> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.influship.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understanding Creator Data

> Use creator IDs, profile usernames, and timestamps in your application.

A creator represents a person or brand. A profile represents one of their social accounts. Use creator IDs to work with a person, and platform usernames to work with a specific account.

The creator and profile endpoints return Instagram accounts. Use [live platform data](/guides/live-platform-data) to research Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube resources.

## Retrieve a creator and their profiles

Set `CREATOR_ID` to an ID returned by search, lookalikes, or profile lookup:

```bash theme={null}
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error \
  "https://api.influship.com/v1/creators/$CREATOR_ID?include=profiles" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $INFLUSHIP_API_KEY"
```

The response's `data` contains the creator; `data.profiles` contains their linked profiles. One creator can have multiple linked Instagram accounts. The [Creator reference](/api-reference/creators/get-creator-by-id) defines the full response.

| Starting input | Request | ID to keep |
| - | - | - |
| A brief | `POST /v1/search` | `data[].creator.id` |
| An Instagram username | `GET /v1/profiles/instagram/{username}` | The profile's `creator_id` |
| Several Instagram usernames | `POST /v1/profiles/lookup` | Each resolved profile's `creator_id` |
| A creator ID | `GET /v1/creators/{id}?include=profiles` | The creator's `id` and linked profile usernames |

Use [batch profile lookup](/api-reference/profiles/batch-lookup-profiles) for an existing handle list. Search returns both `relevant_profile` (the account most relevant to the query) and `primary_profile` (the largest account); either can be `null`.

## Read freshness timestamps

Keep collection time separate from analysis time when displaying or caching data.

| Field | Meaning |
| - | - |
| Profile `data_updated_at` | When the profile data was updated; nullable |
| Creator `analysis_updated_at` | When the creator analysis was updated; nullable |
| TikTok `scraped_at` | Collection timestamp returned by the live TikTok endpoint |
| Shortlist `updated_at` | When the saved list changed; independent of creator metrics |

Live endpoints can reuse recently collected source data. Check the endpoint's returned timestamp against your application's freshness requirement. A missing timestamp means the collection time is unknown.

A saved shortlist keeps profile references, rather than a frozen copy of their metrics. Reopen those references with profile lookup to retrieve the latest stored data.

## Display missing data

| Field or result | Display or follow-up |
| - | - |
| Numeric metric is `null` | Show “Unknown” or omit it; zero means an observed zero |
| `relevant_profile` or `primary_profile` is `null` | Show the creator's available details; retrieve linked profiles when needed |
| `location_unverified` is `true` | Label the location as unverified |
| Search uses `retrieval_fallback` | Label the result as a discovery candidate; see [search quality](/concepts/semantic-search#search-quality) |
| Stored profile lookup misses a handle | Add it through [on-demand ingestion](/guides/ingest-creators-on-demand) |
| Media URL has expired | Fetch a new URL using the [platform guide](/guides/live-platform-data) |

For partial records after ingestion, follow the [bounded polling example](/guides/ingest-creators-on-demand). For failed requests, follow [Error Handling](/guides/error-handling).


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