Posts, reels, ads and DMs, the Instagram specifics
Instagram gives an account Hidden Words, two default filters and comments-off per post; it gives creators an AI that answers DMs in English. The watchdog builds on Meta's own rules for hiding and private replies, and adds meaning, delete, replies, the backlog and every account in one inbox.
What an account can do on its own, and what it cannot
Hidden Words and the default filters, Business Suite automations and Instagram's AI replies, as Meta documents them, against the product.
| Job | Hidden Words and filters | Business Suite automations | Instagram AI replies | CommentWatchDog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hide by common offensive words | Yes, Hide unwanted comments | No | No | Yes, profanity in any language |
| Hide by your own words, numbers, emojis | Yes, a list you maintain | No | No | Yes, keywords, URLs, numbers, emails, hashtags, emojis, images |
| Hide by meaning (negativity, scams, impersonators, your topics) | No | No | No | Yes, four rules that read the comment |
| Delete, not only hide | No | No | No | Yes, per rule |
| Reply to a comment | No | Partly, comment-to-message on a hashtag, desktop only | No, DMs only, in English | Yes: composer, saved replies, automations, agents, any language |
| Answer DMs | No | Yes, templates, five keywords, a 15-minute delay | Yes, for creators, English, mobile | Yes, the thread with photos, voice, GIFs, reactions, translation |
| The backlog under an old post or reel | No | No | No | Yes, Post cleanup on any link |
| Every account and Page in one list | No, one account | No, one business | No, one creator | Yes, all pages, brands, one inbox |
| A record of what was hidden and why | Partly, View hidden comments | No | No | Yes, the rule on every row, the Bin, Insights |
Sources: Instagram Help Center, "Hidden Words", "Turn comments on or off for Instagram posts", "About AI auto replies"; Meta Business Help Center, "Manage comments on your ads", "Inbox automations"; the Instagram Platform private-replies reference, read 2026-09-05. The CommentWatchDog column is the product as shipped.
Meta's rules, and the product on top of them
The platform facts first, then the Instagram-specific capabilities, in the app's own words.
What Instagram gives an account
The platform rules the product is built on, stated as Meta states them.
- Hidden means author-only
A hidden comment is visible only to you and the person who made it; the person is not told, and hidden comments still count in the total. Meta's Hide unwanted comments is on by default; Hide spam and Hidden Words add filters and your list.
Hidden
- Comments on ads stay on
For most advertisers, anyone who can see the ad can comment. Hidden Words extends to ads from the account; ad comments are manageable only when an Instagram account is connected.
AdCame in through an ad
- Comments off is per post
An account can turn commenting off on one post, which hides its existing comments until commenting is turned back on. There is no account-wide switch, and off removes the questions with the spam.
Turn off commenting
- Private replies have a window
One private reply per comment, within 7 days; it lands in the inbox if the person follows the account, otherwise in Requests; the conversation continues only if they answer, inside the 24-hour window.
Send as private messageReply window open · {left} left
- No blocking through the API
Instagram does not offer blocking through the API; muting an author (their future comments hidden) is the available equivalent.
MuteInstagram comments are skipped, since Instagram does not allow blocking through the API.
What the watchdog does on top
Everything the rest of the product does, with the Instagram specifics.
- Connected through the Page
An Instagram professional account joins from the same Facebook connection as the Page it is linked to; the sidebar shows both with their marks, and a page group puts them together as one brand.
Connect FacebookPage groups
- Posts, reels, ads
Comments from posts, reels and ads arrive in the same inbox; the Ad marker and scope work as on Facebook; Post cleanup takes a post or reel link.
Both posts and adsPost or ad URL
- Hide or delete, by rule
Twelve rules per account; hide keeps Meta's author-only behaviour, delete removes the comment for good.
HideDelete
- Reply, and reply privately
Reply in public, or send the one private reply Meta allows and continue in Messages when they answer. Instagram comments have no page like, so the button is not there.
ReplySend as private message
- Instagram DMs with reactions
The account's Direct conversations beside its comments: photos, voice notes, GIFs, quoted replies, emoji reactions on the customer's messages, translation, the 24-hour window shown live.
Instagram DMReact with an emojiView in Meta Business Suite
- Its own agent and automations
An agent can cover the Instagram account on its own (the showcase concierge answers Instagram in auto mode); automations are per account too.
Pages this agent coversCreate automation
Instagram in the app
Real captures from the showcase account.
Unlinked accounts, Page-identity ads, and blocking
The Instagram-specific situations, handled.
- The account is not linked to a Page
- Instagram professional accounts join through the Facebook Page they are linked to; link the account to a Page in Instagram's settings, then Refresh pages.
- Ads run under a Page identity
- Their Instagram comments are manageable only when an Instagram account is connected, as Meta documents; connect the account and they arrive like the rest.
- Message access was not allowed
- Instagram DMs need the messaging permission on the connection; an amber banner in Messages offers Reconnect and allow.
- You want to block someone
- Not through the API. Mute hides their future comments quietly; block them in the Instagram app if you must.
- Meta refuses an action
- Rate limits queue single actions and pause bulk jobs; both resume on their own.
Everything else works the same on Instagram
The inbox, the rules, cleanup, agents and messages are the same product; these pages describe them.
Questions about Instagram
Short answers about accounts, reels, ads and DMs.
Instagram professional accounts (business or creator) linked to a Facebook Page that your Facebook login manages. They are added from the same connection as the Pages, one click each, and each account counts as one page on your plan.
Meta's rule: a hidden comment is visible only to you and the person who made it, the person is not told, and it still counts in the post's comment total. Everyone else stops seeing it.
Yes. Comments on posts, reels and ads of the account arrive in the same inbox with an Ad marker where they came through an ad; the rules run on all of them; Post cleanup takes a post or reel link.
Hidden Words is a list of words, phrases, numbers and emojis you type and maintain, plus Meta's "Hide unwanted comments" and "Hide spam" filters, on one account, hide only. CommentWatchDog reads meaning (negativity, scams, impersonators, your topics) in any language, can delete, replies, covers every account and Page in one inbox, and cleans the backlog.
Yes, within Meta's rules: one private reply per comment, within 7 days of the comment; it lands in the person's inbox if they follow the account, otherwise in Requests; the conversation continues only if they answer, inside the 24-hour window.
No. Instagram's API does not offer blocking, so the bulk Block authors action skips Instagram rows and says so. Mute (hide the author's future comments) works everywhere.
Instagram's AI auto replies answer direct messages for creators, in the mobile app, trained in English, being gradually introduced. They do not reply to comments. CommentWatchDog answers comments, in public or by private message, in the commenter's language, for business and creator accounts.