Inbox
Read and answer Instagram DMs from Tebar.
The Inbox menu shows the Instagram DMs of your connected accounts. You can read and answer them, send photos or videos, and mark conversations as handled. The number next to the menu is how many conversations are still open.
The inbox is part of the Starter, Basic, and Pro plans (trial included). For now only Instagram DMs come in.
Setting up
- Connect an Instagram account (Business or Creator) in Accounts.
- When Instagram asks, allow Tebar to manage messages. Accounts connected before the inbox existed need to Reconnect once; the button appears on the Inbox page.
- Tebar reads your 20 latest conversations right away. New DMs come in on their own after that.
New DMs usually show up within seconds, without reloading the page. As a backup, Tebar also checks Instagram regularly, and Load latest messages (the refresh icon) does it now.
Reading and replying
- Open, Done, and All filter the conversations. The search box finds a conversation by name or username.
- Type a reply and press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for a new line). On a phone, use the send button.
- The photo icon attaches a photo or video, from your device or from Media.
- Mark as done moves a conversation to Done. When the customer writes again, it moves back to Open. This only applies in Tebar.
- Your messages show Sending, Delivered, or Seen. When one fails, the reason shows with a Resend button.
Saved replies
For answers you give often (shipping costs, opening hours, how to pay), open the saved replies icon in the reply box. Write the text, name it, and save it. Next time, pick it from the list.
Instagram's limits
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Time to reply | 24 hours from the customer's last message. After that the reply box locks until the customer writes again |
| Text length | 1,000 bytes per message (about 1,000 letters; emoji take more) |
| Photos | JPG or PNG, up to 8 MB, up to 10 per message |
| Videos | MP4 or MOV, up to 25 MB |
| Who you can message | People who wrote to you first or replied to your story. People who comment can get one DM through Automations |
When only a few hours are left to reply, Tebar shows a reminder above the reply box.
What shows in a conversation
- Text, photos, and reactions.
- Videos play for as long as Instagram's link to them works (a few days). After that, open them on Instagram.
- Story mentions and story replies are labeled, with the story's picture.
- A message the customer unsent shows as Message unsent.
- Shared posts, voice messages, and other attachments say to open them on Instagram.
"Another app holds this conversation"
Instagram lets only one app answer a conversation at a time. If your account is also connected to another chat app or bot, that app may hold the conversation, and Tebar's replies are refused.
What to do:
- Disconnect Instagram from that app in its own dashboard.
- Reply from Tebar again. Tebar takes over on its own once the other app lets go, or after 24 hours without a new message in that conversation.
When you disconnect Instagram from Tebar, Tebar lets go of its conversations too, so the next app you use can answer them.
Privacy
DMs are your customers' private conversations. Tebar keeps them only to show them to you (not to train AI), for as long as the Instagram account stays connected, and deletes all DMs and copies of their photos from Tebar when you disconnect that account. The messages on Instagram itself are not deleted. See the Privacy Policy.