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Connect Instagram to your dashboard

Read customer DMs, share products and enable product recommendations on Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

Until Meta finishes reviewing Retriever, the inbox is switched on shop by shop, and automatic replies only reach people Retriever has added to its Meta app for testing. Email support@retriever.com.np to ask for it on your shop.

Use Instagram inbox to read DMs, reply and share products. Adding a handle in Shop details only adds a website social link; connect here for DMs.

Before you connect

Sign in as the shop's owner and use its Business or Creator account. New to business accounts? Follow Set up Instagram Business and Meta Business Suitefor account conversion and optional portfolio creation. A linked Facebook Page is not required for Retriever.

Publish names, photos, prices and codes in Products and check their links.

Connect your shop account

  1. Check that the correct shop name appears in your dashboard. Open Instagram inboxfrom the navigation. On a phone, use More to find it.
  2. Click Connect Instagram once in the empty inbox. It is also in Inbox settings: the settings button next to the name at the top of the list (⋮ on a phone or in a narrow list).
  3. On Instagram, sign in to the account you want this shop to use. Check its username before continuing. Allow the requested basic profile and messaging permissions.
  4. Finish authorization and return to Retriever in the same browser. Do not reload an old authorization URL or share its code.
  5. Open Inbox settings again. Confirm Connected and the correct @username. The connection expiry is shown here.

App creation, tokens and secrets are Retriever administrator tasks. Owners use this login flow.

Example Inbox settings popup showing a connected shop account, connection controls and the automatic product help privacy acknowledgment
Illustration with synthetic test data. Check the username, connection status and privacy notice in your own Inbox settings.

Read messages and share products

Send a fresh Hello from a different Instagram account. Refresh the Retriever inbox and select its conversation. Earlier conversations are not imported. The inbox shows the last 30 days.

Write a reply at the bottom. Enter sends it; Shift + Enter adds a line. Retriever allows replies within 24 hours of the customer's latest message. For older conversations, open Instagram. If delivery is unconfirmed, check Instagram before sending again.

Click the package icon, Share products, beside the reply box. In the popup, search and select up to 10 items, choose Swipeable cards or Text and links, then click Send products. Cards work in the phone app; use text and links on desktop.

Synthetic shop inbox with a selected customer conversation, reply box and Share products icon
Example conversation, not a real customer record. Messages scroll inside the inbox; the reply box stays below them.

On a phone, a tablet or a narrower window, the buttons at the top of the inbox go behind a ⋮ button where there is no room for them. Above the list it holds Refresh and Inbox settings. Above a conversation it holds Mark as priority, Mark to follow up, Mark as unread, Mark as done and, when automatic product help is on, Take over conversation. When automatic help is paused for that customer, the last item reads Resume automatic product help.

Example conversation on a phone with the More menu open: Mark as priority, Mark to follow up, Mark as unread and Mark as done
Example shop on a phone. Tap ⋮ at the top right of a conversation to see its actions.

Change the order of the tabs

With Messenger, WhatsApp or Shop page chat on, the Inbox has a tab for each: All messages, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Shop page. Hold a tab and drag it to change the order. A short tap still opens the tab, and a quick swipe still scrolls the row. On a computer, move to a tab with the Tab key and press Alt (Option on a Mac) with the left or right arrow. The order is kept on this phone or computer only; another browser shows the usual order. When the Inbox has no tab to go back to, it opens on your first tab.

Example Inbox on a phone with the Messenger tab held and lifted, dragged in front of All messages
Example shop on a phone. Hold a tab until it lifts, then drag it left or right.

Turn on automatic product help

  1. Open Inbox settings → Automatic product help. Connecting alone does not turn on automatic replies.
  2. Read the notice and disclose this AI use in your customer privacy notice. The named provider processes the latest message and public catalogue. Messages may include personal details. Order drafts, buying costs and other conversations are not shared.
  3. Tick I have updated my customer privacy notice and allow this processing, then click Enable automatic product help.
  4. Confirm Automatic product help is on. If it says the feature is not available yet, ask Retriever to check merchant access and server setup.

Customers send a product name, SKU or Recommend an oversized hoodie. Where offered, tap Recommend products in the phone app. Size, colour, quantity and checkout stay on your website. DMs do not create orders or verify payments.

Test it and take over a conversation

  1. From another account, send Hello. Check that it appears in Retriever and, with product help on, that the greeting arrives in Instagram.
  2. Send one of your exact product names and then its code. Check the photo, price and product link. Try a recommendation request and open a returned item on your website.
  3. Send HUMAN. After its pause confirmation, send Hello again. The new message should appear in Retriever without an automatic reply.
  4. Send START to resume, then check a product request again. START is for resuming a paused conversation; customers do not need it before every message.

Take over conversation pauses one customer; Resume automatic product helpresumes them. Turn off automatic product help in Inbox settings switches off the whole account.

WhatsApp has its own switch for automatic product help: see WhatsApp automatic product help.

If something does not work

  • No messages: check Connected and the username, send a fresh DM from another account, then refresh. If still empty, give Help the time and visible error.
  • Messages arrive but no automatic reply: check that product help is on and this conversation is not paused. Send START if you previously used HUMAN.
  • Authorization error: start a fresh connection once from Inbox settings in the same browser. If it repeats, give Help the error text. Keep authorization URLs, passwords and tokens private.
  • Permissions missing: reconnect and allow both basic profile and messaging permissions. Confirm you are using a professional account.
  • Too many connection attempts: wait 10 minutes, then click Connect Instagram once.
  • Connection expires: use Renew connection while it is active. Wait at least 24 hours after connecting or renewing before renewing again. Use Reconnect Instagram when the account needs new authorization.

Disconnect removes Retriever's connection and stored inbox. Read its confirmation. Remove Instagram permission under Instagram's Settings → Website permissions.

Account requirements: Meta's Instagram API documentation. These steps describe Retriever.

Read next
  1. WhatsApp automatic product helpLet automatic product help answer customers who message your shop on WhatsApp, and take over a conversation when you want to reply yourself.
  2. Manage your catalogAdd products, photos, prices, and take items off the shelf when you are out of stock.
  3. Chat with shoppers on your shop pageTurn on a chat button on your shop page from the Inbox. Shoppers write to you there, you answer from the Inbox, and automatic product help can answer product questions for you until you reply.
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Still stuck? Message usTell us what is happening and we will reply, usually the same day.
WhatsApp usOr email support@retriever.com.np