> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.blotato.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.blotato.com/settings/social-accounts/instagram.md). # Instagram When connecting your Instagram account, make sure to use your Instagram login details. Do not use your Facebook login. :bulb: Important: you must have a Professional or Business Instgram account. Personal Instagram accounts cannot connect to 3rd party apps. *** ## Reconnect to Use DM Automation Follow Gates Blotato subscribes your account to button-tap events at connect time. An account connected before DM automations and follow gating landed carries no such subscription, so the tap on a follow-gate confirm button never reaches Blotato and every run waits until it expires. 1. Go to [Settings > Social Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/settings). 2. Click **Reconnect** on the Instagram account. 3. Leave every permission checked, including **messaging**, and finish connecting. 4. Open the automation and publish it again. Also keep in mind: Instagram renders the confirm button in the Instagram mobile app only. Write the gate message to ask for a typed reply as well, for example "Reply FOLLOWING once you have." Blotato runs the follower check on any reply, so a desktop reader advances without tapping. See [Ask for a Follow](/features/dm-automations.md#ask-for-a-follow-instagram-only). *** ## Connecting Multiple Instagram Accounts You do not need a separate Blotato account for each Instagram account -- connect them all under one Blotato login. Click **Login with Instagram** in [Settings](https://my.blotato.com/settings). On the Instagram consent screen, click the **three dots (···)** in the top right corner, then choose **Switch account** to log into the other Instagram account and connect it. The new account is added alongside your existing one -- it does not replace it.
Instagram consent screen with the three-dots menu opened to reveal Switch account

On the Instagram consent screen, click the three dots (···) in the top right, then "Switch account".

If Instagram keeps logging into your first account instead of switching, use an incognito window: log out of both Instagram and Facebook, open an incognito window, log into only the second Instagram account, then log into Blotato and click Reconnect. See the general [Connecting Multiple Accounts Per Platform](/settings/social-accounts.md#connecting-multiple-accounts-per-platform) guide for details. If Meta says the **Your activity off Meta technologies** setting is missing, follow [Activity from Other Businesses connection steps](/settings/social-accounts.md#error-your-activity-off-meta-technologies-is-missing), then reset and relink Instagram in Blotato. *** ## Error: 400 Session Error Connecting Instagram Account **IMPORTANT:** Sometimes, your IG account connected successfully even though you see the 400 error. Before attempting solutions below, check if you can make a test Instagram post. Fix #1: * Open incognito Chrome browser * Log out of all other Instagram accounts * Log into the 1 Instagram account you want to connect * Then log into Blotato * Reconnect your account Fix #2: I've seen some people fix this by simply waiting a few hours and connecting again. This means it's an Instagram issue, and there's not much I can do on the Blotato side. Fix #3:\ ​\ If above doesn't work, go to Instagram settings > connected apps > remove Blotato > connect again.\ ​\ Fix #4: Finally, if all else fails, one last thing is make sure in Instagram settings: Settings > Sharing and Reuse > Allow People to Share Externally > Website Embeds is toggled on. *** ## Error: HTTP 500 When Connecting Additional Instagram Accounts If your first Instagram account connects but each additional account fails with "HTTP ERROR 500" right after you log into Instagram, that error page comes from Instagram's own servers, not Blotato. Instagram could not finish the authorization step, so the first account went through and the rest did not. Fix: * Log out of **both** Instagram and Facebook completely, not only Instagram. Instagram authorizes through Facebook, so a stale Facebook session blocks the next connection. * Open an incognito Chrome window. * Log into only the one Instagram account you want to add. * Then log into Blotato and click **Reconnect**. * Connect your accounts one at a time, waiting a moment between each. This is an Instagram-side error, so waiting a few hours and retrying also resolves it in many cases. *** ## Error: Account Isn't Eligible When Connecting Instagram If you switched to a Professional or Business Instagram account but still get an "account isn't eligible" error when you try to connect, reauthorize Instagram and remove the "messaging" permission on the consent screen. * Go to [Settings > Social Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/settings) and click **Reconnect** on Instagram. * On the Instagram permissions screen, uncheck the **messaging** permission. * Leave the rest of the permissions checked and finish connecting. This unblocks publishing, but it also turns off every messaging feature on the account: * Reading and sending Instagram DMs. See [Messages API](/api/messages.md). * Private replies to comments. * [DM automations](/features/dm-automations.md), including any automation already live on the account. * Button taps on a follow-gate confirm button, so a follow gate stops advancing. Instagram usually reports "account isn't eligible" while the switch to a Professional or Business account is still settling. Wait 24 hours, then reconnect with the **messaging** permission checked to restore those features. *** ## Error: "The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password" If a post fails with "Could not publish on Instagram: Error validating access token: The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password or Facebook has changed the session for security reasons", the Instagram access token expired. This comes from Instagram/Meta, not Blotato. It happens when you changed your Instagram or Facebook password, or when Meta ended the session for security (a new-device login, a suspicious login, or pending terms). Fix: * Go to [Settings > Social Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/settings) and click **Reconnect** on Instagram. * Log into the Instagram account you want and finish the consent screen. * The new token replaces the invalidated one, and posting works again. *** ## Instagram Auto-Share to Facebook If you have Instagram's built-in setting enabled to auto-share posts to Facebook, that setting still works when posting through Blotato. Blotato posts to your Instagram account via the Instagram API, and Instagram applies its own crossposting rules the same as any other post. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://help.blotato.com/settings/social-accounts/instagram.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.