Guide: What Meta allows
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/what-meta-allows
Topic: Automation
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Everyone
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: You know the six rules every automation is built around, so nothing on the list surprises you.
Context: Every recipe is shaped by what Instagram and Messenger permit an app to do. The editor encodes them in its block order and its one-line help; this page says them in plain words.

Before you start:
1. These are Meta's rules, not ours; the product cannot go around them.
2. They are the same for every tool that uses the official API.

Steps:
Step 1 of 6: One private reply per comment, within 7 days.
Where: A comment can be answered privately once, and only within 7 days of the comment. That is why the DM recipe has one message, why the follow ask is that one message, and why the email offer can only go after they tap or reply.
You should see: In the editor: "the one private reply Meta allows" under the message.

Step 2 of 6: The 24-hour window.
Where: After a person writes or taps, the page may send for 24 hours. After that, only their next message or tap reopens it. People shows the window per person; a run outside it is skipped as "reply window closed".
You should see: People: Open · 21h left, or Closed.

Step 3 of 6: Requests on Instagram.
Where: A private reply to someone who does not follow you lands in their Requests folder, and Instagram does not report whether it was seen. The run reads Waiting; the follow ask exists for exactly this.
You should see: Runs: Waiting, with the sentence in the drawer.

Step 4 of 6: Stop means stop.
Where: A person who writes stop, or its equivalent in their language, is never messaged by an automation again and is left out of exports unless you tick them in. They can still write to you.
You should see: People: Asked to stop.

Step 5 of 6: Public replies on ads can be refused.
Where: Facebook refuses public replies on some ad comments (its error 1705). The DM recipe skips only its public line; the reply recipe sends the same text privately when the fallback is on. The row says Needs attention and the runs name each one.
You should see: Needs attention on the row; the runs.

Step 6 of 6: Some people cannot be reached.
Where: Meta answers error 551 for a person who blocked the page or left the platform. The person reads Unreachable and automations skip them.
You should see: People: Unreachable.

If something is off:
Problem: Another tool says it can message everyone
Fix: It cannot through the official API. Some tools message people who never wrote; that is what gets an account restricted.

Common questions:
Question: Can an automation reply to comments on a live video?
Answer: No. Comments on an Instagram live are stored but never trigger.
Question: Can a story reply be answered on Facebook?
Answer: No. Facebook does not report story replies to apps; the story recipe is Instagram only.

Related guides:
- Send a DM when someone comments: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/send-a-dm-when-someone-comments
- People and exports: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/people-and-exports
- Runs: what each automation did: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/runs-what-each-automation-did

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/what-meta-allows.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt