DocsInstagram

Connect Instagram

Direct messages to your profile land in the same inbox as everything else. What Instagram gives you, what it does not, and why access must be renewed every 60 days.

What you get

When someone messages your Instagram profile, it appears in your Alpheris inbox. The AI answers product questions from your knowledge base; a person takes over when needed.

On Instagram, people writing to you often have not bought anything yet. The tone differs from your shop — which is why this channel is configured separately, and why it pays to have answers created as drafts at first.

What you need first

An Instagram profile of type Business or Creator. Instagram does not allow private profiles.
The credentials for that profile. Nothing else — Instagram asks for them itself during connection.

What Instagram does not provide

Unlike email, you do not get the sender's address or phone number, only their profile name. That is not a gap in Alpheris but a limit of the platform. The customer card therefore states explicitly why the field is empty.

There is also no subject line. Conversations are listed as "No subject" and distinguished by profile name.

Access expires every 60 days

Instagram access is limited to 60 days — Meta issues an access token with that lifetime. Alpheris renews it automatically, twenty days before expiry. If a renewal fails, the old access stays in place and the error is recorded — nothing is ever deleted.

Why this matters: without renewal the connection dies silently. The interface keeps saying "connected" while messages run into nothing. That happened to our own account for 78 days before the renewal loop was built. Under Channels → Instagram you can see at any time how long access is valid and when it will be renewed.

What can be configured

Send answers directly or as drafts. On Instagram, the draft is the cautious default.
React to story replies. Usually an emoji, rarely a real question — off by default.
Partnerships, press, job applications. The most common case on Instagram. These go to you as a lead, not into support.
Comments under posts. Prepared but still locked — the app needs Meta's approval for this.

When something does not arrive

Access has expired. Then only reconnecting helps; expired permission cannot be renewed.
The profile is no longer a business profile. Switching it back to private ends access immediately.
Replies do not go out. Instagram also has a time window; once it has passed, Meta rejects. Alpheris reports this as its own reason, not as a generic error.