Using the inbox
Comments and DMs in one place, and what the counts actually mean.
The inbox holds every conversation on your connected account: comment threads on your posts, and direct messages, including story replies and story mentions.
Everything arrives, whether or not an automation answered
Messages are recorded as they come in. A conversation with no reply against it means the message arrived correctly and no automation answered it, which is exactly when you want to step in yourself.
Comment threads and DMs behave differently
| Comment thread | Direct message | |
|---|---|---|
| Reply publicly | Yes | No |
| Reply privately | Yes, once per comment | Yes, within 24 hours |
| Time limit | Seven days for the private reply | 24 hours from their last message |
Waiting on you
Your dashboard counts conversations that are waiting for a reply you can still send - direct messages where they spoke last and the 24 hour window is still open. Ones closing soon are flagged separately.
It deliberately does not count unread conversations. A comment thread nobody opens stays unread forever, so that number only ever goes up and stops meaning anything.
Marking things done
A conversation can be marked done when you have dealt with it. It is independent of who spoke last, so you can close off a thread that needs no reply.
Story mentions
A story mention has no text of its own, so it appears as a note saying you were mentioned. Instagram only provides the story image for a short time and dmrabbit does not store it.