Interactive Diagnostic Flowchart
Step 1
Is the Rank Kiwi icon or sidebar appearing on the page?
Step 2
Does clicking "Analyze" start scanning content?
Step 3
Are the results or metrics unexpected or incomplete?
1. Rank Kiwi Isn't Appearing
The Rank Kiwi sidebar or trigger icon does not show up on your browser window.
What you'll see
You open an Instagram profile or YouTube channel, but the Rank Kiwi overlay does not appear, or clicking the extension puzzle icon does nothing.
Why this happens
The active tab was opened before the extension was installed, the tab is currently on an unsupported URL (such as the Instagram home feed), or Chrome has quarantined background scripts after a browser update.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Hard refresh the tab: Press Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) or Ctrl + F5 (Windows) to reload content scripts.
- Check your URL: Ensure you are on a creator profile (e.g.
instagram.com/[creator]/reels/ or youtube.com/@[channel]/videos).
- Pin the extension: Click the Chrome Puzzle icon (≡) in your top toolbar, locate Rank Kiwi, and click the Pin icon.
- Click the pinned Kiwi icon: Explicitly trigger the workspace if auto-detection is delayed.
If that didn't work
Open chrome://extensions/ in your address bar. Verify Rank Kiwi toggle is ON. Click the extension's reload arrow (↻) to refresh its background service worker.
Related: Page Not Supported | Extension Context Invalidated
2. Page Not Supported Warning
The workspace displays a "Page Not Supported" badge or indicates no creator was found.
What you'll see
The Rank Kiwi sidebar opens, but displays: "Please navigate to a supported creator profile or channel."
Why this happens
Rank Kiwi is designed exclusively for creator library surfaces. It does not run on algorithmic home feeds, search result pages, Direct Messages, or standalone single-post permalinks where creator baseline medians cannot be calculated.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- If on Instagram, navigate to
instagram.com/[handle]/reels/.
- If on YouTube, navigate to
youtube.com/@[handle]/videos or /shorts.
- Do not run Rank Kiwi from
instagram.com/reels/[shortcode] or youtube.com/watch?v=... directly.
If that didn't work
Check if the account is private. Rank Kiwi cannot extract metrics from private accounts or age-gated profiles that require confirmation clicks.
Still stuck? Share the target URL with our team via
Support.
Related: Supported Instagram Surfaces | Supported YouTube Surfaces
3. Analysis Isn't Starting
Clicking "Analyze" or "Start Analysis" produces no animation or progress indicator.
What you'll see
You select a sample depth (e.g. 50 posts) and click "Analyze", but the button remains idle and no progress counter appears.
Why this happens
The page's DOM has not finished rendering creator elements, or a JavaScript popup/modal is blocking browser focus.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Scroll the webpage down slightly with your mouse so the browser initiates lazy-loading of media thumbnails.
- Close any visible cookie banners, login prompts, or Instagram notification popups.
- Click Analyze again.
If that didn't work
Reload the creator page, wait 3 seconds for the grid to settle, and re-trigger analysis.
Still stuck? Check if another extension (such as an ad blocker) is restricting script execution on the tab.
Related: Analysis Is Stuck
4. Analysis Is Stuck / Freezes Mid-Scan
The progress counter stops advancing before reaching your requested sample size.
What you'll see
The collector displays "Analyzing 18 of 50..." and stays frozen on that number for more than 15 seconds.
Why this happens
Instagram or YouTube throttled feed requests due to rapid DOM scrolling, or the creator simply has fewer total posts published than your requested sample depth (e.g. you asked for 100 posts from a channel with only 22 videos).
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Use the Abort Control: Click the Stop / View Current button in the progress header. Rank Kiwi will immediately finalize and rank the items collected so far.
- Manually scroll the web page down to help trigger the platform's infinite scroll loader.
- If the creator has fewer posts than 50, select a smaller sample size (e.g. 25).
If that didn't work
Wait 30 seconds to let platform rate limits cool down, refresh the page, and select a 25-post sample.
Related: Some Content Is Missing
5. Some Content Is Missing From Sample
A specific viral post you know exists does not appear in the analyzed table.
What you'll see
You asked for 50 posts, but a prominent Reel you watched yesterday is absent from the workspace.
Why this happens
Rank Kiwi scans chronologically from newest to oldest. If the post was published outside your sample window (e.g. it was post #65 and you chose Sample 50), it won't be captured. Additionally, pinned posts sometimes appear at the top of the feed out of chronological order.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Increase your sample size to 100 posts to extend the historical scanning depth.
- Ensure you are on the dedicated /reels/ tab rather than the main grid if the post is a Reel.
- Check if an active filter (e.g. Date Range or Minimum Views) is currently hiding the post from your view. Click Reset Filters.
If that didn't work
If the creator collaborated with another account, ensure the post is hosted on this creator's primary profile library.
Still stuck? Verify whether the missing post is public without logging into Instagram.
Related: Sorting & Filtering Guide
6. Metrics Missing or Views Showing 0
Certain cards display "—" or "0" for likes, views, or comments.
What you'll see
A post has a title and date, but the view counter says 0 or likes say Hidden.
Why this happens
Creators can toggle "Hide like and view counts on this post" in their Instagram privacy settings. When this setting is enabled, Instagram omits metric numbers from public DOM nodes. Rank Kiwi only reads publicly exposed data and never fabricates estimates.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Open the post directly on Instagram to verify if the creator hid like counts. If hidden on the site, Rank Kiwi cannot display them.
- For YouTube, if views appear as 0, refresh the channel tab to reload YouTube's compact view string parser.
If that didn't work
Rank Kiwi can still calculate ranking based on available metrics or place un-metered items at the bottom of the sort order.
Related: Outlier Score Is Missing
7. Outlier Score Is Missing
The Outlier Score pill displays "—" or does not render a multiplier.
What you'll see
You see raw views, but the green Outlier multiplier badge is absent from the cards.
Why this happens
Calculating a reliable median requires at least 5 valid, view-counted posts. If the creator has only posted 2 videos, or if all scanned posts have hidden views, the mathematical baseline denominator is zero.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Ensure at least 5 posts were successfully scanned with public view counts.
- Increase your sample size to 25 or 50 posts.
- Switch from a static photos tab to the dedicated /reels/ or /videos tab where view counts are universally published.
If that didn't work
Check if the creator's median views evaluate to 0 due to an inactive or newly registered test profile.
Related: Metrics Missing
8. Results Look Wrong or Unrealistic
A post has a 25× Outlier Score that seems disproportionate or contradictory.
What you'll see
A post with only 5,000 views is given an Outlier Score of 15×.
Why this happens
Outlier Score is strictly creator-relative, not platform-absolute. If a smaller creator typically averages 300 views per post, a post reaching 5,000 views is genuinely a 16.6× breakout for them.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Check the creator's Median Views baseline shown in the workspace header stats.
- Verify you did not inadvertently include pinned posts that artificially skew the sample.
- If you only care about posts with significant scale, apply a filter: Min Views: 50,000.
If that didn't work
Review the sample size. A sample of 10 posts creates high baseline volatility; expand the scan to 50 or 100 posts for high-confidence stability.
Related: Understanding Outlier Score
9. "Extension Context Invalidated" Error
Chrome displays an error alert stating that the extension context was invalidated.
What you'll see
An in-page notification reads: "Rank Kiwi has updated or reloaded in the background. Please refresh this tab to continue."
Why this happens
When Chrome auto-updates an extension in the background, or when an extension is toggled on/off in chrome://extensions/, existing browser tabs lose connection to the old background service worker. This is standard Chromium security behavior.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Press Cmd + R (Mac) or Ctrl + R (Windows) to refresh the browser tab.
- Re-open Rank Kiwi. The tab will bind cleanly to the updated extension instance.
If that didn't work
Close the browser tab and open a fresh tab navigating directly to the creator URL.
Still stuck? Restart Google Chrome.
Related: Rank Kiwi Isn't Appearing
10. Instagram Specific Problems
Issues specifically arising from Instagram's dynamic React single-page architecture.
What you'll see
You navigate from one creator profile to another via in-app links, but Rank Kiwi continues displaying the previous creator's handle.
Why this happens
Instagram uses client-side history transitions without full page reloads. If a DOM mutation event fails to fire, Rank Kiwi's tab observer may not immediately detect the URL change.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Always refresh the browser tab (F5) after navigating between different creators.
- Ensure you open
/reels/ directly for accurate view count parsing.
- Do not switch browser tabs while an active 100-post scan is in progress.
If that didn't work
Review our Instagram Technical Limitations reference.
Still stuck? Contact our engineering team at
Support.
Related: Instagram Research Guide
11. YouTube Specific Problems
Issues specific to YouTube channel tabs, Shorts detection, and live streams.
What you'll see
Rank Kiwi scans regular videos, but you cannot analyze the creator's YouTube Shorts.
Why this happens
YouTube maintains completely separate URL routes and rendering trees for long-form videos (/videos) and vertical Shorts (/shorts). Rank Kiwi analyzes the specific tab currently active.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- Click the creator's dedicated Shorts tab on their channel page.
- The URL must read:
youtube.com/@[handle]/shorts.
- Click Analyze inside Rank Kiwi to initiate a Shorts-specific scan.
If that didn't work
Ensure you are not attempting to scan live stream replays from the /streams tab, which use different DOM metadata schemas.
Related: YouTube Research Guide
12. Media Download Problems
Clicking "Download Reel" or "Download Thumbnail" fails or opens in a new tab.
What you'll see
Clicking the download button opens a raw video player URL instead of saving the MP4 file to disk, or downloads fail with a browser permission notice.
Why this happens
Chrome requires permission to trigger file downloads, and certain browser profiles are configured to preview media in the active tab rather than save locally.
Fix (Step-by-step)
- If the video opens in a new tab, right-click anywhere on the video player and choose "Save Video As...".
- Check Chrome's download icon in the top right toolbar to ensure downloads aren't paused by an OS storage warning.
- Verify your Chrome download folder has write permissions enabled.
If that didn't work
For thumbnails, ensure your network connection allows loading static assets from i.ytimg.com.
Related: Export Documentation
Before Contacting Support Checklist
If your issue is unresolved after following the steps above, our human engineering team is ready to help. To help us diagnose and patch platform changes quickly, please include the following details in your email:
📋 Fast Diagnostic Checklist
- Target Platform: Instagram or YouTube?
- Target Page URL: The exact profile or channel link you were analyzing.
- Browser & Version: Chrome on Mac, Windows, or Chromebook?
- Action Taken: What button did you click (e.g. "Analyze 50 on Reels tab")?
- Observed Behavior: What happened vs what did you expect?
- Hard Refresh: Did pressing Cmd + Shift + R / Ctrl + F5 change the behavior?
- Error Text / Screenshot: If an error was shown, attach a screenshot or exact message.
Privacy Notice: Never share your passwords, authentication cookies, or private account credentials with support. Rank Kiwi never requires access to your private credentials.
