Instagram Comment Activity Deleter: Automate the deletion of all your Instagram comments from the 'Your Activity' section. Perfect for quick digital clean-up.

instagram-comment-activity-deleter.js

/**
 * This script automates the process of deleting your own Instagram comments.
 * It deletes comments in batches to avoid hitting rate limits or breaking the page.
 *
 * WARNING: This function directly manipulates the DOM and depends on the current HTML
 *  structure of Instagram's website to work. If Instagram implements changes to the
 *  activity page layout, structure, or functionality, this script may break or cause
 *  unexpected behavior. Use at your own risk and always review code before running it.
 *
 * How to use:
 * 1. Navigate to the Instagram comments page by going to:
 *    https://www.instagram.com/your_activity/interactions/comments
 * 2. Open the developer console in your web browser:
 *    - Chrome/Firefox: Press Ctrl+Shift+J (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+J (Mac)
 *    - Safari: Enable the Develop menu in Safari's Advanced preferences, then press Cmd+Option+C
 * 3. Copy and paste this entire script into the console and press Enter to run it.
 *
 * How to navigate to the comments page on instagram.com:
 * 1. Log in to Instagram on a desktop browser.
 * 2. Go to your profile by clicking on the profile icon at the bottom right.
 * 3. Click on "Your Activity" in the menu.
 * 4. Select "Interactions" and then "Comments".
 * 5. Follow the usage steps above to run this script.
 */
;(async function () {
  // Constants
  /** @const {number} - The number of comments to delete in each batch. */
  const DELETION_BATCH_SIZE = 3
  /** @const {number} - The delay between actions in milliseconds. */
  const DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS = 1000
  /** @const {number} - The delay between clicking the checkboxes in milliseconds. */
  const DELAY_BETWEEN_CHECKBOX_CLICKS_MS = 300
  /** @const {number} - The maximum number of retries for waiting operations */
  const MAX_RETRIES = 60

  /**
   * Utility function that delays execution for a given amount of time.
   * @param {number} ms - The milliseconds to delay.
   * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves after the specified delay.
   */
  const delay = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms))

  /**
   * Utility function that waits for an element to appear in the DOM before resolving.
   * @param {string} selector - The CSS selector of the element to wait for.
   * @param {number} [timeout=30000] - The maximum time to wait in milliseconds.
   * @returns {Promise<Element>} A promise that resolves with the found element.
   * @throws {Error} If the element is not found within the timeout period.
   */
  const waitForElement = async (selector, timeout = 30000) => {
    const startTime = Date.now()
    while (Date.now() - startTime < timeout) {
      const element = document.querySelector(selector)
      if (element) return element
      await delay(100)
    }
    throw new Error(`Element with selector "${selector}" not found within ${timeout}ms`)
  }

  /**
   * Utility function that clicks on a given element.
   * @param {Element} element - The element to click.
   * @throws {Error} If the element is not found.
   */
  const clickElement = async (element) => {
    if (!element) throw new Error('Element not found')
    element.click()
  }

  /**
   * Waits for the "Select" button to reappear after the page loads more comments
   * following the deletion of a batch of comments when the "Select" button
   * is hidden while a spinner indicates that more comments are loading.
   * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves when the select button reappears.
   * @throws {Error} If the select button is not found after maximum retries.
   */
  const waitForSelectButton = async () => {
    for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETRIES; i++) {
      const buttonCount = document.querySelectorAll('[role="button"]')?.length
      if (buttonCount > 1) return
      await delay(1000)
    }
    throw new Error('Select button not found after maximum retries')
  }

  /**
   * Deletes the currently selected comments.
   * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves when the comments are deleted.
   */
  const deleteSelectedComments = async () => {
    try {
      const deleteButton = await waitForElement('[aria-label="Delete"]')
      await clickElement(deleteButton)
      await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
      const confirmButton = await waitForElement('button[tabindex="0"]')
      await clickElement(confirmButton)
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Error during comment deletion:', error.message)
    }
  }

  /**
   * Deletes all user comments by selecting comments in batches.
   * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves when all comments are deleted.
   */
  const deleteActivity = async () => {
    try {
      while (true) {
        const [, selectButton] = document.querySelectorAll('[role="button"]')
        if (!selectButton) throw new Error('Select button not found')

        await clickElement(selectButton)
        await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)

        const checkboxes = document.querySelectorAll('[aria-label="Toggle checkbox"]')
        if (checkboxes.length === 0) {
          console.log('No more comments to delete')
          break
        }

        for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(DELETION_BATCH_SIZE, checkboxes.length); i++) {
          await clickElement(checkboxes[i])
          await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_CHECKBOX_CLICKS_MS)
        }

        await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
        await deleteSelectedComments()
        await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
        await waitForSelectButton()
        await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
      }
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Error in deleteActivity:', error.message)
    }
  }

  // Start the deletion process
  try {
    await deleteActivity()
    console.log('Activity deletion completed')
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Fatal error:', error.message)
  }
})()

rathmerdominik awesome work! and thank you for your contribution. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

Revision 1

Implemented a check when Instagram hits you with a Ratelimit modal to automatically press it away!

/**
 * This script automates the process of deleting your own Instagram comments.
 * It deletes comments in batches to avoid hitting rate limits or breaking the page.
 *
 * WARNING: This function directly manipulates the DOM and depends on the current HTML
 *  structure of Instagram's website to work. If Instagram implements changes to the
 *  activity page layout, structure, or functionality, this script may break or cause
 *  unexpected behavior. Use at your own risk and always review code before running it.
 *
 * How to use:
 * 1. Navigate to the Instagram comments page by going to:
 *    https://www.instagram.com/your_activity/interactions/comments
 * 2. Open the developer console in your web browser:
 *    - Chrome/Firefox: Press Ctrl+Shift+J (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+J (Mac)
 *    - Safari: Enable the Develop menu in Safari's Advanced preferences, then press Cmd+Option+C
 * 3. Copy and paste this entire script into the console and press Enter to run it.
 *
 * How to navigate to the comments page on instagram.com:
 * 1. Log in to Instagram on a desktop browser.
 * 2. Go to your profile by clicking on the profile icon at the bottom right.
 * 3. Click on "Your Activity" in the menu.
 * 4. Select "Interactions" and then "Comments".
 * 5. Follow the usage steps above to run this script.
 */
; (async function () {
    // Constants
    /** @const {number} - The number of comments to delete in each batch. */
    const DELETION_BATCH_SIZE = 20
    /** @const {number} - The delay between actions in milliseconds. */
    const DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS = 700
    /** @const {number} - The delay between clicking the checkboxes in milliseconds. */
    const DELAY_BETWEEN_CHECKBOX_CLICKS_MS = 100
    /** @const {number} - The maximum number of retries for waiting operations */
    const MAX_RETRIES = 60

    /** @const {string} - The XPath selector for the "Select" button */
    const XPATH_SELECT_BUTTON = "//span[text()='Select']/.."
    /** @const {string} - The XPath selector for the "Delete" button */
    const XPATH_DELETE_BUTTON = '//span[text()="Delete"]/../../..'
    /** @const {string} - The XPath selector for the "Delete" button in the confirm dialog */
    const XPATH_CONFIRM_DELETE_BUTTON = '//button[div[text()="Delete"]]'
    /** @const {string} - The OK button of the Error modal that comes up when Instagram feels like being funny */
    const XPATH_ERROR_MODAL_OK_BUTTON = '//button[div[text()="OK"]]'

    /**
     * Utility function that delays execution for a given amount of time.
     * @param {number} ms - The milliseconds to delay.
     * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves after the specified delay.
     */
    const delay = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms))

    /**
     * Utility function that waits for an element to appear in the DOM before resolving.
     * @param {string} selector - The XPath of the element to wait for.
     * @param {number} [timeout=30000] - The maximum time to wait in milliseconds.
     * @returns {Promise<Element>} A promise that resolves with the found element.
     * @throws {Error} If the element is not found within the timeout period.
     */
    const waitForElementByXpath = async (xpath, timeout = 30000) => {
        const startTime = Date.now()
        while (Date.now() - startTime < timeout) {
            const element = document.evaluate(xpath, document, null, XPathResult.ANY_TYPE, null)?.iterateNext()
            if (element) return element
            await delay(100)
        }
        throw new Error(`Element with selector "${selector}" not found within ${timeout}ms`)
    }

    /**
     * Utility function that clicks on a given element.
     * @param {Element} element - The element to click.
     * @throws {Error} If the element is not found.
     */
    const clickElement = async (element) => {
        if (!element) throw new Error('Element not found')
        element.click()
    }

    /**
     * Waits for the "Select" button to reappear after the page loads more comments
     * following the deletion of a batch of comments when the "Select" button
     * is hidden while a spinner indicates that more comments are loading.
     * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves when the select button reappears.
     * @throws {Error} If the select button is not found after maximum retries.
     */
    const waitForSelectButton = async () => {
        for (let i = 0; i < MAX_RETRIES; i++) {
            console.log("Trying to find Select Button")

            const foundSelect = document.evaluate(XPATH_SELECT_BUTTON, document, null, XPathResult.ANY_TYPE, null)?.iterateNext();
            if (foundSelect) return
            await delay(1000)
        }
        throw new Error('Select button not found after maximum retries')
    }

    /**
     * Deletes the currently selected comments.
     * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves when the comments are deleted.
     */
    const deleteSelectedComments = async () => {
        try {
            const deleteButton = await waitForElementByXpath(XPATH_DELETE_BUTTON)
            await clickElement(deleteButton)
            await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
            const confirmButton = await waitForElementByXpath(XPATH_CONFIRM_DELETE_BUTTON)
            await clickElement(confirmButton)
        } catch (error) {
            console.error('Error during comment deletion:', error.message)
        }
    }

    /**
     * Deletes all user comments by selecting comments in batches.
     * @returns {Promise<void>} A promise that resolves when all comments are deleted.
     */
    const deleteActivity = async () => {
        try {
            while (true) {
                // Find all spans that say "Select"
                const allSpans = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('span'));
                const selectButton = allSpans.find(span => span.textContent === 'Select')?.parentElement;
                if (!selectButton) throw new Error('Select button not found')

                await clickElement(selectButton)
                await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)

                const checkboxes = document.querySelectorAll('[aria-label="Toggle checkbox"]')
                if (checkboxes.length === 0) {
                    const isInstagramFunny = document.evaluate(XPATH_ERROR_MODAL_OK_BUTTON, document, null, XPathResult.ANY_TYPE, null)?.iterateNext();
                    if (isInstagramFunny) {
                        console.log('Instagram rate limit hit, clicking OK on error modal')
                        await clickElement(isInstagramFunny)
                        await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
                        waitForSelectButton()
                        await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
                        continue
                    } else {
                        console.log('No more comments to delete')
                        break
                    }
                }

                for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(DELETION_BATCH_SIZE, checkboxes.length); i++) {
                    await clickElement(checkboxes[i])
                    await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_CHECKBOX_CLICKS_MS)
                }

                await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
                await deleteSelectedComments()
                await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
                await waitForSelectButton()
                await delay(DELAY_BETWEEN_ACTIONS_MS)
            }
        } catch (error) {
            console.error('Error in deleteActivity:', error.message)
        }
    }

    // Start the deletion process
    try {
        await deleteActivity()
        console.log('Activity deletion completed')
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Fatal error:', error.message)
    }
})()

rathmerdominik awesome work! and thank you for your contribution. I'm looking forward to trying this out.
@sbolel

Thank you for the original! ❤️

Status Update:

Huge thanks to everyone who has contributed to keeping this script alive over the last two years! This project has evolved from a simple snippet into a community-driven tool thanks to your testing and code updates.

Special thanks to:

• @hooperstu and @cybr47 for the early feedback and cooling-off suggestions.
• @sadhorse79, @ptjaworski, and @buncho12 for identifying browser-specific bugs and the English-language requirement.
• @gabriellobato1987 for the massive contribution regarding infinite loops, height-forcing, and error dialog handling.
• @braunglasrakete for maintaining a working fork during breaking changes.
• @matthieulbrn, @LuckyLearnsCoding, and @theshubzworld for the Selenium/Python implementations.
• @kimonneuhoff and @r0x5r for the performance optimizations.
• @rathmerdominik for today’s critical XPath update (Jan 14, 2026) that restores functionality.

Exciting News: Due to the complexity of maintaining multiple versions (JS, Python, Selenium) and different language locales, this Gist will be converted into a full GitHub repository. This will allow us to better manage pull requests, track issues for different browser versions, and host a "Whitelist" feature that many of you have requested.

Stay tuned for the repository link!