Answer any Instagram message in a few taps

On an iPhone or an Android phone, tap Messages at the bottom of the app, then tap the conversation you want to answer. Type in the message box at the bottom of the chat and tap Send. Instagram's Help Center gives the same first two taps for both phones. The iPhone guide goes deeper on sending, sorting and fixing messages.

Messages from people you follow appear in your inbox. Messages from people you do not follow wait in Requests until you accept them, which the fourth step covers.

If you have a Business or Creator account, the phone app splits the inbox into three folders: Primary, General and Requests. Instagram says new messages land in Primary, you can swipe a chat into General, and unread notifications are on for Primary and off for General until you change that.

To answer one message inside a chat, tap and hold the message on your phone, then tap Reply. Type your answer and send it. Instagram's Help Center describes this for a message you have received. The same menu offers Forward, an emoji reaction and a sticker.

On a computer, hover over the message and click Reply. The hover menu also has an Emoji button for a reaction, and an Options menu with Forward.

Replying to a specific line helps when someone asks three things at once, because each answer sits next to the question it belongs to. A reaction is often enough when a written reply would add nothing.

Open Instagram in a web browser, click Messages on the left and click the conversation. Type in the message box and click Send. To send a photo or video from your computer, click Add photo or video before you send.

If you run a Business or Creator account, Meta Business Suite offers a second desktop route. Its Inbox puts Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp messages in one place, and you reply from the Messages section. When you connect an Instagram account, Meta asks you to confirm access to Instagram messages and to sign in again. Access is allowed by default, and anyone with admin access to the account can change it (Meta Business Help Center, read 30 October 2026).

A message from someone you do not follow arrives as a request, not in your inbox. To answer one, tap Messages, tap Requests, tap the message and choose Accept or Delete. After you accept, that person's later messages go straight to your inbox.

The steps differ a little by device. On an iPhone, tap Edit in the top right, then Delete all at the bottom, to clear every request at once. On Android, the Accept and Delete buttons sit at the bottom of the open request. On a computer, click Requests, click the message and choose Delete or Accept, and use Delete all at the bottom of the request inbox.

Instagram says request messages are not marked as seen until you accept them. For a Business or Creator account, Instagram's professional inbox page says replying directly to a request, or accepting it, moves that person's later messages to Primary.

If a request seems to be missing, look in two places. Instagram's page on hiding requests says that when Hide unwanted message requests is on, requests that may contain scams or offensive words appear in your spam folder. The setting is off by default. In the phone app, find it under your profile, then Menu, then Messages and story replies, then Message requests. Instagram's professional inbox page says hidden requests are moved to the Requests folder.

A story reply is a message in a conversation, so you answer it like any other. Tap Messages, open the chat and reply. By default, anyone who can see your story can reply to it with a message.

To change who can, go to your profile in the phone app, tap Menu, tap Messages and story replies, tap Story replies and choose an audience. Instagram's Help Center says this setting is not available on computers.

A story disappears from Feed, your profile and Direct after 24 hours unless you add it as a highlight. After that, photos and videos from it no longer show in the conversation, though any text sent with the message stays. An answer sent two days later can read without its context, so name what you are replying to.

Business and Creator accounts can save replies in the phone app. Hold a message you have sent, tap More, tap Save and create a keyboard shortcut. In any chat, type the shortcut and tap the chat icon that appears, and Instagram fills in the reply. As you type a new message, Instagram may also suggest saved replies that match, and you tap one to send it. The saved replies entry explains what they do and do not do.

Two more tools answer for you on a professional account. Frequently asked questions let you list up to four, each with an optional automated answer, shown to people who try to message you. In the phone app, go to your profile, tap Menu, tap Business tools and controls, then tap Frequently asked questions. Meta Business Suite Inbox adds instant replies to a first message, away messages, and replies about your location, contact details and hours. Its custom keyword replies work on desktop only, match exactly and are case-sensitive, and send after 15 minutes unless you answer first (Meta Business Help Center, read 30 October 2026). Automated messages on Instagram compares them, and managing Instagram DMs shows how to sort a full inbox.

Saved replies save typing, not attention. You still open each chat and send each one. Instagram's Help Center describes saved replies, folders and bulk actions for the phone app. We found no description of saved replies on Instagram's website.

Instagram has its own AI auto-replies. The Help Center says that for a professional account with a creator AI built in Meta AI Studio, the AI can answer messages and requests from an audience you choose. It works in the phone app only and is being introduced gradually, so it may not be available to you. The AI replies on your behalf, in its own words.

Tools can only answer people who contacted you first. An automation built on Instagram's official API replies only to people who commented, replied to a story or sent a message. After a message, the reply has to go out within 24 hours, which is Instagram's messaging window. After a comment, Instagram allows one private reply within 7 days.

When the same question arrives under a post, such as "link please", inDM can reply publicly under the comment and send the DM you wrote. inDM has no AI-written replies. The comment-to-DM guide shows the setup.

What we could not verify. We found no Help Center page that documents swiping to reply, and none for saved replies on a computer, so this guide leaves both out.

Sources, all read on 30 October 2026: Instagram's Help Center pages React and reply to messages, About professional features in the inbox, Hide comments or message requests, Manage who can reply to your story, Send a message, Frequently asked questions on chats and AI auto-replies, plus Meta's Business Help Center pages on Inbox and Inbox automations.