How to Scrape Facebook (and Why You Might Not Need To)

When people search for “how to scrape Facebook,” what they usually mean is “how to collect data from Facebook.” Today, scraping is far from the only method available — in fact, it's often not the best one, though.

And if you’re interested in gathering public data from Facebook, it’s the place to be. In this guide, we’ll break down the popular methods to collect Facebook data, so that you can find the best one for your project.

Facebook Scrape Tools: What Are They?

Being a top-ranked social network around the world, Facebook is one of the largest source of content that can be used not only for fun. As of Q4 2024, Facebook had more than 3 billion monthly active users worldwide (3.35 billion daily active users across Meta’s core products), Facebook offers gigabyte of user-generated content to analyze for driving both commercial and non-commercial projects.

Yet, to get the information for further analysis is the task that needs to be handled ASAP. That’s why the range of solutions for automation in the process emerged, including but not limited to Facebook scrape tools.

Top Ways to Collect Facebook Data

So, today, if you need to scrape data from Facebook, you need to choose an efficient tool that will cope with that task of web scraping Facebook or fetching public data from the social media platform. Here is our tools shortlist you may appreciate the most.

Tool #1 Web Scraping Tools

These tools automate the process of extracting publicly available data from Facebook pages. They are popular because they don’t require coding skills, yet there are some drawbacks to keep in mind:

• Vulnerable to layout and platform changes;
• Often can be suspected in violation of Facebook’s TOS and banned;
• Difficult to scale or maintain for long-term projects. 

Tool #2 Custom Scripts or Self-Developed Tools

More technical teams might write their own Python, Node.js, or Puppeteer scripts to collect data. This offers greater control and customization but also requires:

• Technical expertise and ongoing support by your own;
• Higher development and infrastructure costs;
• Limitations on scalability. 

Tool #3 APIs (Official and Third-party) 

APIs provide a structured and stable way to access Facebook’s public data. Whether using Meta’s official Graph API or advanced third-party data providers like the Data365 Social Media API, these methods allow you to:

• Access data in real-time or even more;
• Scale effortlessly with modern data pipelines;
• High customization and flexibility;
• Fast integration of the results directly into your CRM, BI, or analytics platform. 

If you're interested in sophisticated data retrieval, then Data365 API can help you with extracting public information from social media. You can contact our team to learn more about all the capabilities of our product.

What Types Of Data Can You Get When You Scrape A Facebook Page, Post, Profile, or Group?

The type of public data you can collect from Facebook really depends on what tool you use and what you aim to achieve. Below, the most common Facebook data types that can be retrieved by the major part of solutions are described.

Scraping Facebook Profile

When you scrape Facebook user profiles, you can extract the info like ID, name, photos, location, the number of followers, etc. — if publicly available. In brief, all the information you may need about users. 

This kind of data is helpful when building customer personas, identifying influencers, or benchmarking competitor presence. So, if you're trying to understand your audience or analyze public personas, collecting data from public profiles is a good place to start.

Scrape of Facebook Groups Public Data

Posts, comments, and likes in Facebook groups can help you to learn user behavior or trending topics within communities. Thus, you can scrape Facebook groups to get information about the most active users, their requests, and their needs. It is a great way to explore the market, identify the non-obvious needs of the audience, track shifts in sentiment, and even get new product ideas.

Scrape Facebook Posts and Pages

When it comes to tracking brand performance, public pages and posts are invaluable. Analyzing post content, the volume and nature of reactions, and comment threads can help you understand how people are engaging with specific campaigns or news. It's also a great way to benchmark performance over time and across different content types.

All of this information can be used to monitor brand mentions, assess emotional tone, and identify recurring keywords — critical data for business intelligence, public relations, or even academic research.

We have already covered the topic in our previous articles Facebook photo scraping and scraping Facebook posts, so you can read to learn more about methods of collecting specific data types.

Search for the tool to gather public data without limiting to Facebook? Then Data365 Social Media API definitely deserves your attention. It is designed to support commercial and research use at scale. Want more details? Reach out to our support team to find out how the API can benefit your project.

Facebook Data Scraping: How to Use and Apply

Facebook is more than a place to share moments of life, it’s a source of information that can be used to reach business objectives, conduct research, and so on. To get a broad picture, let’s look at how Facebook public data can be used in practice for both commercial and non-commercial goals.

Market and Competitor Research

Scraping public Facebook posts and pages helps identify competitor strategies, monitor pricing, and evaluate product positioning. For example, eCommerce businesses can track seasonal promotions, product mentions, or customer feedback to adjust their own offers accordingly.

Case insight: A consumer electronics brand used a data-retrieving tool to monitor product launches by competitors across Facebook. They were able to detect pricing trends and adjust their marketing in real-time.

Customer & Audience Profiling

Public profiles, pages, and group discussions reveal patterns in behavior, interests, and demographics. This is especially useful when preparing for a product launch, conducting market segmentation, or running sentiment analysis.

Case insight: A lifestyle brand targeting Gen Z used Facebook group data to discover rising micro-trends and language preferences in specific regions, helping them tailor campaigns that clicked.

Campaign & Content Performance

Whether you’re running ads or publishing organic content, scraping post engagement (likes, comments, shares) helps gauge what's working — and what’s not. Historical tracking allows teams to optimize future campaigns based on real audience feedback.

Case insight: A political communications agency used public Facebook comments and reactions to analyze voter sentiment around candidate statements during election season — helping to adjust messaging on the fly.

Media Monitoring & Event Reaction

Tracking real-time reactions to breaking news or major events (product recalls, public speeches, sports moments) gives brands and institutions early insight into public sentiment shifts.

Case insight: A media monitoring firm used Facebook data to track how international media events were covered and reacted to across different regions, helping newsrooms tailor local content coverage.

With the right tools, including structured data access via the Data365 Social Media APIs, these use cases can scale from a few data points to thousands of insights. Curious what this could look like for your business? Explore more case studies to see how data powers different projects across industries.

How to Scrape Facebook – Or Should You?

“Scraping” is usually used as a collective name for all the possible data-retrieving tools. But let’s be honest – it's rarely the smartest option anymore. Today, the market offers dozens of options that can be much more effective, fitting your project perfectly. And APIs are the leaders among the others. APIs are fast, reliable, and built to adapt to change. They offer a wide range of options, customization, flexibility, and convenience in usage, if to name a few advantages.

If you're looking for a smarter way to collect Facebook data, the Data365 Social Media API is worth your attention. Whether you're a startup, enterprise, or researcher working with large datasets, Data365 lets you access public data from Facebook and other major platforms — all through one unified, scalable tool.

Want to know if it fits your project? Reach out to our team, share your goals, and let’s explore what’s possible together.