How do I connect Instagram to Arino One?

ChannelsUpdated 2026-07-26

You connect Instagram to Arino One by converting the account to a professional (business or creator) account, linking it to a Facebook Page you administer, and authorising the connection under Settings → Channels → Instagram. Once connected, Instagram DMs, story replies and mentions land in the same inbox as your other channels, attached to the same contact record.

Requirements before you start

You need an Instagram professional account — personal accounts cannot be connected for business messaging — linked to a Facebook Page you're an admin of, and message access enabled in the Instagram app's privacy settings. If the account isn't yet professional, convert it in the app first; this is a Meta-side setting Arino cannot do on your behalf regardless of connection state.

Connection steps

  1. In the Instagram app, switch the account to business or creator under Settings → Account type.
  2. Link the account to a Facebook Page you administer — this is required because Meta authorises Instagram business messaging at the Page level, not the Instagram account level.
  3. In Instagram's privacy settings, allow message access for connected apps.
  4. In your instance, go to Settings → Channels → Instagram and complete Meta's login and authorisation flow.
  5. Assign the channel to the team or queue that should own it.
  6. Send a test DM from a separate account and confirm it appears in the inbox.

How this differs by connection state

Connection stateWho connects InstagramWhose Meta Business Manager
Connected ($50/month Arino Core connection)Arino, with your account accessClient's Meta Business Manager (Instagram is always tied to your own Meta account)
UnconnectedClientClient's Meta Business Manager

Unlike WhatsApp, Instagram is always authorised against your own Facebook Page and Meta Business Manager regardless of connection state — there's no equivalent of "Arino's keys" for Instagram, since Meta ties the connection to the account owner and you always own your own Infobip/Meta accounts. What differs is only whether Arino walks through the authorisation with you (connected) or you do it entirely yourself (unconnected).

Message windows and behaviour

Instagram enforces a standard messaging window on inbound conversations: once a contact DMs you, you can reply freely for a limited period, after which further business-initiated messages are restricted unless a specific message tag applies. Story replies are a separate, shorter-lived thread type that expires along with the story itself — don't rely on them for follow-up beyond the immediate reply. Media a contact sends (photos, videos, voice notes) is stored on your instance under your configured retention policy, the same as media on any other channel.

Opt-in on Instagram

Instagram doesn't use an explicit marketing opt-in field the way WhatsApp and SMS do. Instead, what you're allowed to send is governed by Meta's messaging policy and the reply window described above — a DM the contact initiated gives you a window to reply, but you can't use Instagram to send unsolicited marketing outside that window. If you want to run Instagram-adjacent marketing campaigns, keep that traffic on a channel with an explicit opt-in record, such as WhatsApp, SMS or email.

Automation on Instagram

Welcome messages, quick-reply menus and keyword-triggered flows all work on Instagram the same way they do on other channels, subject to the reply-window restriction above. Because story replies are short-lived, avoid building automations that assume a story-reply thread will still be open more than a few hours later — route anything that needs a longer-lived conversation into a standard DM instead.

Troubleshooting a broken connection

If Instagram DMs stop arriving after previously working, the most common cause is the linked Facebook Page's access token expiring, often triggered by a password change or a permissions review on the connected Meta account. Reauthorise under Settings → Channels → Instagram to refresh the connection; existing conversation history is unaffected. If that doesn't resolve it, check in Meta Business Manager that the Instagram account is still set to professional and still linked to the same Page — switching a Page or converting the account back to personal will break the connection.

Billing

Instagram is a channel activation like any other. Your $50/month instance fee covers connection and management of the instance itself; activating Instagram beyond your initial setup and any message-based costs Meta applies are billed separately — see billing-and-plans.

Steps at a glance

  1. Convert to a professional accountIn the Instagram app, switch the account to a business or creator account — personal accounts cannot be connected.
  2. Link the account to a Facebook PageInstagram messaging is authorised through Meta at the Page level, so the professional account must be linked to a Facebook Page you administer.
  3. Enable message accessIn the Instagram app's privacy settings, allow apps to access messages for the connected account.
  4. Authorise Arino OneGo to Settings → Channels → Instagram in your instance and authorise the connection through Meta's login flow.
  5. Route the inboxAssign the Instagram channel to the team or queue that should handle DMs, story replies and mentions.
  6. Send a test messageDM the connected account from a separate Instagram account and confirm the conversation appears in the inbox and can be replied to.

Frequently asked

How do I connect Instagram to Arino One?

Convert the Instagram account to professional (business or creator), link it to a Facebook Page you administer, enable message access in the app's privacy settings, then authorise the connection in Settings → Channels → Instagram.

Can I connect a personal Instagram account?

No. Only professional (business or creator) accounts can be connected for business messaging, and the account must be linked to a Facebook Page.

Why does Instagram need a Facebook Page?

Meta authorises Instagram business messaging through the Page-level permission model, not directly on the Instagram account, so a linked Page is a hard requirement regardless of instance type.

Does an Instagram opt-in rule apply like WhatsApp?

Not in the same way. Instagram doesn't use a marketing opt-in field; instead Meta restricts what you can send based on the recipient's last message and the reply window, similar to Messenger.

What happens to story replies after 24 hours?

Story replies expire with the story itself and cannot be continued once it disappears; treat them as short-lived compared with a standard DM thread.

Who connects Instagram on my instance?

You always connect it yourself through your own Meta Business Manager and Facebook Page, from the same Settings → Channels → Instagram screen. On an instance with the $50/month Arino Core connection, Arino can walk through the authorisation with you; without it, you complete the step entirely on your own.

Next step

Apply this to your own deployment

This guide describes decisions we make on live instances. Tell us your channels, systems and region and we will map it to an architecture outline, a provisioning plan and an indicative commercial model — usually within one business day.