Connecting your accounts

SetterStack connects to four platforms: Instagram and Facebook for the AI DM setter and posting, plus Reddit and X (Twitter) for posting through the Content Studio. Every connection uses a secure OAuth window — you log in on the platform's own site and approve permissions, so SetterStack never sees or stores your password.

Today, DM automation runs on Instagram and Facebook only. Reddit and X are for publishing posts — the comment-to-DM funnel and AI setter don't apply to them yet.

01Before you connect Instagram — three things Meta requires

Instagram DM access is controlled by Meta, not by us, and it only works if all three of these are true. If one is missing the connect window opens and simply shows you nothing to pick, which is confusing and looks like a bug. Thirty seconds here saves that.

1. Your Instagram must be a Professional account (Business or Creator — either is fine). Personal accounts cannot be connected by any tool. To switch: Instagram → your profile → ☰ menu → Settings and privacy → Account type and tools → Switch to professional account. It's free, reversible, and doesn't change how your profile looks to followers.

2. It must be linked to a Facebook Page. Instagram messaging runs through a Page behind the scenes. Instagram → Settings and privacy → Account type and tools → Sharing to other apps → Facebook, then link an existing Page or create one. A brand-new empty Page works perfectly — nobody has to see it.

3. You must be an admin of that Page. Meta only shows you Pages you have full control of. If an agency or a business partner created the Page, ask them to add you as an admin first (facebook.com → the Page → Settings → Page access).

Not sure? Just try connecting. If the window comes back empty, it's almost always #1 or #2.

02Instagram

1. Go to Settings → Accounts (or use the onboarding wizard) and click + Instagram.
2. A secure connection window opens — log in with the Instagram account you want SetterStack to manage and approve the permissions.
3. On success you're returned to SetterStack and the account appears in Settings with a health badge.

DM webhooks activate automatically on connect — incoming messages appear in your inbox right away, no extra setup.

Once you have more than one account connected, the Profile row in the sidebar's context card (top left) switches which one scopes the whole app — or choose "All Profiles" for the merged view. See Team & access for how that card works.

03Facebook

Same flow via + Facebook, with one extra step: after approving, you'll see a page picker. Selecting the Page is what activates Messenger for it — make sure you pick the right one.

04Reddit

Click + Reddit in Settings → Accounts and a secure Reddit login window opens — sign in and approve. Reddit is a posting connection: once linked, it appears as a postable account in the Content Studio, where your posts go out to that account's subreddit. Remember that Reddit posts require a title. There's no DM automation on Reddit today.

05X (Twitter)

Click + X and approve the secure X login. Like Reddit, this is a posting connection — your connected X account becomes a target in the Content Studio for text-only or media posts (280-character limit). No DM automation on X today.

06Account health

Each connected account shows a live status in Settings → Accounts:

• Connected — everything flowing normally.
• Attention / Reconnect needed — the platform connection has degraded or expired. Click Reconnect and re-approve. The notification bell also alerts you when an account needs reconnecting.

A disconnected account receives no messages at all until reconnected — treat the reconnect prompt as urgent.

07Good to know

• One account per platform per profile. Each connected account gets its own profile slot in your workspace.
• Your team only sees the accounts they've been granted access to (see Team & access).
• Each account row in Settings shows its own lead and conversation counts.
• Disconnecting an account stops messaging immediately; your conversation history stays in SetterStack.

08Troubleshooting

• The connect window closed without finishing — just start again from Settings; partial connections aren't saved.
• Connected, but the inbox looks empty — a freshly connected account can take a moment on first load; the inbox retries automatically. Only conversations with recent activity appear — SetterStack starts from now, it does not import your full DM history.
• Comments trigger but DMs don't, or DM replies arrive late — Instagram is pushing your comments to SetterStack but not your DMs. The usual cause is another messaging tool connected to the same Instagram account: Meta only sends DMs to one app, the "primary". On your phone open Instagram → Settings and privacy → Messages and story replies → Message controls → Connected tools. If another DM tool is listed, remove it or make SetterStack the primary, then reconnect the account in Settings → Accounts. Your Setup checklist shows this under "Messages webhook subscribed" and turns red when it detects it. If nothing else is listed, contact support and we'll have our messaging provider re-subscribe the account. Until it's fixed, SetterStack still catches every DM with a 15-minute sweep, so replies go out late rather than not at all.
• Facebook connected but no messages — verify you selected a Page in the picker; Page selection is what turns Messenger on.