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Connect Instagram

Connect your Instagram account and every Instagram Direct message a customer sends it arrives in Replyco as a chat; your replies go back to the customer on Instagram. Instagram connects through the Facebook page it is linked to: you prepare the link between the two in Facebook and Instagram, then sign in with Facebook and allow Replyco’s access. Replyco adds one account for each chosen page that has an Instagram business account, named after that Facebook page.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
You needWhere it lives
The Admin permission in ReplycoAdminUsers; see Invite users and set what they can do
An Instagram professional (business) accountThe Instagram app, under your account settings
A public Facebook page linked to that Instagram accountThe page’s settings in Facebook, on the Instagram tab
A Facebook login that manages the page, with full control of itThe page’s settings in Facebook, under Page access
A free account on your plan for each pageAdminBilling; see Billing

Availability: every plan.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

  1. Select + Add Account in the top bar and scroll down to Social Media and Phone Accounts.

    The Add Account page lists every channel Replyco connects; to connect another one, see Add Account.

    The lower part of the Add Account page in Replyco, opened with + Add Account in the top bar. Below Mailbox Accounts and Order Management System Accounts, the group Social Media and Phone Accounts has six tiles: Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok with a BETA label, Aircall and WhatsApp. The Instagram tile, third in that row, is highlighted; selecting it opens the dialog Authorize Replyco to sync with Instagram with Replyco's instructions for preparing the Instagram account.
    Instagram has its own tile under Social Media and Phone Accounts.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Add Account (/integrations/add)
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    button “”, social-media-and-phone-tiles, enabled. opens the Instagram connect dialog
    Also visible
    Mailbox Accounts and Order Management System Accounts above; Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (BETA), Aircall, WhatsApp tiles
    Purpose
    start connecting Instagram

  2. Select the Instagram tile. The dialog Authorize Replyco to sync with Instagram opens at its first step, AUTHORIZE, with How to connect your company's Instagram Direct to the Replyco app and pictures of each setting.

  3. In Facebook, link the Instagram account to the page, if it is not linked yet. Open the page and select Settings at the bottom of its menu.

    A business page on Facebook, opened by the person who manages it. The left column, headed "Manage Page", lists Business Suite with Inbox, Planner and Publishing Tools, then Home, News Feed, Business apps, Resources & Tools, Notifications, Insights, Ad Centre, Page quality and Edit Page Info. At the bottom, "Settings" is framed in red and pointed at by an arrow: it opens the page settings, where the Instagram tab links an Instagram account to the page. The page's cover image, name and "Add a Button" fill the rest of the screen.
    Open the page's settings from "Settings" at the bottom of the page's menu.
    What this screenshot shows
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    Manage Page menu; Settings, framed in red, with an arrow
    Purpose

    On the Instagram tab of the page settings, select Connect Account.

    Facebook's "Page settings" for the business page. In the left list, the "Instagram" tab is framed in red, between Branded content and WhatsApp. The main area, "Connect to Instagram", reads "Connect your Facebook Page to an Instagram account." with the blue "Connect Account" button on the right, also framed in red. Below, Facebook explains that people who help manage the page and the Instagram account may manage content, ads and insights, messages and comments, and settings and permissions on both.
    On the Instagram tab of the page settings, "Connect Account" links the Instagram account to the page.
    What this screenshot shows
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    Instagram tab, framed in red; Connect to Instagram; Connect Account button, framed in red
    Purpose

    Switch on Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox and select Continue.

    The window "Choose Instagram message settings" over Facebook's Page settings, on the Instagram tab. The switch "Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox" is on and framed in red. The text below says that, depending on their Page roles, people who help manage your Page may have access to view and respond to Instagram messages, and that you can change this at any time. "Cancel" and the blue "Continue" button close the window; keep the switch on and select Continue.
    Keep "Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox" switched on, then select "Continue".
    What this screenshot shows
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    Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox, on, framed in red; Cancel; Continue
    Purpose

    When the account is linked, select Review Connection and confirm with the Instagram account’s password. Once the link works, the page shows the details of your Instagram account.

    Facebook's Page settings on the Instagram tab after the Instagram account is linked. The heading "Connected Instagram account" names the Facebook page and the Instagram account it manages. Below, the notice "Review account connection", framed in red, says the connection only includes some features across Facebook and Instagram and asks you to review it, which needs the Instagram account password; an arrow points at its blue "Review Connection" button. Further down are "Managing a connected Instagram professional account" and the Instagram account details: name, username, website, bio and category.
    After linking, select "Review Connection" and confirm with the Instagram account's password.
    What this screenshot shows
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    Connected Instagram account; Review account connection, framed in red; Review Connection button with an arrow; Instagram account details
    Purpose

  4. In the Instagram app on your phone, open Settings › Privacy › Messages and switch on Allow access to messages under connected tools.

    Three screens of the Instagram mobile app side by side, captioned Settings, Settings > Privacy and Settings > Privacy > Messages. On "Settings", "Privacy" is marked with a blue dot. On "Privacy", "Messages" under Interactions is marked. On "Message Controls", the last screen, the switch "Allow Access to Messages" under Connected Tools is on and marked; its note says that, when it is on, approved tools such as Facebook Pages, Business Suite and third-party apps can view and send messages from your Instagram account.
    In the Instagram app, switch on "Allow Access to Messages" under Settings › Privacy › Messages.
    What this screenshot shows
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    Settings with Privacy marked; Privacy with Messages marked; Connected Tools › Allow Access to Messages, on
    Purpose

    Without this setting, Instagram does not deliver Direct messages to Replyco, even when the connection itself succeeds.

  5. Back in Replyco, select Authorize at the end of the dialog. Facebook opens in a new browser tab, and the dialog in the tab you started from moves on to FINISH.

    The end of the dialog Authorize Replyco to sync with Instagram. At the top is the lower part of an instruction picture of Facebook's permission dialog, with its last permission switched to YES and the buttons Cancel, Back and Done. The last line reads "If you follow all these steps you will be able to successfully add your Instagram account to Replyco app". The Authorize button under it is highlighted; selecting it opens Facebook's sign-in in a new browser tab, where you choose the Facebook page with its Instagram account and allow every permission. A Need help? link sits under the button.
    Authorize opens Facebook's sign-in; choose the page and its Instagram account and allow every permission.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Authorize Replyco to sync with {{name}} (/integrations/add)
    Highlighted
    button “Authorize”, dialog-bottom, enabled. opens Facebook's permission dialog for Instagram in a new tab
    Also visible
    bottom of an instruction picture: Cancel, Back, Done; If you follow all these steps you will be able to successfully add your Instagram account to Replyco app; Need help? link
    Purpose
    start Facebook's sign-in for Instagram

  6. In the Facebook tab, continue as yourself, then tick the Instagram account and, in the next step, the Facebook page it is linked to.

    Two steps of Facebook's window for Replyco, side by side. Left: "Which Instagram Business accounts do you want to use with replyco?", with the list "All Instagram Business accounts (1)", "Select all" and the Instagram account ticked, then "Cancel" and the blue "Next". Right: "What Pages do you want to use with replyco?", with "All Pages (1)", "Select all" and the Facebook page ticked, then "Cancel", "Back" and "Next". Tick the Instagram account and the page it is linked to.
    Tick the Instagram business account, then the Facebook page it is linked to.
    What this screenshot shows
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    Which Instagram Business accounts do you want to use with replyco?; What Pages do you want to use with replyco?; Select all, Cancel, Back, Next
    Purpose

    Leave every permission switched on and select Done. Replyco asks for access to the Instagram account’s profile and messages, to the page’s Messenger conversations, to the list of pages you manage and to the page’s settings, which it needs to receive new messages.

    The last step of Facebook's window for Replyco, "What is replyco allowed to do?", with the notice "replyco might not work properly if you turn off these options." Five switches, all set to YES: access profile and posts from the Instagram account connected to your Page; manage and access Page conversations on Messenger; show a list of the Pages you manage; manage and access messages for the Instagram account connected to your Page; and manage accounts, settings and webhooks for a Page. "Cancel", "Back" and the blue "Done" follow.
    Leave all five permissions on YES and select "Done".
    What this screenshot shows
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    five permission switches, all YES; Cancel, Back, Done
    Purpose

  7. Facebook returns you to Replyco in the same tab, which shows Validating Instagram account... and Please do not leave the page until the validation and data storage is complete...almost there. Replyco saves the account, confirms with Account successfully saved. and opens the home page. In the tab you started from, select Finish to close the dialog.

What happens next

Section titled “What happens next”

The Instagram account appears on AdminAccounts under the name of its Facebook page. If you also connected that page for Messenger, the two accounts have the same name; the Account column tells them apart. To check or rename the account, see Accounts.

The Accounts screen in Replyco, opened from Admin › Accounts, listing eight connected accounts, all Syncing with a green open lock under Status: Amazon, Ebay, WhatsApp "Northwind Support", Facebook "Northwind Electronics", Instagram "Northwind Electronics", Telegram "NorthwindElectronicsBot", TikTok "Northwind TikTok Shop" and Aircall "Northwind Support Line". The name Northwind Electronics in the Instagram row is highlighted: an Instagram account carries the name of the Facebook page it is linked to, so it shares the name of the Facebook account of that page.
The Instagram account is listed under the name of its Facebook page; the Account column tells it apart.
What this screenshot shows
Screen
Accounts (/integrations)
Highlighted
cell “”, table-fifth-row, enabled. opens the account's details
Also visible
8 accounts, all Syncing, green open locks; Facebook and Instagram rows both named Northwind Electronics
Purpose
check that the Instagram account was connected

New Instagram Direct messages reach Replyco as they arrive and open or continue a chat under ChatsOpen; opening that list also fetches new conversations from Instagram. See Chat list and conversations. Every user of your company gets access to the new account, so its chats appear for everyone with the Chats permission; to decide who is responsible for them, see Invite users and set what they can do.

Instagram accepts an ordinary reply only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, and it takes pictures as the only attachments; see Answer a chat. To greet Instagram customers automatically, see Auto-responses for chats.

If something goes wrong

Section titled “If something goes wrong”
SymptomCheckFix
“Didn’t find any connected Facebook page with Instagram business accounts”None of the pages you chose has an Instagram business account linked to it.Link the Instagram account to the page in the page’s settings, make sure it is a professional account, then start again from the Instagram tile.
Facebook returned you to the home page and no Instagram account was addedYou cancelled in Facebook or refused the permissions.Start again from the Instagram tile and leave every permission switched on.
The account is connected but no Instagram messages arriveIn the Instagram app, is Allow access to messages switched on?Switch it on under Settings › Privacy › Messages.
The Instagram account is missing from AdminAccountsDid you choose its page in Facebook? Does your own login have full control of the page? Is it already connected under the page’s name?Add your login to the page with full control, then repeat the steps and choose the page.
“You reached your current plan maximum integrations count. Contact support for more info.”Your plan has no free account; + Add Account is then also missing from the top bar.Delete an account you no longer use, or change your plan on AdminBilling.
A reply to an Instagram chat is refusedIs the customer’s last message more than 24 hours old, or is the attachment not a picture?See Answer a chat.
The Instagram account shows Blocked on AdminAccountsFacebook no longer accepts Replyco’s access to the Instagram account’s page, for example after the access was removed in Facebook. Instagram accounts have no Re-login button, and connecting the same account again does not replace the existing one.Contact support to restore the access; see Help and support.
Section titled “Related”