# What do the Safety & Limits settings do?

Guide: https://instantdm.com/how-to/safety-and-limits-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:** Safety & Limits is a tab in Account Settings. It holds your Instagram and Facebook Page connections (connect, reconnect, disconnect) and three speed controls: Automations / Hour sets your hourly pace for comment automations, Comment Limit / Hour pauses public replies on busy posts, and Rate Limit Retry sets how long InstantDM waits when Instagram says your account is sending too fast.

## Steps

1. Click **Account Settings** in the left menu. A window titled "Settings" opens.
2. Click the **Safety & Limits** tab.
   - You'll see: "Protect your Instagram account with rate limits and connections."
3. Change the settings you need (see the table below).
4. Click **Save** at the top right. **Cancel** closes the window without saving the number settings.

## Every setting on this tab

| Setting | What the screen says | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| **Facebook Page** (tag **Connected** / **Not Connected**) | "Connect for better comment delivery and account safety." | **Connect** or **Re-Connect** opens Facebook login. **Disconnect** asks "Disconnect Facebook Page?" and warns "You will lose FB Automations. IG Connection will be re-activated." |
| **Facebook DM automation** (tag **Active** / **Not active**). Only shows when a Page is connected | "Subscribes your Page to Messenger messages so Facebook DM flows and Quick DMs can reply." | Click **Verify & activate** (or **Re-verify**) if your Messenger replies don't work. |
| **Instagram Account** (tag **Connected** / **Not Connected**) | "Disconnect your Instagram account. You can reconnect anytime." | **Re-Connect** or **Connect** opens Instagram login. **Disconnect** warns "Both Instagram and Facebook will be disconnected. All automations will stop. You can reconnect anytime." |
| **Comment Limit / Hour** | "Max comments to process per hour. 0 = unlimited." | A number from 0 to 1,000 (default 250). On Trendsetter and the Multi plans, when a busy post passes this number in an hour, public comment replies pause and DMs keep going. Replies come back when the count drops. The screen says **0** means unlimited, but 0 currently works like the default of 250, so enter a high number if you want replies to keep going. The hourly count is approximate. On Free and Legend Pro it has no effect. |
| **Automations / Hour** | "New comment-to-DM automations per hour." | Your hourly pace for comment automations. Choices above your plan's ceiling are greyed out. See [DMs per hour](https://instantdm.com/how-to/how-many-dms-per-hour.md). |
| **Rate Limit Retry** | "Wait time after hitting IG rate limit." | A slider from 1 to 120 minutes. When Instagram says your account is sending too fast, InstantDM pauses and tries again after this time. |

## On the phone app

Tap your profile photo → **Settings** → **Safety & Limits** ("Connections and rate limits"). You get the same cards. Tap **Save Changes** after a change (the button appears only when something changed). **Connect** for a Facebook Page opens the website, because the app can't do Facebook login.

## Good to know

- **Rate Limit Retry:** the slider shows 60 minutes even if you never saved a value. Move it to the time you want and click **Save**, so your choice is the one used.
- **Comment Limit / Hour** controls public replies, not DMs, even though its description says "comments to process".
- **Automations / Hour** only paces comment automations. DM keyword replies, story replies and button taps are not slowed by it.
- When a Facebook Page is connected, **Connect Instagram Directly** is refused. To go back to Instagram login, click **Disconnect** on the Facebook Page card. See [Instagram or Facebook login](https://instantdm.com/how-to/instagram-login-or-facebook-login.md).
- **Global**, **Comments**, **DMs**, **Prevent In-Chat Trigger** and **Whitelist Contacts** are on the **Automation** tab. See [Automation tab switches](https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-settings.md).

## What you can't do

- Choose an hourly pace above your plan's ceiling.
- Use Comment Limit / Hour on Free or Legend Pro.
- Set limits per post. These settings apply to the whole account.

## If it doesn't work

- Messenger keyword replies don't answer: click **Verify & activate** on the **Facebook DM automation** card.
- "Your account is connected through a Facebook Page. Please reconnect using your Facebook Page instead of connecting Instagram directly.": use **Connect Instagram via FB Page**, or disconnect the Facebook Page first.
- The red banner "Instagram conection expired! Automation Stopped." is showing: see [reconnect Instagram](https://instantdm.com/how-to/reconnect-instagram.md).

## Questions people also ask

**Does Comment Limit / Hour stop my DMs?**

No. Despite its description, it only pauses public comment replies for the rest of that hour, and only on Trendsetter and the Multi plans. DMs keep going.

**What Rate Limit Retry should I choose?**

There is no single right value. It is how long InstantDM waits after Instagram says your account is sending too fast. Whatever you choose, click Save so your value is the one used.

**Where are the Global switch and Whitelist Contacts?**

They are on the Automation tab of Account Settings, not on Safety & Limits.

## Related guides

- [How many DMs can InstantDM send per hour?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/how-many-dms-per-hour.md)
- [What do the switches in Account Settings > Automation do?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/automation-settings.md)
- [What should I do when a post goes viral?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/post-going-viral.md)
- [InstantDM asks me to reconnect. How do I fix it?](https://instantdm.com/how-to/reconnect-instagram.md)