Instagram account setup
Keep a connected account healthy: requirements, permissions, token renewal, reconnecting, and what disconnecting really does.
A professional account is required
Automation runs on Instagram’s professional API, so the account you connect must be a professional account — Business or Creator. Either type works identically with Ravela; pick whichever fits how you run the account.
Worth knowing: if you try to connect a personal account, Instagram declines the authorization and you’ll see a generic “couldn’t connect” message rather than an explanation. So if a connection fails immediately, check the account type first — switching is free in the Instagram app under Settings → Account type and tools, takes a minute, and doesn’t change your content.
Connection health, mostly automatic
Instagram issues 60-day access tokens, and Ravela renews them in the background starting two weeks before expiry — a healthy account needs no upkeep from you. Profile details stay fresh the same way: username and avatar changes sync automatically.
When something does break, where it shows depends on what happened. If a token expires or errors, the account stays on your Accounts page with a warning status, the reason, and a Reconnect button. If Instagram revokes access outright — a password change, a security checkup, removing the app from your Instagram settings — the account drops off the Accounts list entirely; the trail lives in the Activity feed, and the fix is simply connecting again with the same Instagram login.
Early warnings land before the break: when a token renewal starts failing ahead of expiry, Ravela logs a warning in the Activity feed and includes account issues in the activity digest email. A quick scan of either keeps surprises away.
Reconnect versus Refresh profile
The Accounts page has two repair-flavored buttons that do different jobs. Refresh profile re-pulls your username, avatar, and account type — cosmetic freshness, not connection repair. Reconnect runs the full Instagram login again and is the fix for a warning status.
Reconnecting the same Instagram account is never a reset: Ravela recognizes it and updates the existing connection in place. Your flows, contacts, and conversation history all carry on. One manual step remains — triggers that were paused while the account was down stay paused until you reactivate them, so automation resumes on your say-so rather than by surprise.
What disconnecting really does
Disconnecting an account stops its automation immediately: runs in progress end (marked with an “account disconnected” reason), its triggers switch to paused, and any storefront attached to the account is detached.
What it doesn’t do is erase your history — contacts, conversations, and flows all remain in the workspace. Connect the same account again later and it picks up where it left off: reactivate the triggers you want running and re-attach the storefront, and you’re back.
Running multiple accounts
A workspace can connect several Instagram accounts, each with its own triggers, inbox conversations, and storefront. How many you can connect scales with your plan — higher plans allow more. If you manage brands that shouldn’t share anything, prefer separate workspaces over one crowded one.