Automation tools use a lot of jargon. Here is what the common terms mean, in plain words.
Accounts and access
Professional account. A Business or Creator account on Instagram. Needed for any automation.
Instagram Login / Facebook Login. The two official ways a tool connects to your account through Meta. You approve permissions on Instagram's or Facebook's own page.
Access token. A long key the tool receives after you approve. It lets the tool act within the permissions you gave. It is not your password.
Permissions (scopes). The specific things a tool may do, such as read comments or send messages.
App review. Meta's approval process for tools that want to use permissions for other people's accounts. More
Events
Webhook. A notification Instagram sends to the tool when something happens, such as a new comment.
Trigger. The condition that starts an automation, such as a keyword in a comment.
Keyword. A word that triggers an automation when it appears in a comment.
Any comment. A trigger that responds to every comment on a post.
Messages
Private reply. A DM sent in response to a comment. One per comment, within 7 days. More
Public reply. A reply under the comment, visible to everyone.
Messaging window. The 24 hours after a person's last message during which you may message them. More
Human agent tag. Lets a person reply up to 7 days after the customer's last message. Not for automation. More
Opening message. A first DM with a button that starts a conversation before sending the link.
Postback / reply button. A button that sends a signal back to the tool instead of opening a link.
Link button. A button that opens a web page.
Message requests. The folder where DMs from accounts someone does not follow appear.
Flows
Automation / flow. A rule: which post, which trigger, which replies.
Follow-gate. Holding the link until the person follows you. More
Catch-all. An automation on every post, usually for an evergreen keyword.
Two-step flow. Opener with a button, then the link after the tap.
Limits and pricing
Rate limit. A cap on how many actions an account can do per hour. More
Active contact. A person who interacted with your automations in a billing month, used by per-contact pricing. More
Overage. Extra charges above a plan's included amount.
Measurement
UTM tags. Labels added to links so analytics tools can show where visitors came from.
Tap rate. Button taps divided by DMs delivered.
Conversion rate. Orders divided by link taps.
Data
Contact list. The people your automations interacted with.
Data deletion. The process for removing someone's data on request, required for Meta-approved apps.
DPDP Act. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. More
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bot and an automation?
In everyday use, "bot" often means a tool that logs in as you. Official automations use Meta's API.
What is a Graph API?
Meta's name for the API family that tools use to read and act on Instagram and Facebook data.
What is an IGSID?
Instagram-scoped ID: an ID for a person that is specific to your account's conversations.
Where do I start?
With the complete guide.