# Connect Instagram messages

Connect a professional Instagram account, give agents inbox access, and verify incoming DMs and replies.

## Before you start

Use an Instagram professional account you control and an administrator login in the correct Bow Chat workspace. A personal Instagram account is not the supported connection. The same Instagram account cannot currently be connected to multiple Bow Chat workspaces; ask Support before moving an existing connection.

Bow Chat has Meta approval for the basic account and messaging permissions used by its direct Instagram connection. Facebook Page-linked Instagram, comment automation and publishing use separate permissions. Approval alone does not complete your account's consent or connection.

## Connect the account

1. Open **Account Settings → Inboxes → Add Inbox → Instagram**.
2. Choose **Continue with Instagram** and sign in to the intended professional account.
3. Review and grant the account and messaging permissions requested for the connection. Return to Bow Chat when consent finishes.
4. Complete the inbox setup and add the agents who will handle it. You can review them later under the inbox's **Collaborators** settings.
5. Ask a consenting test person to send the account a new Instagram DM. Confirm it appears in Bow Chat, assign it to an agent, reply and verify the response in Instagram.

Inviting an agent to the workspace does not automatically add them to the Instagram inbox. See [Give an agent inbox access](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/inbox-access).

## Messaging rules

Instagram conversations are customer initiated. Reply within Meta's permitted messaging window; a reviewed exception or tag is a separate capability. Do not treat connecting an account as permission for unsolicited bulk DMs.

## If connection or messages fail

- Confirm that you selected the intended professional account and workspace.
- Check the account's connected-tools/message-access setting and the permissions granted during consent.
- If a permission was declined or access was revoked, use the inbox's normal reconnect flow and grant the required messaging access.
- If the message is in Bow Chat but an agent cannot see it, check Collaborators, roles and assignment filters.
- Give Support the workspace and inbox name, approximate time and the visible error. Do not send passwords, authorization codes, access tokens or private customer message exports.

A “connected” label is not an end-to-end test. Always verify one incoming DM and the agent's reply before relying on a newly connected account.

Canonical: https://docs.bow.chat/channels/instagram
Version: 1
Updated: 2026-10-18T05:44:33.126Z