Overview
ConversaLabs receives Instagram and Facebook Messenger messages containing text, images, video, audio, files, shares, Stories and Reels. Replies, reactions, reads, postbacks, referrals, edits and unsent messages also update the conversation when Meta makes the event available to the connected account.
Inbound media is copied to the installation storage, so the conversation no longer depends on Meta's temporary link after processing finishes.
Prerequisites
- An Instagram or Facebook Messenger inbox connected by an administrator.
- Meta permissions approved for the Page or professional account.
- A valid authorization for the connection.
Step by step
- Open Settings → Inboxes and confirm that the social account is connected.
- Send a test DM from the native app.
- Test text, one media item, and a shared Reel or Story.
- Open the conversation in ConversaLabs and wait for the media processing indicator to clear.
- Reply, react, or choose a quick reply to validate the outbound path.
Settings & options
- Quick replies: up to 13 options can be sent natively.
- Message replies: keep the original message reference when Meta provides its ID.
- Processing media: text appears immediately while the file is copied in the background.
- Unavailable media: Meta did not provide the bytes or its link had already expired; the rest of the conversation remains available.
- Mentions: when Meta provides the author, the mention is associated with that contact and their active conversation. If the author cannot be resolved, it remains in a read-only fallback that a later delivery can reconcile.
Use cases
- Receive a shared Reel with a caption without losing the video inside a text bubble.
- Handle messages containing multiple photos or videos.
- Use quick replies in automations and flows.
- Record reactions, edits, removals, and attribution from ads or social links.
- Review a mention with author, text, preview, and link when the connected account is authorized to access that context.
Tips, limits & best practices
- The user must start an Instagram conversation; Meta does not allow unrestricted business-initiated DMs.
- Instagram group conversations are not supported by its messaging API.
- Some shares provide only a post URL, not the original media file. In that case, ConversaLabs shows a link card instead of trying to play the page as a video.
- Mention context is obtained only through Meta's authorized API; ConversaLabs does not scrape Instagram.
- Reply within Meta's messaging window and policies.
Troubleshooting
- Nothing arrives: reconnect the inbox and confirm Page/account permissions.
- “Processing media” remains visible: allow the automatic retries to finish; the text is already saved.
- “Media unavailable” appears: use the native app to inspect it; an already expired Meta link cannot be reconstructed.
- The share is a link: for some posts and Reels, that is the only content Meta provides.
- The mention has no author or preview: confirm the connected account permissions. The mention is preserved without exposing technical identifiers and can be enriched if Meta grants access later.
Some Instagram events arrive as an empty card, without text, media or a post reference. In that case, a notice asks you to check the Instagram app. The event is preserved: arriving near a mention does not prove that it represents the same interaction.
Identifying the person who mentioned the account
When Instagram returns an author ID, the mention is linked to the contact with that ID in the same inbox. If a conversation already exists with that contact, the event appears there. A username alone is never used to merge contacts.
When Instagram uses different identifiers for comments and Direct, the stored username only helps find a possible conversation in the same inbox. The mention moves to that Direct only if there is exactly one eligible candidate and a recent Meta lookup confirms the same username as the author. Ambiguous matches, mismatches and lookup failures keep the mention separate. Historical recovery uses the same confirmation and preserves the original event.
If the direct lookup cannot resolve the author, the system also checks a Facebook connection in the same account linked to the exact same Instagram professional profile. Each connection uses its own permissions. Without sufficient identity, the mention stays in the clearly marked, read-only space for mentions awaiting identification. Recovered context updates the same event without creating another message.
Recovering pending mentions
The technical conversation groups mentions whose authors could not yet be confirmed. It may contain events from different people and remains read-only. A username or photo does not authorize merging contacts.
The card explains when another attempt is scheduled, when Meta authorization is missing, or when automatic retries have ended. The system makes up to four additional lookups with increasing intervals. The mention and its attachments remain available even when Meta does not disclose the identity.
After reviewing the connection permissions, ask your administrator to reprocess that inbox's history. Recovery verifies the connected business profile and handles each mention separately. Once the author is confirmed, the same event moves to the correct conversation without replaying commercial notifications, closing support sessions or sending a satisfaction survey. If no DM exists yet, the identified mention stays read-only until the person starts a Direct conversation.
Reauthorize permissions and use the contact name
Under Settings → Inboxes → Instagram → Connection, select Reauthorize Instagram even if DMs still work. On Meta, choose the same profile and allow message and comment management. Only administrators or users with integration management permission can do this. An accepted DM does not guarantee permission to post public replies. A direct Instagram connection alone does not authorize comment likes. Liking Instagram comments requires a Facebook Page connection for the same account and profile, with the engagement permissions described below.
Comment-to-DM automation looks up the profile name using the exact author identity before rendering {{ contact.first_name }}. Manually edited names are preserved. If Meta does not allow profile access, the username remains the available identifier; the system does not guess a name from it.
See also
Reauthorize Messenger
Under Settings → Inboxes → Messenger → Connection, select Reauthorize Messenger even while the connection is active. Sign in with a Facebook account that manages the connected page and grant the permissions. Reconnection updates the same inbox and preserves its conversations and name. If authorization is canceled, the SDK fails to load or the page is unavailable, you can retry without creating another inbox. Only administrators or users with integration management permission can reauthorize.
The Instagram migration notice applies only to Instagram messages, which moved to their own inbox. Messenger remains in this inbox.
Like Instagram comments
Likes use the Instagram profile linked to a Facebook Page. In the Messenger inbox for that same account and Page, open Connection → Authorize Instagram likes. Grant engagement permission; the Meta app must also be authorized to request it. This authorization does not create another inbox or change the profile receiving your messages.
Enable Like comment in the comment rule. If the connection is missing, more than one matching connection exists, or permission was not granted, activity explains the obstacle without marking the like as completed. DM and public reply results remain independent. Stories and private content are not supported by the likes API. The sending limit prevents bursts; a rate-limited like is not automatically retried. Historical records are neither erased nor replayed.