Guide: What CommentWatchDog can moderate on Facebook and Instagram
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/what-commentwatchdog-can-moderate-on-facebook-and-instagram
Topic: How Facebook and Instagram behave
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone choosing or setting up the tool
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/pages
Result when done: You know, place by place, where the rules hide or delete comments, where Post cleanup reaches, and what no app can touch.
Context: CommentWatchDog moderates comments on Facebook Pages and Instagram professional accounts: posts, reels and ads on both, boosted posts, ads built in Ads Manager (dark posts) and Advantage+ ads included. Every new comment arrives by Meta webhook and the rules hide or delete it the moment it lands; Post cleanup fetches every older comment on a post, reel or ad by its link for one bulk hide or delete. Facebook groups, personal profiles, Live chats and reactions are outside what Meta offers apps. By 26 October 2026 the rules had hidden or deleted 3,372 comments on live accounts: 2,361 under Facebook ads, 478 on Facebook posts, 379 on Instagram posts and reels, 154 under Instagram ads.

Before you start:
1. It works on Facebook Pages and on Instagram business or creator accounts linked to a Page your Facebook login manages.
2. It connects through Meta's official API: you sign in with Facebook, no password is shared, and nothing is installed in your browser.
3. Rules run on comments that arrive after a page is added; Post cleanup is for everything that was already there.

Where comments are covered:
Facebook Page posts: Rules, as it lands: Hide or delete; Post cleanup, older comments: Yes, by the post link; Good to know: Every comment and reply on the post.
Facebook ads: Rules, as it lands: Hide or delete; Post cleanup, older comments: Yes, by the link the ad preview opens; Good to know: Boosted posts, dark posts and Advantage+ ads: every ad the Page runs. Meta can refuse to delete under an ad that has stopped running; hiding often works.
Facebook reels: Rules, as it lands: Hide or delete; Post cleanup, older comments: Yes, by the reel link; Good to know: For moderation, a reel counts as a post.
Instagram posts and reels: Rules, as it lands: Hide or delete; Post cleanup, older comments: Yes, by the post or reel link; Good to know: A hidden comment is seen only by you and its author.
Instagram ads: Rules, as it lands: Hide or delete; Post cleanup, older comments: Yes, by the link of the post the ad promotes; Good to know: On a partnership ad, Meta says advertisers cannot delete comments.
Collab posts: Rules, as it lands: When your account created it; Post cleanup, older comments: When your account created it; Good to know: A collab post belongs to the account that created it.
Facebook and Instagram Live: Rules, as it lands: Not covered; Post cleanup, older comments: Not covered; Good to know: Use the Live's own blocked keywords on Facebook and Hidden Words on Instagram.
Facebook groups and personal profiles: Rules, as it lands: Not available; Post cleanup, older comments: Not available; Good to know: Meta does not offer them to apps for comment moderation.
Reactions: Rules, as it lands: Not available; Post cleanup, older comments: Not available; Good to know: Meta offers no way for an app to hide or remove a reaction.

What you can do to a comment:
Hide and unhide: Facebook: Yes; Instagram: Yes
Delete: Facebook: Yes; Instagram: Yes
Hide or delete in bulk: Facebook: Yes, no cap per batch; Instagram: Yes, no cap per batch
Reply in public: Facebook: Yes; Instagram: Yes
Private reply by DM: Facebook: Yes, once, within 7 days; Instagram: Yes, once, within 7 days
Mute the author: Facebook: Yes; Instagram: Yes
Block the author: Facebook: Yes; Instagram: In the Instagram app
Like as the page: Facebook: Yes; Instagram: In the Instagram app

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Add the Facebook Page or Instagram account.
Where: Settings, then Pages. Every Page your Facebook login manages, and every Instagram professional account linked to one, is listed under Available to add.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/settings/pages (Open Settings, Pages)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/pages.en.webp (Settings, Pages.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/pages-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The page in your list, with new comments arriving in the inbox.

Step 2 of 3: Choose where the rules run.
Where: On the page, the Moderation tab, Apply moderation to: Ads only, Posts only, or Both. Posts include reels.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the inbox)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-whitelist.en.webp (Apply moderation to: ads, posts, or both.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-whitelist-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Rules that hide or delete under the places you chose, the moment a comment lands.

Step 3 of 3: Clear what was there before.
Where: Post cleanup: paste a Facebook post, reel or ad link, or an Instagram post or reel link, and every comment and reply on it is fetched.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools (Open post cleanup)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-empty.en.webp (The Post or ad URL box.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-empty-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Every older comment on that post, ready to check against your rules and hide or delete in bulk.

If something is off:
Problem: My Instagram account is not in the list
Fix: It must be a business or creator account linked to a Facebook Page your login manages. Link it in Instagram, then Refresh pages.
Problem: Comments under my ad are not moderated
Fix: The page scope is Posts only. Set Apply moderation to to Ads only or Both.
Problem: A comment could not be deleted
Fix: The row keeps what Meta said. A stopped ad, a removed post or a partnership ad are the usual reasons; hiding often works instead.

Common questions:
Question: Does CommentWatchDog moderate comments on Facebook ads and Instagram ads?
Answer: Yes. Rules hide or delete comments under every ad the Page runs, boosted posts, dark posts built in Ads Manager and Advantage+ ads included, and under Instagram ads through the Page the account is linked to. Each ad comment carries the Ad marker in the inbox. The one exception is a partnership ad on Instagram, where Meta says advertisers cannot delete comments.
Question: Does it work on reels?
Answer: Yes, on Facebook and Instagram. A reel is a post for moderation: comments arrive and the rules run like on any other post, and Post cleanup takes a reel link the same way it takes a post link.
Question: Can it moderate a Facebook group, a personal profile or a Live?
Answer: No. Meta does not offer groups or personal profiles to apps for comment moderation, and Live chats are outside what CommentWatchDog reads. For a Live, the blocked keywords on Facebook and Hidden Words on Instagram apply.
Question: Can it clean up comments that were posted before I signed up?
Answer: Yes. Rules run on new comments, and Post cleanup fetches every comment and reply on a post, reel or ad by its link, however old, for one bulk hide or delete with no cap per batch. Post cleanup is included from Starter; bulk actions start on Growth.

Related guides:
- Comments on ads: what Meta allows: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/comments-on-ads-what-meta-allows
- Ads only, posts only, or both: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/ads-only-posts-only-or-both
- Which comments cannot be deleted: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/which-comments-cannot-be-deleted
- Comments on Facebook ads: hide or delete: https://commentwatchdog.com/facebook-ads-comments
- Instagram ads comments: hide or delete: https://commentwatchdog.com/instagram-ads-comments
- CommentGuard alternative, compared: https://commentwatchdog.com/commentguard-alternative
- NapoleonCat alternative, compared: https://commentwatchdog.com/napoleoncat-alternative

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/what-commentwatchdog-can-moderate-on-facebook-and-instagram.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt