Instagram API Reels total_interactions: how it is calculated
Instagram's insights reference defines total_interactions as likes, saves, comments and shares minus unlikes and deletions, and marks it in development.
Instagram's insights reference says total_interactions for a Reel is likes, saves, comments and shares, minus unlikes, unsaves and deleted comments. The page marks total_interactions, views and reels_skip_rate as in development, so their methods may change.
From the IG Media insights reference, read 2026-10-02.
The Reels metrics on the page
Definitions as the page words them.
| Metric | Definition on the page |
|---|---|
| views | Total number of times the IG Media has been played on Instagram |
| reach | Unique users who viewed the Reel at least once |
| shares | Number of shares of the Reel |
| reposts | Reposts minus deleted reposts |
| ig_reels_avg_watch_time | Average viewing duration per Reel |
| reels_skip_rate | Percentage of viewers who skipped within the first 3 seconds |
| total_interactions | Likes, saves, comments and shares, minus unlikes, unsaves and deleted comments |
What the changelog adds
The April 22, 2026 changelog entry lists reposts_count, saved_count and shares_count, plus aggregated total_like_count, total_comments_count and total_views_count. The insights page says the total_likes, total_comments and total_views style metrics include promoted content and are for Facebook Login only. Field names differ between the two pages, so test a real call before you hard-code a column.
A reporting habit that survives changes
Three habits.
- Store the metric name and the date you pulled it. A definition marked in development can move.
- Do not add
total_interactionsand its parts together. It already contains them. - Report
viewsandtotal_interactionsside by side, not one as a stand-in for the other.
Where Sume fits
Sume's docs do not list an Instagram insights reader, so pull these numbers from Instagram itself. Where Sume helps is the file side: if you make several cuts of one Reel with video trim, record the job id and your Idempotency-Key next to each published media id. Later you can tie a cut to its numbers.
Sources
Related posts
More in Developers
- Instagram content_publishing_limit: read quota_usage before a bulk run
Read GET /<IG_USER_ID>/content_publishing_limit before queuing Reels. Meta's pages cite 100 posts per 24 hours and show quota_total 50, so do not hard-code it.
- Why a published Instagram Reel shows media_type VIDEO
A published Reel reads back as media_type VIDEO, so test media_product_type to tell it from other video. Here is the check, plus a file preflight with Sume.
- Instagram Reels 300 MB file limit: bitrate budget by length
Instagram's Reels API caps files at 300 MB and 25 Mbps. Past about 96 seconds the file size binds. The average bitrate per length, and what Sume can check.
- Instagram Reels API frame rate 23 to 60: set fps in Sume
Meta's Reels API accepts 23 to 60 fps. Sume trim and Timeline output fps takes 24, 25, 30 or 60, and warns when it resamples. What to pick for a Reel.
Written by Sume