Show HN: IG-Profile-Viewer – View Instagram posts and reels without login
ig-profile-viewer.comI built IG-Profile-Viewer.com because I wanted a more streamlined way to access the public web. After working on similar tools like TwitterWebViewer, I realized there's a real need for a clean, direct interface when browsing public social media content.
What it does: It provides a lightweight bridge to browse public profiles. I’ve focused on making the most important parts of the profile accessible: Main Feed: High-res images and posts. Reels: Seamless video and reel playback. Tagged: Access to public posts where the user is tagged.
Technical Details: Next.js 14 (App Router) & TypeScript: Built for speed and a snappy mobile experience. Optimized Data Fetching: The core challenge was ensuring stability and a smooth experience when loading media-heavy feeds like Reels and Tagged posts. I've focused heavily on the backend architecture to keep the delivery fast and reliable. Architecture: The UI is built with Tailwind CSS to keep it minimal and responsive.
Why I built this: Sometimes you just need to check a public business or a creator's profile quickly without the usual friction of modern social platforms. I wanted to build a "one-click" solution that just works. Current State: It currently supports public profiles only. I’m still working on refining certain media types, but the core posts, reels, and tagged sections are live. I'm a solo dev with a long background in product and architecture. I’d love to hear your feedback on the loading speeds and the overall UX!
Link: https://ig-profile-viewer.com A quick technical update for those interested in the internals: The main hurdle was IG’s aggressive image/video hotlinking protection. I ended up moving the media resolution to Next.js 14 Server Components. This allows me to strip tracking headers before the data reaches the client. I've also been experimenting with Edge Runtime to minimize TTFB, as standard serverless functions had too much cold-start latency for a media-heavy feed. The result is a much snappier feel than the official web app. If anyone's curious about how I'm handling the stream piping or edge caching, I'm happy to chat! For those curious about the internals: I’m leveraging Next.js 14’s App Router and server-side data fetching to bypass the heavy client-side tracking usually found on IG. The main challenge was architecting a stable media proxy for high-res Reels and Tagged content without triggering rate-limits. Happy to discuss the backend scaling if anyone's interested!