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Connect your Instagram account
Link the account you want to automate through the official Instagram API — it takes about two minutes.
Before you connect
Ravela connects to Instagram directly, through the official Instagram API. You log in with Instagram itself — no Facebook Page is required, and your password is never stored.
Two things need to be true before the connection will work:
- The account is a professional account — Business or Creator. Personal accounts cannot use automation. Switching is free in the Instagram app under Settings → Account type and tools.
- You can log in to that Instagram account yourself, because Instagram will ask you to approve the connection.
Connect your account
You can connect during account setup, or any time from the Accounts page in the dashboard.
- 1Go to Accounts in the dashboard sidebar (or step 1 of account setup).
- 2Choose to connect an Instagram account. A secure Instagram login window opens.
- 3Log in to the Instagram account you want to automate and approve the requested access.
- 4The window closes on its own. Your account appears with its profile picture, @username, and an Active status.
What Ravela can do with the connection
The access you approve maps to what automations actually need — nothing more:
- Read and reply to DMs, so flows can hold conversations for you.
- Read and reply to comments, so comment triggers and comment replies work.
- See basic profile and post information, so you can pick which posts a trigger watches.
- Publish content you explicitly schedule through Ravela.
Staying connected
Connections maintain themselves: Ravela refreshes access tokens automatically in the background, so a healthy account stays healthy without any upkeep.
If Instagram ever ends a session — a password change or a security checkup can do it — the account will show a connection problem. Use Refresh on the Accounts page, or reconnect the same way you connected the first time; your flows and history stay intact.
Two cautions worth knowing: disconnecting an account stops its active flows and removes its triggers, and your plan sets how many accounts a workspace can connect.