Intermittent partial response from /v1/metadata for Instagram Reels: author present but media.thumbnailUrl and author.avatarUrl missing

For Instagram Reel URLs, the GET /v1/metadata endpoint intermittently returns a response that includes the author display name but omits the thumbnail and the author avatar. The same URL returns a complete response on most requests, so this appears to be a transient server-side issue rather than missing data for the post.

Endpoint: GET https://api.supadata.ai/v1/metadata?url=<instagram-reel-url>

Example URL that reproduces it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXzqhy6pfR-/

Reproduction and frequency:

• At roughly 2.5 requests/sec: ~1 in 6 requests returned the partial response.

• Spaced 2 seconds apart, which is within a 1 request/sec plan limit: still ~2 in 8 requests returned the partial response.

Because it reproduces with 2 second spacing on a 1 req/sec plan, this is not a rate-limit effect. It is an intermittent server-side issue on the same URL.

Expected response (majority of requests):

• author.displayName present

• author.avatarUrl present

• media.thumbnailUrl present

Actual response (intermittent, ~20 to 25% of requests for the same URL):

• author.displayName present

• author.avatarUrl missing or empty

• media.thumbnailUrl missing or empty

Questions:

1. Under what conditions can /v1/metadata return author.displayName without media.thumbnailUrl / author.avatarUrl for a post that does have them?

2. Is there a field or status in the response we should check to detect an incomplete result, rather than treating any 200 as complete?

3. Is there a recommended retry or backoff approach, or a parameter to force a fully resolved response?