Instagram glossary
Every term you'll meet while building on Instagram, defined plainly, no jargon left standing.
Access token
An access token is the credential a tool receives after somebody authorises it, and presents on every API call to prove permission
Full definition →API rate limit
An API rate limit is the ceiling a platform places on how many requests an app may make in a period. Meta applies per-account mess
Full definition →App Review
App Review is Meta's approval process for apps requesting access to user data. A developer must demonstrate each permission in use
Full definition →Broadcast channel
A broadcast channel is an Instagram feature that lets a creator send one-to-many messages to followers who opt in. Only the creato
Full definition →Click-through rate
Click-through rate is the share of people who receive something who then tap its link, written as clicks divided by deliveries. In
Full definition →Close Friends
Close Friends is an Instagram feature that limits a story or post to a list the account owner controls. Content shared to it carri
Full definition →Cold DM
A cold DM is an unsolicited direct message sent to somebody who has not contacted the account first. On Instagram these cannot be
Full definition →Comment-to-DM
Comment-to-DM is an Instagram automation pattern where a comment on a post or reel triggers an automatic direct message to the com
Full definition →Conversation
A conversation is one continuous exchange between an account and one person, however many individual messages it contains. It is t
Full definition →Conversion rate
Conversion rate is the share of people reaching one step of a funnel who complete the next, written as completions divided by entr
Full definition →Creator account
A Creator account is Instagram's professional account type designed for individual creators: artists, coaches, athletes, writers,
Full definition →DM automation
DM automation is software that sends and manages Instagram direct messages on an account's behalf through Meta's official API. It
Full definition →DM funnel
A DM funnel is a conversion path that runs inside Instagram direct messages: engagement triggers a DM, the DM delivers value and a
Full definition →DM request
A DM request is a message from someone an account does not follow, held in a separate inbox folder until it is accepted. Instagram
Full definition →Drip sequence
A drip sequence is a series of messages sent automatically on a schedule after a trigger, each spaced by a delay. Drip sequences a
Full definition →Email capture
Email capture is the practice of collecting email addresses from an audience, usually in exchange for something useful like a guid
Full definition →Engagement bait
Engagement bait is content that solicits interaction without earning it: asking for tags, shares or comments as an end in itself.
Full definition →Engagement rate
Engagement rate measures how actively an audience interacts with content, usually calculated as likes, comments, saves, and shares
Full definition →Follow gate
A follow gate is an automation step that checks whether the person in a conversation follows the account before delivering the pro
Full definition →Generic template
A generic template is a structured message card in Meta's messaging API. Instead of plain text, it combines an image, a title, an
Full definition →Graph API
The Graph API is Meta's primary interface for reading and writing data across its platforms, including Instagram. Every legitimate
Full definition →Ice breakers
Ice breakers are a native Instagram feature that places up to four tappable questions at the top of a new conversation, before the
Full definition →IGSID
An IGSID, or Instagram-Scoped ID, is the stable identifier Instagram assigns to a person for their conversations with a specific a
Full definition →Impressions
Impressions count the total number of times content was displayed on screens, including repeat views by the same account. One pers
Full definition →Instagram Business account
An Instagram Business account is one of Instagram's two professional account types, built for brands and businesses. It adds conta
Full definition →Instagram Insights
Instagram Insights is the analytics panel built into professional accounts, covering reach, impressions, profile visits, follower
Full definition →Instagram Login
Instagram Login is the authentication path where a creator connects directly with their Instagram credentials, without a Facebook
Full definition →Keyword trigger
A keyword trigger is a word or phrase that starts an automation when it appears in an Instagram comment, story reply, or direct me
Full definition →Lead magnet
A lead magnet is something valuable given away in exchange for a contact detail or an action: a guide, template, checklist or disc
Full definition →Link in bio
The link in bio is the single clickable URL Instagram allows on a profile page. Because links in captions and comments aren't tapp
Full definition →Link sticker
The link sticker is an Instagram Stories feature that places a tappable link on a story frame. It replaced the old swipe-up link i
Full definition →Messaging window
The messaging window is Meta's rule that a business account may send standard messages only within 24 hours of the person's last m
Full definition →Meta Tech Provider
A Meta Tech Provider is a company Meta has vetted to build tools on its platforms, including the Instagram API, on behalf of busin
Full definition →OAuth
OAuth is the standard that lets somebody grant an app limited access to their account without sharing a password. The person autho
Full definition →Opt-in
An opt-in is a person's explicit action agreeing to receive messages: commenting a keyword, tapping a button, or replying to a sto
Full definition →Opt-out
An opt-out is the action a person takes to stop receiving automated messages from an account. On Instagram the platform-level opt-
Full definition →Permission scope
A permission scope is one specific capability an app requests when connecting to an account, such as reading comments or sending m
Full definition →Postback
A postback is the event Meta's messaging API sends to an app when someone taps a button in a DM: for example, a button on a generi
Full definition →Private reply
A private reply is a feature of Meta's Instagram API that lets a business or creator account send one direct message in response t
Full definition →Professional account
A professional account is Instagram's umbrella term for the two non-personal account types: Business and Creator. Switching to eit
Full definition →Profile visits
Profile visits count how many times an account's profile page was opened in a given period, reported in Instagram Insights for pro
Full definition →Reach
Reach is the number of unique accounts that saw a piece of content or a profile at least once during a given period. Unlike impres
Full definition →Saved replies
Saved replies are short, reusable messages a professional Instagram account stores in the app and inserts into a DM with a shortcu
Full definition →Saves
Saves count how many people bookmarked a post to their private collections. Instagram reports the figure in Insights for professio
Full definition →Story reply
A story reply is a direct message someone sends in response to an Instagram story. Replies land in the account's DM inbox and open
Full definition →Superfan
A superfan is a follower who engages with an account far more than average: watching stories, commenting, replying, saving, and bu
Full definition →Trigger rate
Trigger rate is the share of inbound engagement that actually fires an automation: automations triggered divided by all comments,
Full definition →UGC
UGC (user-generated content) is content made by customers, fans, or hired UGC creators rather than the brand itself: reviews, unbo
Full definition →Webhook
A webhook is a notification one system sends another the moment something happens, delivered as an HTTP request to a URL the recei
Full definition →Welcome message
A welcome message is the automated first reply an Instagram professional account sends when somebody messages it for the first tim
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