--- title: "Instagram comment to DM, with a real follow check" description: "Comment a word, get the link by DM. The follow check asks Instagram, looks again at 20 and 40 seconds and asks up to three times before it stops." canonical: https://chockstonelabs.com/features/inbox/ last_updated: 2026-11-09 source: "The same content as https://chockstonelabs.com/features/inbox/" --- Source: the same content as https://chockstonelabs.com/features/inbox/ # Comment a word, get the link. Followers only. Comments on six networks and Instagram DMs land in one inbox. A keyword in a comment sends a DM with the link, and the follow check asks Instagram before it does. [Start free](https://chockstonelabs.com/app/start) [See pricing](https://chockstonelabs.com/pricing/) Free for 3 accounts. No card. iPhone and web. ![Automations list: Pre-order link, Starter guide and Welcome, each switched on, with sent, replied and tapped counts, a New automation button and a Contacts row](https://chockstonelabs.com/assets/captures/inbox-automation.webp) ## Chockstone asks Instagram. Chockstone does not *guess.* 1. **Someone comments your word.** Chockstone sends them a private reply: “Follow @yourhandle first, then tap below and it’s yours”, with an I followed button. 2. **They tap I followed.** Chockstone asks Instagram whether that person follows you. Instagram answers this only for someone who has messaged your account, which is why the check runs on the tap and not on the comment. 3. **If Instagram says no, it looks again.** They get “Checking for your follow now. Instagram can take a minute to show it.” Chockstone asks Instagram again 20 seconds and 40 seconds after the tap. 4. **Still no, so it asks again, up to three times.** After the second look the person gets the follow request again with “Not seeing the follow yet.” Chockstone asks at most three times in all, then stops without sending the link. 5. **The link goes once the follow shows.** The link also goes when Instagram cannot say either way. The check never claims more than Instagram reports, so a person Instagram will not answer for still gets the link. ## One inbox for *every* comment. ### Six networks and Instagram DMs One inbox for comments on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, YouTube, Bluesky and Mastodon, and for Instagram direct messages. Saved answers fill in the replies you send often. ### Drafts for every comment, then Send all Your assistant can draft answers to every unanswered comment at once. They wait at the top of Inbox, and Send all sends them in one tap. Allow it, and it sends them itself, except on YouTube and Mastodon. ### Keyword replies by DM Someone comments a word you choose, and they get the link they asked for by direct message. Starter keeps 1 keyword rule at a time; Creator and Studio have no cap. ### Rules suggest first Rules start in suggest mode, so answers wait for one tap. A tester shows which rule would answer a comment, and why. ### The risky ones wait for you A rule set to answer on its own replies a minute or two after each comment, spaced apart, up to 100 a day; the rest go the next day. A comment with a link, spam, abuse or a complaint always waits for your tap. ### Each rule shows its work Each automation shows what it sent and the share that replied and tapped, as on the screen above. Each rule also shows its last 30 days: answers sent, how many went by direct message, and the keywords that matched most. ### Public and private replies A rule can answer in public, and on Instagram with a private reply too. Words you exclude keep it quiet. ### Keywords match however people type Keywords match in any case or accent, on Arabic or Persian keyboards, and with a zero typed as the letter O. ## Emails from your link page *collect* here. The Automations screen lists each automation with its sent, replied and tapped numbers, and a Contacts row below. Emails left on your link page collect under Contacts. Each automation has an on switch, so you can stop one without deleting it. ## Comment-to-DM tools, side by side. Read where Inro is ahead and where Chockstone is, with the date we checked and the sources. - [Inro](https://chockstonelabs.com/compare/inro/) - [All comparisons](https://chockstonelabs.com/compare/) ## Questions people *ask.* **Does the follow check really check?** Yes. Chockstone asks Instagram whether the person follows you, looks again 20 and 40 seconds after their tap, and asks them to follow at most three times. The link goes once the follow shows, or when Instagram cannot say. **What if Instagram cannot say whether someone follows me?** Then Chockstone sends the link. The check does not claim a check it could not make. **What happens if the person never follows?** After three asks, the conversation stops and the link is not sent. **How many keyword rules can I have?** Starter keeps 1 keyword rule at a time. Creator and Studio have no cap. **Will a rule answer without me?** Only if you set it to. Rules start in suggest mode, so each answer waits for one tap. A comment with a link, spam, abuse or a complaint always waits. ## The facts, in *one* place. - **Does:** Brings comments and Instagram DMs into one inbox, with keyword replies and a follow check that asks Instagram. - **Plans:** Included on every plan: Starter, Creator and Studio. - **Limits:** A DM automation starts when someone comments a word, DMs a word, replies to a story or mentions you in a story, and a default automation answers any other DM. Automated DMs go at most 190 an hour for each Instagram account, and the rest wait their turn. Keyword DM rules at once: Starter 1, Creator and Studio no limit. Brands: Starter 1, Creator 5, Studio 25. Connected accounts: Starter 3, Creator 15, Studio 75. - **Networks:** Comments from Instagram, Facebook, Threads, YouTube, Bluesky and Mastodon; DMs from Instagram. - **Assistant:** Your assistant can answer comments inside the same rules. Connect Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT or Codex at https://chockstonelabs.com/mcp; other MCP clients use an API key. ## Send the link only to followers. Free for 3 accounts. No card. [See pricing](https://chockstonelabs.com/pricing/) or go back to the [home page](https://chockstonelabs.com/). Questions? Email [hello@chockstonelabs.com](mailto:hello@chockstonelabs.com). [Start free](https://chockstonelabs.com/app/start) [See pricing](https://chockstonelabs.com/pricing/)