Guide: Your first look at the inbox
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/your-first-look-at-the-inbox
Topic: Getting started
Time: about 4 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: You can find any comment, tell at a glance what happened to it, and reply, hide or delete it.
Context: The inbox holds every comment from every page you added, newest first. Comments your rules hid or deleted are here too, marked with the rule that caught them, so nothing happens out of sight.

Before you start:
1. At least one page is connected and shows Receiving comments.
2. New comments arrive within seconds of being posted; older comments are not imported.
3. Anyone on the team can open the inbox; what they can do depends on their role.

Steps:
Step 1 of 5: Open the inbox.
Where: All comments, at the top of the left sidebar, shows every page together. Clicking a page under Pages shows that page alone. On a phone, the Comments tab in the bottom bar.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the inbox)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox.en.webp (The inbox: every page together, newest first, each row tagged with its page.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-phone.en.webp (The inbox on a phone.)
You should see: Every comment from every page you added, newest first, each with the mark and name of the page it came from.

Step 2 of 5: Read one row.
Where: A row carries the author, the page, when it was posted, the comment itself, and chips that say what happened to it: Hidden followed by the rule that hid it, Deleted, Needs reply, Replied, Ad, or a label. Under the text sits a row of icons: reply, like, hide, delete, translate, and a link to the post it came from.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-hidden.en.webp (A hidden comment: greyed, with a chip naming the rule that hid it.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-hidden-phone.en.webp (The same row on a phone.)
You should see: A hidden comment is greyed and carries a chip naming the rule, so you always know why it went.

Step 3 of 5: Narrow the list.
Where: Filters, above the list: page, label, visibility, type (ads or posts), reply state and date. Search finds words in the comment or in the author name. On a phone the Filters button opens the same choices as a sheet.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-filtered.en.webp (Filters applied: the list narrows and Clear filters appears.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-filters-phone.en.webp (The Filters sheet on a phone.)
You should see: Only the comments that match. Your filters stay while you work, and the count follows them.

Step 4 of 5: Reply to a comment.
Where: The reply icon under the comment. The composer opens with two ways to answer: publicly, which everyone sees under the post, or as a private message, which goes to the author and is allowed once per comment within seven days. Generate writes a draft using your agent knowledge, and typing a slash opens your saved replies.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/reply-composer.en.webp (The composer under a comment, with Reply.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/reply-composer-phone.en.webp (The composer on a phone.)
You should see: Your reply appears under the comment on the platform, and the row is marked Replied.

Step 5 of 5: Use Archive and Bin.
Where: The tabs above the list. Inbox is what still needs you. Archive is what you have dealt with and want out of the way; nothing is deleted anywhere. Bin is the record of comments deleted from the platform, with the rule or the person that deleted them.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-bin.en.webp (The Bin tab: deleted comments and what deleted them.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-bin-phone.en.webp (The Bin on a phone.)
You should see: The Bin lists deleted comments with the rule or the person that deleted them. The comments themselves are already gone from the platform.

If something is off:
Problem: The inbox is empty
Fix: Comments arrive from the moment a page is added, not before. Post a comment on your own page to check, or wait for the next one.
Problem: A comment I hid is still visible to me
Fix: That is how hiding works on Facebook and Instagram: you and the author still see it, everyone else does not.
Problem: I cannot find a comment I know exists
Fix: Clear the filters and set Date to All time. A comment that was deleted sits in the Bin, not the Inbox.
Problem: A reply was refused
Fix: Meta refuses replies on some comments, for example on an ad that has stopped running or a comment the author has removed. The row keeps the error and the comment stays where it is.
Problem: Someone on my team sees fewer comments
Fix: Managers and moderators can be limited to certain pages. Their page access is on the Users tab in Settings.

Common questions:
Question: Does the inbox show Facebook and Instagram comments together?
Answer: Yes. All comments, at the top of the left sidebar, shows every page together, newest first, each row tagged with the mark and name of the page it came from. Click a page under Pages to see that page alone.
Question: Can a moderator reply to comments from the inbox?
Answer: Yes. Anyone on the team can open the inbox, and a moderator can hide, delete, reply to and archive comments. Changing the rules needs a manager, an administrator or the owner.
Question: How many private message replies can I send to one comment?
Answer: One. A private message reply is allowed once per comment, within seven days of the comment, and it goes to the author only. A public reply, which everyone sees under the post, is the other option in the same composer.
Question: If I archive a comment, is it deleted anywhere?
Answer: No. Archive is for comments you have dealt with and want out of the way; nothing is deleted anywhere. Only Delete removes a comment from the platform, and the Bin keeps the record of what was deleted and by which rule or person.

Related guides:
- Turn on your first moderation rules: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/turn-on-your-first-moderation-rules
- Install CommentWatchDog on your phone: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/install-commentwatchdog-on-your-phone
- Reply in public or by private message: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/reply-in-public-or-by-private-message

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/getting-started/your-first-look-at-the-inbox.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt