Connect Instagram and Messenger
Route Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger conversations into your shared inbox.
On this page
Instagram and Messenger share one connection, because both run on Meta's Pages platform.
Before you start
- Your Instagram account must be a Professional account (Business or Creator)
- It must be linked to a Facebook Page
- You need an admin role on that Page
A personal Instagram account cannot receive API messages. Convert it in the Instagram app under Settings → Account type.
Connect
- Open Connections and choose Connect on the Instagram or Messenger card.
- Sign in to Facebook and select the Page (and linked Instagram account) to connect.
- Grant the messaging permissions when prompted.
Kognit subscribes to that Page's message events, so DMs start flowing immediately. Messages sent before you connected are not imported.
Which conversations arrive
| Arrives as a ticket | Does not |
|---|---|
| Instagram direct messages | Comments on posts |
| Replies to your stories | Mentions in other people's stories |
| Messenger conversations | Public Page wall posts |
Identity
Meta does not give you a customer's email address. Instagram and Messenger contacts are identified by their platform ID and display name, so the same person writing by email and by DM starts as two contacts. Merge them from the contact record once you know they match.
Responding
Agents reply from the ticket exactly as with email. Replies go back through Meta to the original thread.
Meta applies its own messaging window rules, similar to WhatsApp's. If a conversation has been dormant for a long time, a free-form reply may be rejected.
If messages stop arriving
The usual cause is the Page access token being invalidated — a Page admin change, a password reset, or someone removing the app in Facebook's Business Integrations settings. Reconnect from Connections. See Connection health.
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