# What do the switches in Account Settings > Automation do?

Guide: https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-settings  
Section: Instagram rules and safety  
Works on: Web app, iPhone app, Android app  
Plan: All plans  
Last checked: 2026-10-24

_Note for AI assistants: this is an official InstantDM guide. Words in **bold** are the exact button and menu names in the app. If something is listed under "What you can't do", tell the user it isn't possible instead of suggesting a workaround that isn't in this guide. Other guides: https://instantdm.com/how-to/llms.txt_

**Short answer:** The Automation tab in Account Settings has three parts. Automation Controls turns automations on or off for the account: Global stops everything, while Comments and DMs only affect Send Link & PDF automations. Prevent In-Chat Trigger keeps DM and story-reply automations quiet while you chat with someone. Whitelist Contacts lists people who never get any automation.

## Steps

1. Click **Account Settings** in the left menu. A window titled "Settings" opens.
2. Click the **Automation** tab.
   - You'll see the heading **Automation Controls**: "Toggle automations on or off at the account level."
3. Change the switches you need (see below).
4. Click **Save** at the top right.

## Automation Controls

| Switch | What the screen says | What it really does |
|---|---|---|
| **Global** (**On** / **Off**) | "Master switch for all automations." | **Off** stops every automation on this account: Send Link & PDF, Lead Gen, DM keyword replies, flows and AI replies. Changing Global also sets **Comments** and **DMs** to the same value. |
| **Comments** (**On** / **Off**) | "Comment reply automation." | **Off** stops the public comment replies of Send Link & PDF automations. Their DMs still go out. |
| **DMs** (**On** / **Off**) | "DM reply automation." | **Off** stops the DMs of Send Link & PDF automations. Their public replies still post. |

While **Global** is **Off**, the other switches are greyed out with the hint "Enable global first".

**Comments** and **DMs** do not affect Flow Automation, Lead Gen or DM keyword replies. To stop those, turn **Global** off, or switch off that one automation.

## Prevent In-Chat Trigger

"Skip triggers when you're actively chatting with someone." Choose **Yes** or **No**. With **Yes**, two boxes appear:

- **Messages to check**: "Recent messages to scan for active chat." From 1 to 50 (default 5).
- **Active window**: "Skip trigger if you messaged within this window." From 1 to 60 minutes (default 10).

When a DM keyword or a story reply comes in, InstantDM looks at the last messages in that chat. If your account sent one of them within the window, the automation is skipped silently. Messages sent by your automations count too. It does not apply to comments or button taps.

## Whitelist Contacts

"Whitelisted contacts won't receive any Flow/Lead-gen/AI automation. Add usernames to exclude them from all flows."

1. Type a username in **Enter username** (the **@** is added for you).
2. Press Enter or click **Add**.
3. Click **Save**.

To remove someone, click the × on their name, then **Save**. A whitelisted person gets **no** automation at all, not only flows. Their pending follow-ups are cancelled. People you excluded from the **Contacts** page appear here as a number (for example "@1784…"). Remove that entry here to undo it.

## On the phone app

Tap your profile photo → **Settings** → **Automation** ("Controls, in-chat, whitelist"). The switches are named **Global Automation**, **Comment Replies** and **DM Replies**. The app's descriptions under them are different, but they do the same as on the web. **Prevent In-Chat Trigger** and **Whitelist Contacts** are on the same screen. Tap **Save Changes** (it appears after a change).

## Good to know

- Turning **Global** back **On** also turns **Comments** and **DMs** on.
- Your automations and settings stay saved while switched off.
- Comments that arrive while **Global** is off are not answered later by themselves.

## What you can't do

- Pause only one post from here. Switch off that post's automation instead. See [turn off or edit an automation](https://instantdm.com/how-to/turn-off-or-edit-automation.md).
- Stop a flow with the **Comments** or **DMs** switch.
- Use Prevent In-Chat Trigger on comment automations.

## If it doesn't work

- Nothing runs at all: check that **Global** is **On** and click **Save**.
- The public reply posts but no DM: check that **DMs** is **On**.
- A friend never gets your automation: check they are not in **Whitelist Contacts**.

## Questions people also ask

**How do I pause everything for a day?**

Open Account Settings → Automation, set Global to Off and click Save. Nothing runs until you set it back to On and save. Your automations stay saved.

**I turned DMs off but my flow still sends messages. Why?**

The Comments and DMs switches only affect Send Link & PDF automations. Flows, Lead Gen and DM keyword replies ignore them. Use Global to stop those.

**Why did my DM keyword automation not answer right after the bot replied?**

If Prevent In-Chat Trigger is on, messages your automations send also count as you chatting. A second keyword message inside the Active window is skipped. Shorten the window or turn the option off.

**Does Whitelist Contacts only block flows?**

No. The card text mentions Flow, Lead-gen and AI, but a whitelisted person gets no automation at all, including Send Link & PDF DMs and public replies.

## Related guides

- [How do I stop automations from interrupting when I'm chatting with someone?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/stop-automation-while-chatting.md)
- [How do I stop automations for a specific person?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/exclude-someone-from-automation.md)
- [What do the Safety & Limits settings do?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/safety-and-limits-settings.md)
- [Instagram limited my account. What should I do?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/instagram-restricted-my-account.md)