DM inbox

6.1When to use it

6.2Before you start

• Instagram or Facebook connection must be complete.
• Only DMs received after you connected the account to conma are shown. The conversation list may be empty right after connecting, and that's normal.
• Under Instagram policy, you can only reply to conversations the other person started.
• 'Allow access to messages' must be turned on in the Instagram app for replies to go out. If it's off, sending stops silently with no error, so if your replies aren't being sent, check how to turn it on.

6.3Reading the screen

The conversation list is on the left, and the selected conversation on the right. The list is sorted by most recent message, and a conversation moves to the top whenever you reply or an auto response goes out.

• Times are shown as elapsed time: just now, 12 minutes ago, 3 days ago, and beyond that a date like Aug 2.
• Each row shows the name and a preview of the last message. The username is shown at the top once you open the conversation.
• Messages you sent are prefixed with 'Me:' in the preview, and automated messages carry the feature name, like 'Auto response:' or 'Winner notice:'.

• Unread conversations get a dot badge that disappears the moment you open them. This read status applies only inside conma and doesn't change anything on Instagram.

6.4Step-by-step guide

1

Reading a conversation

Click a conversation to open the message history on the right in chronological order.

• Each bubble shows the time it was sent, and a date divider appears wherever the date changes.

• Replies written by a person are blue bubbles, while automated messages are white bubbles with a border. Above each white bubble you'll see which feature sent it, such as auto response or winner notice. DMs sent by auto response and winner notifications all appear in the same conversation.

When a photo or story won't show

It's shown as 'Photo unavailable' or 'Story unavailable'. There are three reasons.

Reason	Can you see it again?
The image URL Instagram provided expired over time	You can still view the photo in Instagram DMs
Stories disappear from the source after 24 hours	Not viewable anywhere
The other person deleted the message	Not viewable

The screen can't tell these three apart, because Instagram doesn't share that information. If it's a photo, check Instagram DMs first.

2

Sending a reply

Type in the input box at the bottom and send. Sent messages are marked 'Sent', which changes to 'Seen' once the other person reads it.

There's a time limit for replying.

Under Instagram policy, you can only reply within 7 days of the other person's last message. The bar above the input box shows the time remaining and changes color when time is running out.

Once the window closes, only the send button is disabled. Your draft stays as it is. The window restarts when the other person sends a new message. If your reply won't send, check this bar first.

• You can send up to 1,000 characters at a time.
• If sending fails, a failure mark appears in place along with 'Retry' and Delete. It stays even after a refresh.
• Pasting photos isn't supported.

Sent messages can't be edited or deleted in conma, because Instagram doesn't provide that feature. If you sent something by mistake, unsend it in the Instagram app.

3

Finding a conversation

Type two or more characters in the search box at the top to start searching. It searches names, usernames, and message text together.

• If there's one matching message, a snippet around it is shown, and clicking it jumps straight to that message.
• If there are several, they're grouped as 'N matching messages'. On desktop you can expand them in the list; on mobile, step through them one by one using the bar above the conversation.

6.5Saved messages

Save replies you use again and again, like "Shipping takes 2 to 3 days", and pull them up whenever you need them. Open and close the list with the bookmark button to the left of the input box. On a wide screen it stays open as a panel to the right of the conversation; on a narrow screen it opens as a sheet from the bottom.

• Click a message in the list and it's inserted into the input box as is. You can edit it before sending.
• Saved messages are shared by every workspace member. Great for keeping a consistent reply tone.
• This is a separate list from the saved replies in the Comment chapter. Create phrases for DMs here, and comment replies on the Comment screen.

Grouping by inquiry type

Tag each message with an 'inquiry type' to group them. Untagged messages go under 'Uncategorized'. The tools above the list are the type filter, search, and manage templates, and search starts from two characters.

Adding and managing messages

Click 'Manage templates' above the list to add, edit, and delete on one screen. Inquiry types are on the left, and the message list on the right.

• To save a new message, click 'New message' in the top right. Write the text, choose a type, and save. There's no title field. Only the type and the text.

• To create an inquiry type, there are two ways. Use 'Add type' at the bottom left to create just the category first, or use 'Create new type' in the save form to create it along with the first message.
• To rename or delete a type, turn on edit mode on the left. Rename and delete become available for each type.

• To delete several at once, select them with the checkbox to the left of each message. A delete button appears at the bottom.

Here are the limits on what you can save.

• 50 messages · 10 inquiry types
• 1,000 characters per message · 30 characters per type name

Creating and managing saved messages is a paid plan feature. On the free plan, clicking search, the type filter, or manage templates shows an upgrade prompt.

6.6Auto translation

Read foreign-language DMs in your own language, and send your replies translated into the other person's language. Just turn on 'Auto translation' at the top of the inbox.

Reading received messages

With auto translation on, new foreign-language messages appear translated into your language, with 'Translated from ○○' shown below the bubble.

You can choose which languages to translate. Uncheck a language in 'Auto translation languages' and messages in that language are left in the original. Leaving out languages you can already read saves credits.

When a translation was attempted but failed, the bubble shows 'This message couldn't be translated · Showing the original'. No credits are charged in this case.

Sending a translated reply

With auto translation on, you need to click send twice for the message to go out.

1. Write in your language and click send. The translation appears above the input box. Nothing has been sent yet.
2. Review the translation and click send once more to send that text.

If the translation reads awkwardly, edit it between step 1 and step 2. After editing, you start again from step 1.

Three notices can appear above the input box.

If the other person's language isn't a translation target, you're told above the input box in advance. 'Language excluded from translation · Sending the original' means you left that language out in the language settings, and 'Language can't be translated · Sending the original' means it's a language conma doesn't handle. In both cases the message goes out as written and no credits are charged.

How many credits does it use?

Auto translation uses credits. They're deducted separately for reading received messages and for writing messages to send.

When no credits are charged

• Viewing again a message that was already translated (the saved translation is shown)
• When there's nothing to translate, like emoji or numbers
• When the source and target languages are the same
• When translation fails

When you run out of credits, a notice asks you to top up and turn it back on, and auto translation is locked. Already translated bubbles remain visible, and sending originals continues. Only 'new translations' stop.

On the free plan, auto translation can't be turned on. You can still view the list of languages that can be translated.

6.7When the AI chatbot is replying

With the AI chatbot on, the chatbot answers inquiry DMs first. Conversations the chatbot handled also collect in this inbox, so this is where you see how far the chatbot got and where a person needs to take over.

• The conversation list preview is prefixed with ‘AI chatbot replying’. It's the same spot used for messages sent by auto response or winner notifications.

• Conversations where the chatbot couldn't find an answer and ended with the handoff message get a ‘Needs review’ badge. Unlike the unread dot, it doesn't go away when you open the conversation. It clears only after a person replies. Use it to pick which conversations to handle first.
• When you reply yourself, the chatbot pauses in that conversation. ‘You replied directly, so the chatbot is paused until (time)’ appears above the conversation, and the chatbot won't cut in while a person is handling it.
• To hand it back, click ‘Resume chatbot’ next to that notice. It changes to 'The chatbot will answer this conversation from now on'.

6.8Good to know

Which DMs are shown? Only DMs received after you connected your Instagram account to conma. Past conversations from before connecting aren't imported. The conversation list may be empty right after connecting, and that's normal.

conma keeps messages for 6 months. Older messages are deleted from conma automatically. The longer data is kept, the greater the damage from a leak, so we keep it only as long as needed.

You can't delete or hide conversations in conma. Instagram conversations themselves can't be deleted, so conma doesn't offer that either.

6.9Wrapping up

You can receive and answer DMs for connected accounts in conma without opening the Instagram app. Turn recurring replies into saved messages and pull them from the list next time.

To handle inquiries automatically even at night and on weekends, turn on the AI chatbot.