Instagram DMs are now in ThreadWave — what the Instagram API supports
Answer Instagram Direct messages next to WhatsApp and Messenger. What Meta’s Instagram messaging API can do, the 24-hour rule, and how to connect your account.
For many shops, salons, creators and travel brands, Instagram is where the first question arrives: a story reply asking for a price, a shared reel with “do you have this?”, a DM after an ad. Those messages usually land on one person’s phone. ThreadWave now brings Instagram Direct into the same shared desktop inbox as WhatsApp, Messenger and your phone numbers.
Two ways Meta lets businesses read Instagram DMs
- Instagram API with Instagram Login — the account is connected directly with an Instagram token. No Facebook Page is needed.
- Messenger Platform for Instagram — the account is reached through the Facebook Page it is linked to, using the Page’s token.
Both deliver the same webhook events, and ThreadWave supports both: paste either kind of token and the app works out which one it is, finds your professional account and subscribes it to new messages.
What comes through
| Customer sends | In ThreadWave |
|---|---|
| Text, emoji, quick-reply taps | Shown in the thread |
| Photos (several at once), videos, voice messages, files | Downloaded and stored encrypted on your computer |
| A reply to your story | Message with a “Replied to your story” link |
| A story that mentions you | The story photo or video, saved before it expires |
| A shared or tagged reel, post or story | The actual video or photo, labelled Reel, Post or Story |
| Reactions, edits, unsends | Kept in sync with Instagram |
| Disappearing (view-once) media | A note to open it in the Instagram app — the API doesn’t expose it |
Sent, delivered, seen
Instagram’s API reports when a customer has seen your message, but it has no separate delivery receipt. ThreadWave marks a reply as delivered when Instagram confirms the message is in the conversation, so every reply shows the familiar three steps — sent, delivered and seen — just like on WhatsApp.
The 24-hour rule
Instagram is customer-first: a business can only message someone who has written to it, and free-form replies are allowed for 24 hours after the customer’s last message. For support conversations that take longer, Meta offers a Human Agent tag that extends the window to seven days once your app is approved for it. ThreadWave shows the window state in the composer, so agents know before they type.
Instagram’s API accepts attachments by URL rather than upload. ThreadWave hosts the file briefly on its relay, sends it, and deletes it as soon as Instagram has fetched it — your media isn’t kept in the cloud.
Connecting your account
- Make sure the Instagram account is a professional account (Business or Creator).
- In the Instagram app, allow access to messages for connected tools.
- Add the Instagram product to your Meta app and point its webhook at ThreadWave’s relay.
- Generate an access token, paste it in Settings → Connection → Instagram, and click Connect.
Long-lived Instagram tokens expire after about 60 days; ThreadWave refreshes them automatically and keeps them in your operating system’s keychain.
What isn’t available on Instagram
WhatsApp templates, WhatsApp Flows, location requests and calling are specific to other channels, so they’re hidden in Instagram threads. Everything else — notes, routing, assignment, quick replies, automations and analytics — works the same way it does on WhatsApp and Messenger.