Connect your Instagram account
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Connecting Instagram is the one piece of setup everything else depends on: scheduling, automations, and analytics all run through this connection. It is a popup, a login, and an approval screen, done through the official Instagram API. ReelDrop never sees or asks for your password.
Before you start
- An Instagram Business or Creator account. Personal accounts cannot use the publishing or messaging APIs, and converting is free in the Instagram app under Settings, Account type and tools.
- The Instagram username and password for that account. The login screen in the popup is Instagram’s own, so a "continue with Facebook" habit does not help here.
Open Connections in settings
Go to Settings in the left sidebar and open the Connections section, or go straight to /settings#connections. Click Connect Instagram.
If you just signed up, the app will already be pointing you here: most of ReelDrop is gated behind a connected account, so this is the intended first stop.
Sign in inside the popup
A popup opens Instagram’s authorization screen. Sign in with the Instagram credentials for the professional account you want to connect.
The popup always asks you to sign in, even if your browser is already logged into Instagram. That is deliberate: it means you choose which account gets connected, rather than ReelDrop silently taking whichever one the browser had open.
Approve the permissions
Instagram shows what ReelDrop is asking for: basic account info, publishing content, managing comments, managing messages, and reading insights. Each of those maps to a feature — scheduling needs publishing, DM automation needs comments and messages, analytics needs insights.
Approve, and the popup closes on its own. The Connections card updates with your username and follower count.
Check what arrived with the connection
Two things happen quietly at connect time. Your workspace takes the name of the connected handle, unless you had already renamed it. And ReelDrop backfills the posts you published natively on Instagram into its analytics, so the posts table reflects your real activity rather than starting from zero. Backfilled rows carry a small IG chip meaning "posted directly on Instagram, not through ReelDrop".
The 60-day token, and reconnecting
Instagram issues a token that lasts 60 days. ReelDrop checks its health daily, and when the token expires or you revoke access from Instagram’s side, the app flags the connection, emails you, and prompts a reconnect.
Reconnecting is the same popup flow, and it is never blocked by plan limits — a limit check applies to connecting a new account, not to repairing an existing one.
One account per workspace
A workspace holds exactly one Instagram connection. Connecting a different account into a workspace that already has one is blocked with an error telling you to disconnect the current account first — that is not an upsell, it is the rule on every plan.
Running several accounts means several workspaces: the Creator plan includes up to 5, one Instagram account each, with their own automations, scheduling, and analytics.
If the login screen loops back to itself
The classic failure: you type a password, the dialog bounces you back to the login screen, no error anywhere. This usually means the credentials being entered are not the Instagram username and password for that account — for example, an account normally accessed through Facebook or Meta Accounts Center.
The popup uses Instagram’s own credential form, so it wants the Instagram login specifically. Setting a password for the Instagram account in the Instagram app, then retrying, resolves this.
Frequently asked questions
Does ReelDrop see my Instagram password?
No. The login happens on Instagram’s screen, not ours, and what ReelDrop receives is a scoped access token. ReelDrop runs entirely on the official Instagram API and never simulates a browser or app.
Do I need a Facebook Page?
No. ReelDrop connects through Instagram’s own login flow. A professional (Business or Creator) Instagram account is the only requirement.
Can I connect a personal account?
No. Instagram only exposes publishing, comments, and messaging to Business and Creator accounts. Converting is free and takes about a minute in the Instagram app under Settings, Account type and tools.
How do I switch to a different Instagram account?
Disconnect the current account from Settings, Connections, then connect the new one. A workspace holds one connection at a time on every plan.
What happens when the token expires?
Publishing and automations stop working until you reconnect. ReelDrop detects it within a day, emails you once, and shows a reconnect prompt in the app. Reconnecting is one popup.
I closed the popup by accident. Did anything break?
No. Nothing is created until the flow completes, so just click Connect Instagram again.
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