Reply to comments and DMs in the inbox

The inbox collects the comments and direct messages from your connected Instagram accounts in one list. You read them and reply from Planoly, and the reply goes out through Instagram.

The inbox covers Instagram only. Other channels in your workspace do not appear in it.

Before you start

The inbox needs a paid plan: Starter, Growth or Professional. On the Free plan, Inbox opens an upgrade page. The workspace owner sees See plans. Anyone else in the workspace is told that only the owner can change the plan.

It also needs a connected Instagram account. Until there is one, the inbox shows Connect Instagram. An Instagram account that is only set up for reminders does not count.

Open the inbox

Select Inbox in the sidebar. A dot on the icon means something is unread.

The inbox has three columns. On the left are the places: All conversations, Comments and Direct messages, each showing how many are unread when any are. Your labels sit below them, under Labels. In the middle is the list, with All, Unread and Read tabs. On the right is the conversation you have open.

On a narrower window the places become a row above the list. On a phone-sized window the list and the open conversation take turns.

The list loads more conversations as you scroll to the bottom. If a page fails to load, the list says Older conversations could not load. Select Try again.

What lands in the inbox

A comment thread starts with a top-level comment on one of your posts. Replies to that comment sit inside the same thread, under a card showing the post. When the post is a video, select its picture to watch it on Instagram.

A direct message thread is one conversation with one person.

When you connect an Instagram account, or reconnect one, Planoly imports the last 30 days:

• Direct message conversations that had activity in those 30 days, each with its 20 most recent messages.
• Comment threads with a comment in those 30 days, from your 100 most recent posts.

The import runs each time you connect or reconnect the account. If a conversation you expect is missing, reconnect the account to run it again.

From then on, new comments and messages arrive as they happen. A conversation imported with more than 20 messages shows how many earlier messages are missing, with Read them on Instagram.

Comments and messages keep arriving while a workspace is on the Free plan. They are there to read once you upgrade.

Find a conversation

The row under the tabs narrows the list:

• Status shows Open, Closed or All conversations. The inbox opens on Open.
• Sort puts the Newest or the Oldest activity first.
• Assignee shows Anyone's conversations, or one teammate's. It appears only when the workspace has more than one member.

If the status filter leaves the list empty, the list says how many conversations the filters are hiding. Select Clear filters to see them.

Select the magnifying glass beside the tabs to search. Search matches names, handles and message text in every place and every status. While the list shows one status, a chip such as Limit to open narrows the results to it. Select Cancel to go back to the list.

Search only reaches what Planoly holds. Instagram keeps comments and DMs for a limited window, so older conversations may not be there.

Unread and read

A conversation is unread when the other person has written since you last opened it. Your own replies never make it unread, and neither do replies from teammates or from the Instagram app.

Unread is tracked for each person in the workspace. A teammate opening a conversation does not mark it read for you.

Opening a conversation marks it read. In the Unread tab it stays in the list until you switch tab or place, so the list does not jump while you work through it.

• Mark as unread, the envelope button at the top of an open conversation, puts it back to unread and returns you to the list.
• Mark all read, at the bottom of the list, marks the unread conversations the list has loaded. Conversations further down that you have not scrolled to keep their dot.

Use the up and down arrow keys to move between conversations in the list.

Close and reopen

Select Close at the top of an open conversation when it needs nothing more. It leaves the Open list, and it is marked read for you.

A closed conversation shows Reopen in the same place. When the other person writes again, the conversation reopens on its own.

Work on several conversations at once

Hover a conversation and tick its checkbox, or tick the checkbox at the start of the row under the tabs to pick every conversation the list has loaded. You can pick up to 200 at once.

A bar shows how many you picked, with these actions:

• Add label puts a label on all of them, or takes it off.
• Mark as read marks them read for you.
• Assign hands them to a teammate. It appears only when the workspace has more than one member.
• Close closes them. When every one you picked is already closed, it says Reopen instead.

Assign a conversation

In a workspace with more than one member, select the person icon (Assign) at the top of a conversation. Assign to lists you first, then your teammates, each with how many open conversations they hold. Select a name to assign it, or Unassign to clear it.

The thread records the change, for example "Assigned to Rosa Ferreira" or "Reassigned from Rosa to Theo".

Labels

Labels are names and colours you make for your workspace. Every member sees the same labels.

To label a conversation, select the tag icon (Labels) at the top of it and tick a label. Untick it to take it off. Create label at the bottom of the list makes a new one with a Name and a Colour. The thread records who added or removed a label.

Each label is also a place in the left rail. Select it to see every conversation that carries it. Inside a label, the Source menu picks All conversations, Comments or Direct messages.

The plus beside Labels in the rail creates a label. The settings button beside it (Manage labels) lists every label, with how many conversations carry each. Rename, recolour or delete labels there, or from Manage in the tag list. Deleting a label takes it off every conversation, and it cannot be brought back.

Reply

The reply box sits at the bottom of the open conversation. Select Send, or press ⌘ + Enter on a Mac and Ctrl + Enter elsewhere.

The counter beside Send shows how much of the limit you have used. Most emoji count as two or more characters.

Anything you have not sent stays with the conversation, including attached files and a quoted message. It is still there after you open another conversation or move elsewhere in Planoly. Reloading the page or closing the tab clears it. A voice note still recording is dropped when you switch.

Comment threads

A comment thread offers two ways to reply:

• Reply on the post posts a public reply under the comment. Up to 2,200 characters.
• Reply privately sends the person a direct message. Up to 1,000 characters.

Instagram allows one private reply per comment, sent within 7 days of the comment. After that the reply box says so and points you to Reply on the post.

A private reply is filed in your direct message thread with that person, not in the comment thread. Once it sends, Planoly opens that DM thread for you. Go back to return to the comment.

You cannot reply on the post to a hidden comment. Reply privately still works.

Files, voice notes, saved replies, AI drafts and replying to one message are offered in direct message threads only. A reply on the post or a private reply carries text.

Direct messages

You can only send a direct message to someone who has messaged you, and only within 7 days of their last message. Past that, the reply box says how long ago they last wrote. They have to message you again before you can answer.

A message can be up to 1,000 characters.

Attach files

Select Attach files under the reply box to add photos, videos or PDFs. Instagram takes:

• JPEG and PNG images up to 8MB. GIF and WebP are refused.
• MP4, MOV and WebM videos up to 25MB.
• PDF files up to 25MB.

A reply carries up to 5 files plus one voice note. The text goes first, then each file as its own message, in the order you attached them. Send waits until every file is ready.

Record a voice note

Select the microphone (Record a voice note) to record. Your browser asks for the microphone the first time. While recording you can Pause, Resume, Stop or Discard. Stop adds the voice note to the reply. A recording stops on its own at 5 minutes.

A reply carries one voice note. To record another, remove the one already in the reply.

If a voice note fails to upload, it stays in the reply. Select Upload the voice note again, or remove it.

Reply to one message

Hover a message and select Reply to quote it. The reply box shows Replying to and the person's name above it. Select Cancel reply to drop the quote. You can quote their messages and your own, once yours has reached Instagram.

Saved replies

Select the bookmark (Insert a saved reply) to open Saved replies. Search them, or select New to make one. Each saved reply has a name and one or more messages: Text, Media (a photo or a video), Voice note, PDF, Card and Gallery. Saved replies belong to the workspace, so every member can use them.

Select a saved reply to put it in the reply box. Its text goes in where your cursor is, and its files and cards join the reply below. Nothing sends until you select Send. Each row also has buttons to edit or delete the saved reply.

A saved reply can hold photos, videos, voice notes and PDFs, with the same formats and sizes as files you attach to a reply.

Draft a reply with AI

Select the stars (Generate a reply with AI). Under What should it say?, write what you want to answer, up to 500 characters. Pick a tone: Friendly, Professional, Playful or Apologetic. Select Generate.

The draft is based on the last 20 messages of the conversation. Read it, select Regenerate for another, or Insert into reply to put it in the reply box. Edit it before you send. Nothing is sent or saved until you select Send, and closing the draft discards it.

React to a message

Hover a message they sent and select React to message to pick an emoji. Select your reaction to remove it.

Instagram takes reactions for 24 hours after the person's last message. After that, the react button no longer appears.

When a reply fails

If Planoly refuses a reply before sending it, for example because it is too long, the reason shows under the reply box and your text stays there. When the reply window has closed, a notice takes the place of the reply box.

If Instagram rejects a reply, it is marked Couldn't send. Select Retry to send it again or Discard to drop it.

Manage comments

Hover a comment and select Comment actions, the three dots beside it:

• Hide from the post hides the comment on Instagram. It stays in the inbox marked Hidden on Instagram. Select Unhide to put it back.
• Copy text copies the comment.
• Delete removes the comment from the post on Instagram for everyone. Planoly asks you to confirm first, and it cannot be brought back. The thread keeps a line where it was.

Your own replies offer Copy text and Delete only.

The thread records hides and deletes, and names the teammate who deleted a comment.

Connection problems

A banner above the list tells you when something is wrong with your Instagram connection.

Without message access, Reply privately is also unavailable, because a private reply is a direct message.

See refresh a channel connection for more on reconnecting.

On mobile

The Planoly mobile app has an Inbox tab once the inbox has reached your account. Tap the menu icon at the top left to switch between All conversations, Comments, Direct messages and your labels, or to open Saved replies. Tap a conversation to open it. Mark as unread, Assign, Labels and Close are under the more actions button in an open conversation. The reply box offers the same reply options and limits as on the web.

The mobile app also has:

• Search, with Show and Sort to filter the list.
• A long press on a conversation to pick several, with the same actions as on the web.
• A tap or long press on a direct message to react to it or Reply to it.
• A long press on a comment for its actions.
• Files and voice notes under the plus in the reply box, and drafts from Generate a reply.

On mobile, only saved replies made of text go into the reply box. A saved reply with files or cards is listed but cannot be picked there.