> 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
Connect Instagram with Instagram login, verify the account without publishing, diagnose authorization errors by evidence, and preserve messaging permissions during reconnection.
## How Do I Connect My Instagram Account?
1. Open [Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/accounts).
2. Select Connect account, then Instagram.
3. Sign in with your Instagram login details.
4. Approve the requested permissions.
5. Return to Blotato and confirm the intended username in Accounts.
Use your Instagram login, not your Facebook login. Blotato uses Instagram Login for professional accounts of type Business or Creator. This connection does not require a linked Facebook Page. See [Meta's Instagram Login requirements](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-platform/instagram-api-with-instagram-login).
Checking the connected identity does not require a test post. Approve comments and messaging permissions if you intend to use Inbox or DM automations. If analytics authorization is requested, approve it to use that feature.
***
## Inbox Is Empty After Connecting Instagram
Blotato does not import past Instagram posts, comments, or direct messages. The Inbox starts showing new activity received after the account connects.
1. Confirm the intended Instagram username is connected.
2. Check for a comment or message received after connection, rather than expecting historical activity.
3. Refresh the [Comments and Messaging Inbox](https://my.blotato.com/inbox).
4. Check the event type, permissions, and account using the checklist below before reconnecting.
If a new test comment or message is needed, obtain approval first and check whether it would trigger a live DM automation. Do not send a customer-facing message merely to verify login.
See [Why Is My Instagram Inbox Empty?](/web-app-features/inbox.md#why-is-my-instagram-inbox-empty) for the full checklist.
***
## Reconnect to Use DM Automation Follow Gates
Blotato subscribes the account to button-tap events during connection. Reconnecting with messaging permission refreshes this subscription. A waiting follow gate does not, by itself, prove a missing subscription. Inspect the automation's run and account first.
For comment-triggered DM automations, your connected Instagram account must own the post. DM automations do not run on posts where your account appears only as a collaborator. If you co-authored a post, create the automation from the Instagram account that originally published the post.
1. Go to [Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/accounts).
2. Open the Instagram account's actions menu and select Reconnect.
3. Leave every permission checked, including **messaging**, and finish connecting.
4. Check the automation's run and active state. Reconnection is not a reason to activate a draft automation or restart a completed run.
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 text reply, so a desktop reader advances without tapping.
See [Ask for a Follow](/web-app-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.
Select Connect account > Instagram in [Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/accounts). Choose the additional Instagram identity in the authorization flow, then verify its username appears alongside the existing connection. Some versions show Switch account in a three-dots menu.
On the Instagram consent screen, click the three dots (···) in the top right, then "Switch account".
If Instagram keeps selecting the first account, use a private window with the intended Instagram login and the intended Blotato login. Start with Connect account > Instagram. Reconnect is for renewing an existing identity. See [Connecting Multiple Accounts Per Platform](/settings/social-accounts.md#connecting-multiple-accounts-per-platform).
For a missing Meta privacy menu, follow [Meta privacy-setting diagnosis](/settings/social-accounts.md#error-your-activity-off-meta-technologies-is-missing). Do not reset or remove a working connection merely because a menu label changed.
***
## Error: 400 Session Error Connecting Instagram Account
A 400 response does not establish which service failed or whether the account was saved. Blotato's callback returns 400 for missing authorization data or a session-state mismatch.
1. Check the account list in [Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/accounts) for the intended username.
2. Record the error text, timestamp, and failing page's hostname and path. Omit query parameters containing authorization codes or state values.
3. If the account is absent or needs reauthorization, start a new flow from Blotato Accounts in the same signed-in browser session.
4. Complete the new flow without reopening an old callback URL.
5. If the failure repeats, send the evidence to [support](/support/get-support.md).
An isolated browser session helps with identity selection. It is not a guaranteed fix for every 400 error. Do not publish a test post, remove the integration, or change unrelated Instagram settings to diagnose the status code alone.
***
## Error: HTTP 500 When Connecting Additional Instagram Accounts
A 500 response does not prove an Instagram outage. Blotato's connection callback also returns 500 when saving a connection fails.
1. Identify the failing page's hostname and path and retain its error text.
2. Check whether the intended username appears in Blotato's Accounts list.
3. Confirm the social identity and Blotato account used during authorization.
4. If the wrong identity was selected, start a new flow from Accounts in an isolated browser session.
5. If the error repeats for the correct identity, send support the timestamp and error. Do not include callback query parameters.
Blotato's Instagram authorization uses Instagram Login with Facebook login disabled. A stale Facebook session is not an established cause from this error alone. Do not remove a working account or promise a fixed waiting period.
***
## Error: Account Isn't Eligible When Connecting Instagram
If Instagram reports “account isn't eligible,” confirm the account is professional and record the exact consent-screen error. The message alone does not establish a 24-hour activation delay.
If the user needs publishing only and agrees to omit messaging, retry authorization without the messaging permission:
* Go to [Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/accounts) and select Reconnect from the Instagram account actions menu.
* On the Instagram permissions screen, uncheck the **messaging** permission.
* Leave the rest of the permissions checked and finish connecting.
This attempts publishing-only authorization. It does not guarantee eligibility and excludes the messaging permission required for:
* Reading and sending Instagram DMs. See [Messages API](/rest-api-reference/messages.md).
* Private replies to comments.
* [DM automations](/web-app-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.
If the user needs messaging or has live DM automations, do not silently remove this permission. Escalate the eligibility error. After Instagram allows authorization, reconnect with messaging permission and verify the required feature rather than promising recovery after a fixed delay.
***
## 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 [Accounts](https://my.blotato.com/accounts) and select Reconnect from the Instagram account actions menu.
* Log into the Instagram account you want and finish the consent screen.
* Confirm the same username remains connected. Check the original post's outcome before retrying it. Reauthorization addresses the token error, not unrelated media or platform restrictions.
***
## Instagram Auto-Share to Facebook
Do not promise a Facebook publication from an Instagram-only submission. Blotato's Instagram publisher submits to Instagram, not to a Facebook Page. Instagram's native sharing behavior is separate from Blotato's destination results.
If the user requests both destinations, connect Instagram and the intended Facebook Page, then select both in Blotato and verify each result. If native crossposting is enabled, check Facebook before submitting an additional Facebook post to avoid duplicates. See [Publication outcome checks](/start-with-an-ai-agent/publishing-status.md).
---
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