What the chips on a comment mean
You can read a row at a glance: what happened to the comment, what did it, and what is expected of you.
On this page
Before you start
- Chips say what happened to the comment.
- Everyone on the team sees the same chips.
- A hidden comment keeps its place in the Inbox.
Read the reply chips: Needs reply, Draft, Replied.
Beside the author name: Needs reply, Draft, Replied
You will see They double as filters for what still needs an answer.
Read the moderation chips: Hidden and Deleted, with the rule.
On the comment: Hidden, then the rule that hid it
You will see The chip names the rule that decided.
Read where the comment came from.
Beside the author: the page, and a gold coin when it came through an ad
You will see Ads is also a filter under Type.
Read the author and machine chips.
Muted author, Auto-reply failed, Left to you, and the queued chips
You will see Every one of these can be handled from the row.
If something is off
- A comment says Hidden, outside the app
- It was hidden on Facebook or Instagram, not here.
- Needs reply is on a comment that is not a question
- It is a judgement. Answer it or archive it.
- Replied is on a comment I did not answer
- An automation answered; click the chip to read the reply.
- A row shows Auto-reply failed
- Meta refused that reply; the words are kept so you can send them.
Common questions
Do all team members see the same chips on a comment?
Yes. Chips are set by what happened to the comment, not by who is looking, so everyone on the team reads the same row the same way. The same state is also in the row text and in the filters.
What does the Whitelist chip mean?
The comment contains one of your whitelisted words, so no moderation rule touched it. The comment was not hidden, and the chip records why.
How can I tell whether a reply was public or a private message?
Look at the Replied chip beside the author name. A padlock on it means the answer went as a private message, and hovering the padlock says it is in Messages, not under the post. No padlock means a public reply.
What does the Draft chip on a comment mean?
Words are waiting in the composer for that comment and nothing was sent: your own, or a reply an AI automation drafted for you to approve. The chip stays until you send or clear them; it also appears when Facebook refused a reply or when you cancel a queued one.
For agents: plain text of this guide · all guides
For agents
Guide: What the chips on a comment mean
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/what-the-chips-on-a-comment-mean
Topic: Inbox and comments
Time: about 3 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 read a row at a glance: what happened to the comment, what did it, and what is expected of you.
Context: Each row carries small labels called chips. They are the row telling you its state: whether it needs an answer, whether something hid it, where it came from, and whether a machine already tried.
Before you start
1. A chip is never the only signal: the same state is also in the row text and in the filters.
2. Chips are set by what happened, not by who is looking, so everyone on the team reads the same row the same way.
3. A hidden comment stays in the Inbox with its chip, it does not move to another tab.
Steps
Step 1 of 4: Read the reply chips: Needs reply, Draft, Replied.
Where: Beside the author name. Needs reply means an AI agent read the comment as a question worth answering. Draft means words are waiting in the composer and nothing was sent: your own, saved as you typed, or a reply an AI automation drafted for you to approve. Replied means an answer went out; a padlock on the chip means it went as a private message, and a click on the chip opens the replies.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the inbox)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox.en.webp (Needs reply, beside the author.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Needs reply and Replied also work as filters, so you can list only what is waiting for an answer.
Step 2 of 4: Read the moderation chips: Hidden and Deleted, with the rule.
Where: A hidden comment is greyed and carries Hidden followed by the rule that hid it, for example Hidden, URL or Hidden, Profanity. Hidden, outside the app means it was hidden on Facebook or Instagram rather than here. Deleted appears in the Bin with the same shape. Whitelist means the comment contains one of your whitelisted words, so no rule touched it. A rule name on a visible comment, with no Hidden before it, means the rule matched but did not act, because it is switched off or the comment is outside the scope the page moderates.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox.en.webp (Hidden, then the rule that hid it.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: You can always answer why a comment went, because the chip names the rule that decided.
Step 3 of 4: Read where the comment came from.
Where: The platform mark, Facebook or Instagram, and the page name sit beside the author. A gold coin after the page name means the comment came in through an ad rather than an organic post; hovering it says Came in through an ad.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-ad.en.webp (The gold coin beside the page name, with the pointer on it: Came in through an ad.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-ad-phone.en.webp (The coin on a phone, where there is no tooltip.)
You should see: Ads is also a filter, under Type, so you can work only the comments under your paid posts.
Step 4 of 4: Read the author and machine chips.
Where: Muted author means every future comment from that person is hidden automatically. Auto-reply failed means an automation tried to answer and Meta refused; the row keeps the words. Left to you, followed by a reason such as upset customer, refund, safety matter, abusive or personal details, means an AI automation chose not to answer and passed the comment to a person. Queued, Hiding queued or Deletion queued mean Meta is limiting actions and the job will finish on its own.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-muted.en.webp (Muted author, on a comment from a muted person.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-muted-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-hand.en.webp (Left to you: refund, beside Needs reply on a refund request.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-hand-phone.en.webp (The same chip on a phone.)
You should see: Each of these states is recoverable from the row itself: unmute the author, send the failed reply yourself, or wait for a queued action to finish.
If something is off
Problem: A comment says Hidden, outside the app
Fix: It was hidden on Facebook or Instagram directly, or by the page settings there. Unhide works from here anyway.
Problem: Needs reply is on a comment that is not a question
Fix: It is a judgement, not a fact. Answer it or archive it; the chip disappears once you reply.
Problem: Replied is on a comment I did not answer
Fix: An automation answered it. Click the chip to read the reply.
Problem: A row shows Auto-reply failed
Fix: Meta refused that reply, usually on an old ad or a comment the author removed. The words are kept so you can send them yourself.
Common questions
Question: Do all team members see the same chips on a comment?
Answer: Yes. Chips are set by what happened to the comment, not by who is looking, so everyone on the team reads the same row the same way. The same state is also in the row text and in the filters.
Question: What does the Whitelist chip mean?
Answer: The comment contains one of your whitelisted words, so no moderation rule touched it. The comment was not hidden, and the chip records why.
Question: How can I tell whether a reply was public or a private message?
Answer: Look at the Replied chip beside the author name. A padlock on it means the answer went as a private message, and hovering the padlock says it is in Messages, not under the post. No padlock means a public reply.
Question: What does the Draft chip on a comment mean?
Answer: Words are waiting in the composer for that comment and nothing was sent: your own, or a reply an AI automation drafted for you to approve. The chip stays until you send or clear them; it also appears when Facebook refused a reply or when you cancel a queued one.
Related guides
Find any comment: filters, search and sorting: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/find-any-comment-filters-search-and-sorting
Hide, unhide and undo: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/hide-unhide-and-undo
Why a reply was queued, and how to cancel it: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/why-a-reply-was-queued-and-how-to-cancel-it
Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/what-the-chips-on-a-comment-mean.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt