What are Instagram's rules for automatic DMs?

The rules at a glance

What the person did	What you can send	For how long
Commented on your post or Reel	One private DM, linked to that comment	Within 7 days of the comment
Sent you a DM, replied to your story, or tapped a button in your DM	Normal messages	24 hours after their last message or tap
Nothing	Nothing	Instagram does not allow it

These are Meta’s rules. They apply to every DM tool, not only InstantDM. Your Instagram must also be a professional (Business or Creator) account.

Steps

1. Start every automation from something the person does: a comment, a story reply, or a DM with your keyword. That is the only way to reach them.
2. If you want to send more than one message after a comment, turn on the Welcome Message (Legend Pro and above). It is a first DM with one button. When the person taps it, the chat opens for 24 hours and your link can follow.
3. Keep reminders inside 24 hours. In a flow, any delay or follow-up longer than 24 hours is cut to 24 hours.
4. Resend missed DMs soon. Open Automation Recovery → Missed & Failed and resend while the window is still open.
   • You’ll see: “Instagram only allows a reply within 7 days of a comment, or 24 hours of a direct message. Anything older stays listed but can’t be resent.”

On the phone app

The rules are the same in the app. Home → Automation Recovery shows the same note under the Missed & Failed list.

What your followers see

• After a comment: one DM from your account. If it has a button, tapping it continues the chat.
• If Instagram refuses the DM because they don’t follow you, InstantDM posts a public reply under their comment instead. See non-followers and private accounts.
• The DM goes to their main inbox or to Message Requests. Instagram decides this, not InstantDM.

Good to know

• One comment gets one private DM. If the same person comments again, the new comment gets its own DM.
• Only top-level comments start an automation, so InstantDM’s own public replies can’t start a loop.
• Only text replies to your story start a story automation. Stickers, photos and reactions don’t.
• When someone mentions you in their story, no automation runs. InstantDM has no story-mention trigger.
• Instagram also limits how fast an account sends. If Instagram says your account is sending too fast, InstantDM waits and tries again. See DMs per hour.

What you can’t do

• Message people who never contacted you.
• Send a broadcast to all your followers.
• Send or resend a DM after the window has closed.
• Choose whether your DM lands in the main inbox or in Message Requests.
• Start an automation from a reply inside a comment thread.

If it doesn’t work

• “Instagram no longer allows a reply to this — it is too old” in Automation Recovery: the 7-day or 24-hour window has closed. This one can’t be sent.
• A follower commented and got nothing: go through why didn’t my automation send a DM?