[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":73},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f2bvwbffwdzsj8":3},{"section":4,"slug":5,"path":6,"title":7,"headline":8,"description":9,"published":10,"updated":11,"minutes":12,"blocks":13,"headings":21,"faq":37,"sources":50,"comparison":72},"guides","stop-missing-dms","\u002Fguides\u002Fstop-missing-dms","How to stop missing Instagram and Facebook DMs","How to stop missing customer DMs","Most missed messages were not unseen. Someone saw them and nobody answered. Here is why that happens on Instagram and Facebook, a routine that works with Meta's free tools, and where that routine breaks.","2026-09-30","2026-10-10",4,[14,17,19],{"type":15,"html":16},"html","\u003Cp>When a customer says "I messaged you last week and never heard back", the message was almost never invisible. Someone saw the notification, or opened the conversation, meant to come back to it, and didn't. Or two people each assumed the other had it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the fix is not only more notifications. It is a way to tell, at any moment, who is still waiting for an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"why-dms-get-missed\">Why DMs get missed\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Five patterns cover most of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Seen and forgotten.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Someone opens a message on their phone between two other jobs. It stops looking new. Nobody replies.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Everyone thought someone else had it.\u003C\u002Fstrong> With two or three people in the inbox, each assumes a colleague answered. Nobody did.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>It arrived after closing.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A message at 9pm sits under twenty more by the morning, and the morning starts with whatever is on top.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>It went to another folder.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A professional Instagram inbox has Primary, General and Requests folders, and messages that look like spam or match your hidden words go to Hidden requests (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.instagram.com\u002F1264898753662278\">Instagram Help\u003C\u002Fa>). Meta Business Suite only shows the main folder, so hidden requests never reach it (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F1553463246785273\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>).\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Nobody was told.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Instagram turns notifications on for the Primary folder and off for the General folder by default (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.instagram.com\u002F1264898753662278\">Instagram Help\u003C\u002Fa>). A customer who lands in General can wait without anyone's phone ever buzzing.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>The first three are about people, not settings. That is why the routine below matters more than any toggle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"unread-is-not-the-same-as-unanswered\">Unread is not the same as unanswered\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Most inboxes, including Meta's, sort by unread. Unread tells you whether anyone has opened a conversation. It does not tell you whether anyone replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That gap is where customers get lost. The message someone glanced at on the way to a delivery is no longer unread, and it is still waiting. The "thanks, see you Saturday" that nobody needs to answer is unread, and it sits at the top.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What you want is a list of \u003Cstrong>people still owed a reply\u003C\u002Fstrong>: everyone whose last message needs an answer, and nobody else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"a-routine-that-works-with-meta-s-free-tools\">A routine that works with Meta's free tools\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>You can get most of the way there with Meta Business Suite, which is free, and a few team habits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>1. Put everything in one inbox.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Meta Business Suite shows Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp messages together, along with comments on your posts (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F294426838452244\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>). If Instagram messages are missing, work through \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fguides\u002Fmessages-not-showing-in-meta-business-suite\">why messages go missing from Meta Business Suite\u003C\u002Fa> first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>2. Get told on your phone.\u003C\u002Fstrong> The Meta Business Suite app shows unread messages and comments on its home screen (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F562251614389815\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>). You can also switch into your Page in the Messenger app to get notifications for Page messages (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F367989093844545\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>). On Instagram, turn on notifications for the General folder if customers land there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>3. Use Done to mean done.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Marking a conversation done moves it to the Done folder (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F669299346877371\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>). Agree as a team that nobody marks Done until the customer has what they asked for. For anything waiting on you, like a quote or a stock check, mark it to follow up or mark it unread again, and you can filter by both later (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F294426838452244\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>4. Check the other folders once a day.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Look at Instagram's Requests and Hidden requests in the Instagram app, and at General if you do not get notifications for it. A real customer in Hidden requests is not in your Business Suite inbox at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>5. Set your hours and an away message.\u003C\u002Fstrong> An away message tells people who write after closing when to expect you (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F395965998733706\">Meta Business Help\u003C\u002Fa>). It will not answer their question, but it turns "ignored" into "they'll get back to me in the morning".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>6. Close the day on an empty list.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Before you finish, filter for unread and follow up, and answer or reschedule what is there. If one person does this every day, the list cannot quietly grow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"where-this-routine-breaks\">Where this routine breaks\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Every step above depends on somebody remembering. Done, follow up and unread are all set by hand. On a quiet week that is fine. On the week you are short-staffed, a message that was opened and not marked follow up disappears from view, and nothing in the inbox will tell you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The routine also does not tell you who to answer first. A customer who has asked three times and is getting annoyed looks the same as one who wrote an hour ago.\u003C\u002Fp>",{"type":18},"waitlist",{"type":15,"html":20},"\u003Ch2 id=\"how-stonechat-keeps-the-list-for-you\">How Stonechat keeps the list for you\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Stonechat is a shared inbox for Facebook Page and Instagram DMs that keeps the "still owed a reply" list itself. It reads each conversation and decides whether the customer is still waiting. A "thanks, see you Saturday" usually drops off without anyone touching it, and you can take anyone off by hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The list is in order: people who are unhappy first, then anyone about to wait too long, then people getting impatient, then everyone else by how long they have waited. If you set your hours, the dashboard shows how many days in a row nobody was left waiting at closing, so the habit in step 6 has a number on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you open a conversation, Stonechat may already have a draft, written from your knowledge base and from how your business answered similar questions before, with the sources it rests on shown beside it. Use it as it is or change a word. It leaves replies to upset or impatient people to you, because those are worth writing yourself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Comments on your posts that need an answer join the same list, spam and abuse can be hidden or deleted from there, and Stonechat can tap you on your phone when someone has waited too long. Stonechat lets people in from a waitlist in small groups.\u003C\u002Fp>",[22,25,28,31,34],{"id":23,"text":24},"why-dms-get-missed","Why DMs get missed",{"id":26,"text":27},"unread-is-not-the-same-as-unanswered","Unread is not the same as unanswered",{"id":29,"text":30},"a-routine-that-works-with-meta-s-free-tools","A routine that works with Meta's free tools",{"id":32,"text":33},"where-this-routine-breaks","Where this routine breaks",{"id":35,"text":36},"how-stonechat-keeps-the-list-for-you","How Stonechat keeps the list for you",[38,41,44,47],{"q":39,"a":40},"Why do I keep missing Instagram DMs?","Usually for one of three reasons. The message was seen on a phone and forgotten, it landed in the General, Requests or Hidden requests folder, or notifications for that folder were off. Instagram turns notifications off for the General folder of a professional account by default.",{"q":42,"a":43},"Is unread the same as unanswered?","No. Unread tells you nobody has opened a conversation. Unanswered means nobody has replied. A message someone opened on the way to a delivery is no longer unread, and it is still waiting for an answer.",{"q":45,"a":46},"Should I use an away message?","Yes, if you keep hours. It tells people when to expect you, so a message at 10pm does not feel ignored. In Meta Business Suite the away message follows the schedule you set rather than an on and off switch.",{"q":48,"a":49},"What should I do with messages I cannot answer yet?","Keep them visible. In Meta Business Suite you can mark a conversation to follow up, or mark it unread again. Do not move it to Done until the customer has what they need, because Done tells the rest of the team nobody has to look.",[51,54,57,60,63,66,69],{"title":52,"url":53,"checked":10},"Instagram Help, Folders and notifications in a professional account's inbox","https:\u002F\u002Fhelp.instagram.com\u002F1264898753662278",{"title":55,"url":56,"checked":10},"Meta Business Help, Manage messages with Inbox","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F294426838452244",{"title":58,"url":59,"checked":10},"Meta Business Help, Best practices for tools in Inbox","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F669299346877371",{"title":61,"url":62,"checked":10},"Meta Business Help, Automated responses in Inbox","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F395965998733706",{"title":64,"url":65,"checked":10},"Meta Business Help, Troubleshoot Inbox in Meta Business Suite","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F1553463246785273",{"title":67,"url":68,"checked":10},"Meta Business Help, Meta Business Suite mobile app","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F562251614389815",{"title":70,"url":71,"checked":10},"Meta Business Help, Use Messenger to manage your Page's messages","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fhelp\u002F367989093844545",null,1792608537816]