Virtual Scroll Compatible
  Instagram uses virtual scrolling (only ~10-15 messages exist in DOM at a time). This script scrolls through the entire chat and captures every message by monitoring DOM mutations.

• 📅 Chronological Output
  Messages are exported from oldest to newest with accurate timestamps.

• 🎯 Smart Sender Detection
  Identifies sent vs. received messages by analyzing role="presentation" balloon background colors (rgb(74,93,249) = sent, rgb(37,41,46) = received).

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✨ Core Features

• Full Chat Export
  Scrolls through the entire conversation history and captures every message.

• Story Reply Detection
  Identifies and labels story replies ("hikayesine yanıt verdi", "hikayesine ifade bıraktı").

• Reaction/Like Detection
  Detects emoji reactions (❤️, 😂, 🔥, etc.) on messages via aria-label and small emoji spans.

• Media Labels
  Tags shared content as [Görsel], [Reels], or [Hikaye Görseli] by analyzing <a href> paths (/reel/, /stories/).

• Timestamp Extraction
  Parses date/time from gray-colored spans matching Turkish date formats (1 Oca 2026 00:30, Paz 21:14, etc.).

• Auto-Download
  Automatically downloads the result as a .txt file.

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🛠️ Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Any Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave, etc.)
• An active Instagram session (logged in on instagram.com)

Usage

1. Open a DM conversation on Instagram Web:

   https://www.instagram.com/direct/t/XXXXXXXXX/
   

2. Open DevTools (F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I)

3. Go to the Console tab

4. Copy the entire content of instadm-scraper.js and paste it into the Console

5. Press Enter and wait — the script will:

   • Scroll to the oldest messages
   • Slowly scroll down, capturing messages at each step
   • Monitor DOM changes to ensure no messages are skipped
   • Download the result as a .txt file

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📋 Output Format

Tarih - Saat: 19 Ara 2024 23:12
Hikaye yanıtı: @xxxxxxx'un hikayesine ifade bıraktı [Hikaye Görseli]
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Tarih - Saat: 12 May 2025 00:02
Hikaye yanıtı: Nice mutlu yaşlarına [Görsel]
Gelen: Tesekkur ederiimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 😊
Gönderilen: Ricalar -❤️beğenildi
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Tarih - Saat: 5 Oca 2026 00:38
[Reels]
Gönderilen: Bunu izleyince içim bi yumuşadı sebepsizce... -❤️beğenildi
Gelen: Benimde aşkım

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🔧 How It Works — Technical Overview

Challenge	Solution
Instagram uses virtual scroll — only visible messages exist in DOM	Scrolls step by step, waits for DOM mutations before scraping
scrollTop is inverted (0 = bottom, negative = top)	Navigates from most negative → 0 (old → new)
No role="row" elements	Uses role="presentation" balloons as message containers
Sent vs. received detection	Analyzes background color of role="presentation" div
Timestamps hidden in gray spans	Color analysis (rgb ~140-170) + Turkish date regex
Reactions are tiny emoji spans	Searches parent chain up to 8 levels for small emoji spans

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📈 Version History

v1.0.0

• Full virtual scroll support with DOM mutation monitoring
• Sent/received detection via background color analysis
• Story reply, reaction, and media label detection
• Turkish date format parsing
• Auto-download as .txt

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⚠️ Disclaimer & Privacy

InstaDM-Scraper is developed for personal and educational purposes only.
This tool only reads data that is already visible to you in your own browser.

• ✅ No data is sent to any external server
• ✅ No API calls — everything runs locally
• ✅ No browser extension required
• ⚠️ Automated scraping may violate Instagram's Terms of Service

The developer is not responsible for any consequences of using this tool.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch:

   git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature

3. Commit your changes:

   git commit -m "Add AmazingFeature"

4. Push to the branch:

   git push origin feature/AmazingFeature

5. Open a Pull Request

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👨‍💻 Author

Miabeyefendi

• GitHub: @Miabeyefendi
• Project: InstaDM-Scraper (Instagram DM Scraper)

Built for privacy, designed for simplicity.