Help CenterEmail & socialExplains
The messaging window on Messenger and Instagram
Messenger and Instagram let you reply within 24 hours of the client’s last private message. An employee’s reply may be allowed for up to 7 days if the feature is turned on for your account.
Replying between 24 hours and 7 days may not be turned on for your account yet. Contact support to turn it on.
How it works
Time since the client’s last message
Employee reply
Automations and automated messages
Up to 24 hours
✓
✓
From 24 hours to 7 days
✓ only if the human reply feature is turned on
✗
After 7 days
✗
✗
You can’t start a chat with a client who has never messaged you. A comment alone doesn’t open the window.
The chat shows how long until the window closes.
TikTok and WhatsApp Web have no window. WhatsApp Cloud has a 24-hour window, with templates.
If something goes wrong
What you see
Why
What to do
“This person hasn’t messaged you on Messenger yet”
The client hasn’t started a chat.
Reply to their comment with a private reply.
“More than 24 hours have passed”
The window has closed.
Wait for a message from the client.
“More than 7 days have passed”
The human reply period has ended.
Wait for a message from the client.
The automation doesn’t send after a day
Automated messages aren’t accepted after 24 hours.
Make the automation send within 24 hours. See Automation actions: everything an automation can do.
A real example
Namaa Academy
The situation
A student asked a question on Thursday, and the team doesn’t work on Friday.
What they did
- The employee replied on Saturday morning, before 7 days had passed, and the feature is turned on for the account.
The result
The reply arrived even though more than 24 hours had passed.
A made-up company, to show the idea. The numbers are rounded.
Good to know
24 hours from the client’s last private message.
Up to 7 days for an employee’s reply only, when it’s turned on.
Did this guide solve it?
If not, we’ll ask what was missing.