Guide: Load a post, ad or reel by its link
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/load-a-post-ad-or-reel-by-its-link
Topic: Post cleanup and tasks
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/tools
Result when done: Every comment on any one post is in front of you, however old the post is.
Context: Moderation rules work on comments as they arrive. Post cleanup is for everything that arrived before: paste a link and every comment and reply on that post is fetched, so you can read, filter and clear years of backlog. Post cleanup is included from Starter.

Before you start:
1. The post must belong to a Facebook Page or an Instagram account your Facebook login manages.
2. Every comment and every reply is fetched, so a large post takes a minute.
3. Loading a post costs nothing on its own; checking the comments against your rules is what counts.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Open Post cleanup.
Where: Tools in the left sidebar, then Post cleanup. On a phone, the Tools tab in the bottom bar.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools (Open post cleanup)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup.en.webp (Post cleanup: paste a link, or reopen a recent post.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A box for the post URL, the posts found on your pages, and the posts you opened recently.

Step 2 of 3: Paste the link and load the comments.
Where: Post or ad URL, then Load comments. The owning page is detected from the link, so you do not choose it. Big posts take a minute because every comment and reply is fetched.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-loaded.en.webp (A loaded post: its comments, and Check comments.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-phone-loaded.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Every comment on that post, with a count, filters, and Check comments ready to run.

Step 3 of 3: Or pick a post from your pages.
Where: Under the box, Or pick from the posts found on your pages. CommentWatchDog notices the posts your comments arrive on, so the ones that matter are usually already listed.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools/posts (Open the posts library)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/posts-library.en.webp (Posts: every post that received a comment, ready to open.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/posts-library-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A list with the comment count, how many were flagged and when it was last cleaned.

If something is off:
Problem: Couldn't match that URL to a post
Fix: The link is not to a post on a page your Facebook login manages, or it is a shortened link. Open the post on Facebook or Instagram and copy the link from there.
Problem: The post loaded with no comments
Fix: Meta returned none. If you can see comments on the post itself, use Refresh to pull them again.
Problem: It is taking a long time
Fix: Every comment and reply is fetched. A post with thousands of comments takes a minute or two; the count fills as it goes.
Problem: The page is not added yet
Fix: You are offered to add it in one click, and the cleanup continues afterwards.

Common questions:
Question: Which plans include post cleanup?
Answer: Starter and every plan above it. Starter acts on one comment at a time; bulk hide and delete start on Growth. Mini and Lite are offered in selected countries.
Question: Does loading a post in Post cleanup use up credits?
Answer: No. Loading a post costs nothing on its own, and browsing its comments is free too. What counts is checking the loaded comments against your rules, at one credit per comment checked.
Question: Can I clean up comments on a post from years ago?
Answer: Yes. Post cleanup fetches every comment and reply on the post from the platform, however old the post is, so it covers everything that arrived before your rules were watching.
Question: Does Post cleanup work for Instagram posts and reels?
Answer: Yes. The box takes a Facebook post or ad link and an Instagram post or reel link, as long as the Page or account is one your Facebook login manages.
Question: Can I run a post cleanup from my phone?
Answer: Yes. On a phone, Post cleanup is under the Tools tab in the bottom bar; on a desktop it is under Tools in the left sidebar. The same URL box, comment list and filters are there.

Related guides:
- Get the URL of a post, ad or reel: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/get-the-url-of-a-post-ad-or-reel
- Check comments against your rules: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/check-comments-against-your-rules
- The posts library: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/the-posts-library

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/load-a-post-ad-or-reel-by-its-link.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt