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Everything you need to know about Later Social

    Why Instagram Analytics Data Might Be Missing in Later

    Tyler Lucas Barr
    • Updated

    In this Article:

    If you’re missing Instagram analytics data in Later, there are several possible reasons. This article explains the most common causes, requirements, and limitations.

    Common Reasons Instagram Analytics Are Missing

    1. Your Instagram account needs to be reconnected

    If your Instagram Business or Creator profile is disconnected from Later, analytics collection may stop. To fix this, refresh your social profile connection in Later to restart data collection. 

    2. Not all required permissions were granted

    Later needs full permissions to access Instagram analytics through Facebook. If permissions are missing, analytics data cannot be pulled.

    To learn how to log in through Facebook and grant permissions to all relevant pages, see Reset your Instagram connection in Later to learn more. 

    3. You have fewer than 100 followers

    Due to Instagram limitations, accounts with fewer than 100 followers cannot access certain audience insights, including age, gender, location, or language. 

    Furthermore, your posts will only be displayed if you created the post–not if you were invited to make an Instagram Collaborator post. 

    Scenario: A post is missing time-based performance charts

    Time-based performance charts may be unavailable if your Instagram account was temporarily disconnected at the time the post was published.

    To fix this, refresh your Instagram connection in Later. 

    Important: Posts do not need to be scheduled or published through Later to appear in analytics. Missing charts are typically caused by a temporary connection issue that needs to be refreshed.

    Backfilling Instagram Analytics Data

    Later collects two types of Instagram analytics data: historical and real-time. Whether data can be recovered depends on the type of data that is missing. Historical data can be backfilled while real-time data cannot.

    Historical data 

    Historical data is stored on the Instagram API. If your Instagram profile connection expires and you see gaps in your analytics, Later may be able to backfill this data.

    Important: Historical data is not unlimited. It only goes back to the date your Instagram profile enabled Auto Publish.

    Later will try to backfill:

    • Reels 
    • Audience Analytics 
    • Post Performance & Details (only current totals can be backfilled with today’s numbers)
    • Hashtag Analytics & Details 

    Real-time data 

    Real-time data is collected as it happens and is not stored or archived by Instagram. Because the data isn’t stored historically, there is no data available for Later to retrieve after the fact.

    Real-time data that cannot be backfilled include: 

    • Followers
    • Views
    • 2 Week Post Performance
    • Story Performance & Details
    Example: You see you're missing Instagram Stories performance data from January 1–5 due to a disconnected profile. Since Stories data is collected during a 24-hour window and isn’t archived, Later cannot backfill this data.

    Limitations

    • Most Instagram analytics in Later are available on desktop, not mobile.
    • Analytics can take up to 24 hours to appear after:
      • Connecting an Instagram profile
      • Refreshing your profile connection
      • Switching to a Business or Creator profile
      • Upgrading your Later plan
    • Later does not include analytics for boosted (paid) Instagram posts.
    • Plan limits:
      • Starter plan includes 3 months of analytics
      • Growth plan or higher includes up to 1 year of analytics
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