Why Is USER_INSIGHTS Data Limited to 6 Months?

Question

While setting up my connection, I set Timeframe in Months to a longer period, such as 12 months or 24 months. However, the USER_INSIGHTS data only goes back 6 months, and I receive the following warning:

Skipped Media Metrics

Why don't I see more historical USER_INSIGHTS data?

Environment

Connector: Instagram Business

Answer

The Instagram Graph API retains most user insights data for approximately 6 months, so metrics outside that period may return as zeros. The reach metric is an exception and may return data for up to two years. The Timeframe in Months setting doesn't override this API retention limit, even when set to a longer period.

We recommend that you don't re-sync the USER_INSIGHTS table because doing so may overwrite valid historical data that the API can no longer retrieve.