Connect Instagram

Besides WhatsApp, Infynia can reply to your Instagram direct messages (DM). The conversation shows up in the Inbox alongside your WhatsApp conversations, and the AI agent can reply automatically, the same way it already does on WhatsApp.

Early access

The Instagram channel is in early access for participating stores. If the Instagram section doesn’t appear in Integrations, the channel isn’t available for your store yet. Contact support to learn more.

Note

Instagram only works to reply to customers who already wrote to you. See How Instagram is different from WhatsApp.

Before you start

You need an Instagram professional account (a business or creator account). You don’t need a linked Facebook Page — the connection is made directly with your Instagram account.

How to connect your account

1. In Infynia, open Integrations, stay on the Service channels tab, and find the Instagram section.
2. Click Connect.
3. You’re taken to Instagram’s own authorization screen. Log in with the professional account you want to connect.
4. Authorize Infynia to read your profile and to send and receive direct messages on behalf of your account.
5. You’re brought back to Infynia with the message “Instagram connected successfully. Your inbox is now active.” — you’re ready to receive and reply to messages.

Note

Each Instagram account can be connected to a single store in Infynia, and each store can connect a single Instagram account at a time. To switch accounts, disconnect the current one before connecting a new one.

”Allow Access to Messages”: the step that lives inside Instagram itself

Instagram has its own setting, inside the Instagram app itself (not in Infynia), that controls whether outside apps can receive your direct messages. It needs to be turned on for DMs to reach Infynia at all.

Caution

Not receiving Instagram messages? This is usually why. In the Instagram app, on the account you connected, go to:

Settings → Messages and story replies → Message controls → Connected tools, and confirm that “Allow Access to Messages” is turned on.

This setting belongs to Instagram, not Infynia — even with the connection set up correctly here, if it’s off there, no DM will ever reach you.

How Instagram is different from WhatsApp

The Instagram channel has its own rules, different from WhatsApp:

• Reply-only, never starts a conversation. Infynia cannot send the first message over Instagram. This means cart recovery, campaigns and broadcasts, and automatic order messages don’t work on Instagram — only on WhatsApp. The AI agent and your team can only reply to people who already wrote to your account.
• 24-hour window, no exception. Just like WhatsApp, you can only reply within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. The difference is that Instagram has no message templates — there’s no way to reopen the conversation once the window closes. When that happens, the message box stays blocked until the customer writes again.
• Text only. You and the AI agent can only reply with text on Instagram — you can’t send an image, video, audio, or voice note. The customer, on the other hand, can send you any type of message (photo, video, audio, a reply to a story); you just can’t attach media in your reply.

The “Request” badge

When someone who doesn’t follow your account sends you a DM for the first time, Instagram treats that message as a request. These conversations show up in the Inbox with a Request badge.

The badge is purely informational — the conversation works normally and you reply under the same rules as always (24-hour window, text only).

Reconnecting

If the connection expires or is revoked on Instagram’s side, the Instagram section in Integrations shows Disconnected, and Infynia emails your team to let them know. While disconnected, the Instagram inbox neither receives nor sends new messages.

To reconnect, follow the same steps as How to connect your account. If it’s the same account as before, the AI agent and inbox settings stay as they were.

Related pages

• Inbox — where Instagram conversations show up.
• AI agent — how the agent replies in conversations.
• Plans and billing — inboxes included in your plan and how to add more.