Manage your Instagram and Facebook direct messages (DMs) and comments as well as TikTok comments directly in Later from a unified inbox. Keep all of your conversations in one place, respond faster, and stay on top of important messages—without needing to switch between apps.

Important:

• Social Inbox is currently available on Later for desktop only (not mobile)
• Currently supports: 
  • DMs and comments for Instagram and Facebook 
  • Comments for TikTok 
• Social Inbox is a beta feature

Social Inbox Limitations:

• DMs can’t be marked as unread nor will they marked as ‘seen’ when viewed in Social Inbox
• Emoji reactions aren’t currently supported
• Due to API limitations:
  • Only DMs received within the past 7 days can be responded to
  • Conversations from the Requests tab will only be included if they have activity within the past 30 days
  • Instagram-specific features such as voice notes, images, and polls aren't currently supported
  • New threads with users you haven’t previously DMed can’t be created
  • Instagram DM notifications about post tags aren't displayed in Social Inbox

Access Social Inbox

To access Social Inbox:

1. Select Social Inbox from the left navigation menu
2. Select your Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok profile from the top of the page
   • Multiple profiles can be selected at once
3. From the side panel, select Messages for DMs (Instagram and Facebook only) or Posts to view comments on your posts:
   
4. Organize your messages (DMs) or posts by Newest or Oldest first from the dropdown

From the top of the left sidebar, you can select your Facebook Page or Instagram profile to display messages (DMs) or posts for, or your TikTok profile to display comments.

Manage DMs & Comments in Social Inbox

DMs

Select a message (DM) from the sidebar to open the conversation view. Use the search box at the top to filter for specific users.

In the conversation panel on the right, type your response and select Reply. Replies are sent to the user in real-time. At this time, emoji reactions aren’t supported.

To check for new DMs or posts, refresh your browser tab.

Comments

When a post is selected, you'll see a list of comments on it with any replies nested under the parent:

Select the arrow icon to reply to a comment, or the crossed-out eye or trash can icon to hide or delete it, respectively.

Comments in Social Inbox are supported for Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Social Inbox FAQs

Why am I seeing "Error: Cannot load messages"? 

If you're receiving a Cannot load messages error, it means your Instagram account has disabled access to direct messages. You can enable them from the Instagram app as follows:

1. In the Instagram mobile app, go to your profile
2. Tap ☰ in the top right corner
3. Tap Messages and story replies
4. Tap Message requests
5. Toggle on Allow access to messages

Can I restrict a member's access to Social Inbox? 

No, Account Owners cannot restrict a member's access to Social Inbox at this time. You can only edit roles and permissions for Reviewers and those who can Publish Without Approval.