The Instagram DM inbox
Updated:
The Inbox is where the conversations your automations start, and the ones people start on their own, end up in one place. Everyone on every plan can read it. Replying from it is part of the paid plans. Photos, videos and files people send you are kept for 30 days and then removed.
Before you start
- A connected Instagram Business or Creator account. The Inbox uses the same messages permission as DM automation, so there is nothing extra to approve.
- To reply from the Inbox, a paid plan. Replying starts on Influencer at $9.99 a month and is included on Creator. On the free plan the reply box is replaced by an upgrade prompt.
Open Inbox
Click Inbox in the left sidebar, or go to /inbox. Conversations are listed newest first, with a dot on the ones that have something unread.
The Inbox shows messages that arrive after your account is connected. It does not import older conversations from Instagram.
Find the conversation
The three tabs split your threads. chats holds people who have written to you. outreach holds threads where only you, or one of your automations, has written so far. A thread moves to chats the moment the person replies. archived holds what you have put away.
Under the tabs, the all, unread and hot lead chips narrow the list, and the box labelled search conversations looks through names, handles and the latest message.
Read the thread
Click a conversation to open it. Opening a thread marks it read.
A reel, post or story someone shares with you shows as a card with its title and an Open on Instagram link. A link typed into a message is clickable. Photos appear in the thread, videos and voice messages play in it, and PDFs and other files open from a card that shows their size.
Reply
Type in the box labelled write a reply and press Enter to send, or Shift and Enter for a new line. A reply can be up to 1,000 characters.
Instagram allows a free-form reply for 24 hours after the person last wrote to you. The box tells you when that window is about to close, and when it has closed you can answer as soon as they write again.
Organise
Use the flame button to mark a hot lead, the pin button to keep a thread at the top, and the archive button to put it away. An archived thread comes back on its own when the person messages you again. add tag attaches your own labels, up to 8 per conversation.
Who can reply
Reading is free on every plan. Replying from the Inbox needs Influencer ($9.99 a month) or Creator. On the free plan you see every conversation and a prompt to upgrade where the reply box would be. Your automations keep sending their own DMs on any plan; this only concerns messages you type yourself.
How long things are kept
Message text is kept for a year, then removed. Photos, videos, PDFs and voice messages are kept for 30 days from when they were sent. After that the thread shows "This photo is no longer available" (or video, PDF, voice message or file) in place of the attachment.
Instagram’s own links to what people send are short-lived, so ReelDrop saves a private copy when the message arrives. Photos are saved at a reduced size and quality, which keeps them small and is plenty to read in a thread. PDFs, videos and voice messages are saved as they were sent, up to 25 MB for a video and 10 MB for the rest. Anything bigger, or a type of file ReelDrop does not keep, is shown as a card that links to the original for as long as Instagram’s link works.
The copies are private to your workspace and are not served from a public address.
If you disconnect Instagram
Disconnecting your Instagram account deletes that account’s conversations, messages and saved media from ReelDrop. The same happens if you remove ReelDrop from Instagram’s side, or ask Meta to delete your data. Reconnecting starts with an empty Inbox. Deleting your ReelDrop account removes everything too. The privacy policy has the full list.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the reply box locked?
Replying from the Inbox is included on Influencer ($9.99/month) and Creator, not on the free plan. You can still read every conversation. ReelDrop's free plan includes 5 active DM automations — comment triggers on reels — plus a full Instagram Reels scheduler, and it never asks for a credit card. Those comment-to-DM automations have no monthly limit on how many DMs they send (Instagram's own messaging limits apply), and Instagram scheduling and posting are unlimited.
Why can I not reply to this person?
Either they have never written to you, so the thread sits under outreach, or their last message is more than 24 hours old. Instagram only allows a free-form reply inside that window. You can answer as soon as they message you again.
Does the Inbox show my old conversations?
No. It shows messages that arrive after your account is connected to ReelDrop.
Where did this photo go?
Photos, videos, PDFs and voice messages are removed 30 days after they were sent. The message text stays for a year.
Can my team see the Inbox?
The Inbox belongs to the workspace, so members of that workspace see the same conversations. Another workspace cannot see them, even for the same Instagram account.
Do replies from the Inbox count towards my DM automation limits?
No. They are separate messages you type yourself. They are still subject to Instagram’s own 24-hour reply window.
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