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InstagramMessaging Windows

Messaging Windows

Instagram enforces strict rules about when you can send a DM to a user. These rules are Instagram’s, not Splashify Pro’s — we simply reflect them in the composer and enforce them server-side.

The three windows

Since user’s last DM to youWhat you can sendBanner colour
0–24 hoursAny text or media, no tagGreen — “Free-reply window open”
24 hours–7 daysText only, must carry HUMAN_AGENT tagAmber — “Human Agent tag”
More than 7 daysNothing. Wait for them to message againRed — “Locked”

Why Instagram does this

Instagram’s goal is to keep DMs a conversational inbox, not a marketing channel. Businesses can respond to user-initiated conversations freely for the first 24h, then progressively lock down to prevent cold outreach and spam.

How Splashify Pro handles each window

Inside 24h

Your message is sent with no extra metadata. Full creative freedom — attach media, use emoji, link to wherever you want.

Between 24h and 7d

Splashify Pro automatically stamps the outbound message with:

messaging_type: MESSAGE_TAG
tag: HUMAN_AGENT

This tells Instagram the message is a legitimate human-agent follow-up (per Meta’s Human Agent policy ). Valid use cases include:

  • Following up on a support issue that takes more than 24h to resolve
  • Responding after a weekend / holiday closure
  • Sending information a customer specifically asked for

Prohibited in this window: promotions, marketing blasts, offer announcements. If you send something that looks promotional, Instagram may flag your account.

Requires the Human Agent feature to be approved on the Meta App. Splashify Pro has it submitted.

After 7 days

Composer is disabled. Splashify Pro’s backend also refuses any DM API call to this user — if your code (or another agent in your org) tries, Meta rejects it.

Your only path back: wait for the user to DM you.

When the clock resets

A new inbound DM from the user resets last_inbound_at on their conversation. This flips the composer back to the green “Free-reply” state for the next 24h.

Comments on your reels do not reset the window — Instagram treats comments and DMs as separate surfaces.

Automation rule DMs and the window

When your rule fires a DM in response to a comment, Splashify Pro treats that DM as being inside the 24h window automatically — the comment itself is the user’s initial engagement signal. This is why comment-triggered auto-DMs always succeed regardless of whether the user has DM’d you before.

What to show users in your UI

The composer banner above the input reflects the window state in real time. The countdown ticks down once a minute. You don’t need to manage this yourself.

API-level checks

If you’re integrating via Splashify Pro’s public API, you can query the current window status for a conversation:

GET /api/v1/app/instagram/messages/window?conversation_id=...

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "window": {
    "state": "open",
    "can_reply": true,
    "needs_human_agent": false,
    "seconds_remaining": 82500,
    "last_inbound_at": "2026-04-24T03:15:22Z"
  }
}

Use can_reply to decide whether to enable your send button. Use needs_human_agent to tell the user that their reply will carry the support tag.

Instagram InboxTroubleshooting