Connect your channels
Connect Instagram
Reply to Instagram direct messages and automate replies to comments.
STS Connect receives Instagram direct messages in your inbox. Replies go back to the customer as normal DMs.
What you need
- An Instagram professional account (Business or Creator). Personal accounts can be switched in the Instagram app under Settings → Account type.
- In the Instagram app, allow message access: Settings → Messages and story replies → Message controls → Allow access to messages.
Steps
- Open the STS Connect Inbox and go to Settings → Inboxes → Add Inbox.
- Choose Instagram and press the Instagram login button.
- Sign in with the Instagram account and approve the permissions.
- Name the inbox and add the agents who should answer.
Comments
Comment automation lets you set rules like "when someone comments a keyword on a post, reply publicly and send them a DM". In the portal open Instagram Automation to create rules and Instagram Activity to see what each rule did. If you connected Instagram before September 24, 2026, reconnect the inbox once (Settings → Inboxes → the Instagram inbox → Reauthorize) so the consent screen grants comment access.
Tips
- Instagram tokens expire every 60 days and are refreshed automatically. If messages stop arriving, reconnect the inbox once.
- Story replies and mentions arrive as conversations too.
- You can reply to a customer up to 7 days after their last message. Inside the first 24 hours anything goes; after that, the reply must be a human agent's answer to their request, not a promotion.
Still stuck?
Email hello@stsconnect.chat with your company name and what you were trying to do. We answer on business days.