Start with what is actually visible
Open an available public profile and inspect the source posts you can access without supplying account credentials to an outside tool. Visibility may change by account, location, session or platform behavior. Do not assume a public profile always exposes every video, caption, comment or metric. Do not bypass a login or access restriction.
A repeatable manual workflow
- Choose a small competitor set for a defined question.
- Record each accessible video’s source URL, publication date, caption and visible counts.
- Note the observation time, returned or reviewed count, and coverage gaps.
- Describe the opening and content directly after viewing the source; treat interpretations as hypotheses.
- Compare suitable cohorts, keeping format, post age and missing metrics visible.
- Choose one original test and a measurement plan for your own account.
Historical Instagram examples, not TikTok measurements
These retained 20-Reel samples illustrate why counts and ratios answer different questions. Their saved timestamps are shown separately. The last column is total comments divided by total likes, multiplied by 100; it is not watch time, a conversion rate or an average of individual post ratios.
| Instagram account | Reels | Saved timestamp (UTC) | Mean likes | Mean comments | Comments / likes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| @adidas | 20 | 2026-06-09T11:00:40.014Z | 507,037.15 | 3,032.1 | 0.60% |
| @glossier | 20 | 2026-06-09T11:02:08.782Z | 2,320.25 | 62.95 | 2.71% |
These samples cover different accounts and periods. The difference does not establish a winning account or transfer a benchmark to TikTok. Source counts can change after a sample is saved.
Keep the limits visible
Record the source URL, publication date and timezone, observation time, returned post count and date coverage. A public account may return incomplete data or no usable result. Missing fields remain unavailable. Views are not unique viewers, verified reach, watch time or conversions. A public post does not establish why a result occurred, and a mention does not prove a paid partnership.
Availability
V5 launches with Instagram research. This is an educational guide to public TikTok research, not an offer of new TikTok collection, a free paid report or an MCP integration. Existing customers retain their agreed terms. Contact support to confirm existing access; use current pricing for new V5 offers.
Common questions
Will every public account work without a login?
No. Inspect what is available and record restrictions or missing data. This guide does not guarantee access.
Which visible signal is best?
Choose a measure for the research question, state its definition and keep the source context. No one public counter establishes success for every objective.