Reply to comments and DMs in the inbox

The inbox collects the comments and direct messages from your connected Instagram accounts in one list. You read them and reply from Planoly, and the reply goes out through Instagram.

The inbox covers Instagram only. Other channels in your workspace do not appear in it.

Before you start

The inbox needs a paid plan: Starter, Growth or Professional. On the Free plan, Inbox opens an upgrade page. The workspace owner sees See plans. Anyone else in the workspace is told that only the owner can change the plan.

It also needs a connected Instagram account. Until there is one, the inbox shows Connect Instagram. An Instagram account that is only set up for reminders does not count.

The inbox is rolling out. If Inbox is missing from your sidebar, it has not reached your account yet.

Open the inbox

Select Inbox in the sidebar. A dot on the icon means something is unread.

The inbox has three columns. On the left are the places: All conversations, Comments and Direct messages, each showing how many are unread when any are. In the middle is the list, with All, Unread and Read tabs. On the right is the conversation you have open.

On a narrower window the places become a row above the list. On a phone-sized window the list and the open conversation take turns.

What lands in the inbox

A comment thread starts with a top-level comment on one of your posts. Replies to that comment sit inside the same thread, under a card showing the post.

A direct message thread is one conversation with one person.

When you connect an Instagram account, or reconnect one, Planoly imports the last 30 days:

• Direct message conversations that had activity in those 30 days, each with its 20 most recent messages.
• Comment threads with a comment in those 30 days, from your 100 most recent posts.

An account you connected before the inbox reached you has no history yet. Reconnect it to run the import.

From then on, new comments and messages arrive as they happen. A conversation imported with more than 20 messages shows how many earlier messages are missing, with Read them on Instagram.

Comments and messages keep arriving while a workspace is on the Free plan. They are there to read once you upgrade.

Unread and read

A conversation is unread when the other person has written since you last opened it. Your own replies never make it unread, and neither do replies from teammates or from the Instagram app.

Unread is tracked for each person in the workspace. A teammate opening a conversation does not mark it read for you.

Opening a conversation marks it read. In the Unread tab it stays in the list until you switch tab or place, so the list does not jump while you work through it.

• Mark as unread, the envelope button at the top of an open conversation, puts it back to unread and returns you to the list.
• Mark all read, at the bottom of the list, marks the unread conversations the list has loaded. Conversations further down that you have not scrolled to keep their dot.

Use the up and down arrow keys to move between conversations in the list.

Reply

The reply box sits at the bottom of the open conversation. Select Send, or press ⌘ + Enter on a Mac and Ctrl + Enter elsewhere.

The counter beside Send shows how much of the limit you have used. Most emoji count as two or more characters.

Comment threads

A comment thread offers two ways to reply:

• Reply on the post posts a public reply under the comment. Up to 2,200 characters.
• Reply privately sends the person a direct message. Up to 1,000 characters.

Instagram allows one private reply per comment, sent within 7 days of the comment. After that the reply box says so and points you to Reply on the post.

A private reply is filed in your direct message thread with that person, not in the comment thread. Once it sends, Planoly opens that DM thread for you. Go back to return to the comment.

You cannot reply on the post to a hidden comment. Reply privately still works.

Direct messages

You can only send a direct message to someone who has messaged you, and only within 7 days of their last message. Past that, the reply box says how long ago they last wrote. They have to message you again before you can answer.

A message can be up to 1,000 characters.

When a reply fails

If Planoly refuses a reply before sending it, for example because it is too long or the reply window has closed, the reason shows under the reply box and your text stays there.

If Instagram rejects a reply, it is marked Couldn't send. Select Retry to send it again or Discard to drop it.

Connection problems

A banner above the list tells you when something is wrong with your Instagram connection.

Without message access, Reply privately is also unavailable, because a private reply is a direct message.

See refresh a channel connection for more on reconnecting.

On mobile

The Planoly mobile app has an Inbox tab once the inbox has reached your account. Tap the menu icon at the top left to switch between All conversations, Comments and Direct messages. Tap a conversation to open it. Mark as unread is under the more actions button in an open conversation. The reply box offers the same reply options and limits as on the web.