Before connecting your Instagram account to Archive, you must complete several setup steps to ensure Archive can properly monitor brand mentions, collect user-generated content, and access your Instagram messages. This guide covers all prerequisite configurations required for a successful connection.
Requirement 1: Have a Personal Facebook Account
To connect Instagram to Archive, you must have a personal Facebook account. Archive's integration relies on Meta's business infrastructure, which requires authentication through a personal Facebook profile.
Your personal Facebook account serves as the access point for managing business assets like Facebook Pages, Business Portfolios, and connected Instagram accounts. Without a personal Facebook account, you cannot access Meta's business tools or complete the Archive connection process.
⚠️ Important: Make sure your personal Facebook account has admin or full control access to the Facebook Page that will be linked to your Instagram account.
Also make sure the email address connected to both your Facebook and Instagram accounts is the same, up-to-date address that you check regularly.
For a deeper look at how Business Portfolios, Facebook Pages, and Instagram accounts need to be linked and owned together, see Meta/Facebook Asset Structure and User Permissions.
Requirement 2: Convert to an Instagram Professional Account
Archive requires an Instagram Professional account to function. Professional accounts come in two types:
Creator accounts are designed for public figures, content producers, artists, and influencers
Business accounts are tailored for businesses looking to grow and engage with customers
Switching to a Professional Account (Mobile App)
Navigate to your Instagram profile and tap the hamburger icon in the upper right corner
Select Account type and tools
Choose Switch to professional account
Tap Continue
Select a category that best describes your work and tap Done
Choose between Business or Creator and tap Next
Note: you can also reach this screen faster via your profile's Edit profile page — scroll down and tap Switch to professional account near the bottom.
Requirement 3: Link Your Instagram Account to a Facebook Page
Archive accesses your Instagram messages through Facebook to monitor when you've been tagged in Stories and detect brand mentions. Your Instagram account must be connected to a Facebook Page for this integration to work.
Connecting to a Facebook Page (Mobile App)
Go to your Instagram profile and tap Edit profile
Select Page under the public business information section
Choose Connect or Create
Tap Continue
Select Login to Facebook
Choose the Facebook Page you want to connect to your Instagram account, or create a new Page if needed
Tap Connect
Connecting to a Facebook Page (Desktop)
If your Instagram account isn't connected to a Facebook Page, you can establish the link via desktop:
Log in to Facebook and click your profile icon in the top-right corner, then switch to your Facebook Page
Click the menu icon and select Settings & privacy, then Settings
Scroll down and click Linked accounts
Click Instagram, then click Connect account
In the pop-up, choose your Instagram message settings and click Continue
Log in to your Instagram account when prompted, then click Log In
Confirm details for adding the account to your Business Portfolio, then click Continue
Review the account connection details and click Confirm connection
Verifying the Connection (Desktop)
To confirm whether your Instagram account is already connected to a Facebook Page:
Log in to Facebook and navigate to your public Page
Go to Settings & privacy
Scroll down the left menu and select Linked accounts
Choose Instagram and click View
If connected, you'll see your Instagram account listed here
How to Assign Yourself Facebook Page Admin Access
If you have admin access to a Meta Business Portfolio (formerly Business Manager) but not the Facebook Page itself, you can grant yourself Page access directly through Meta Business Suite.
Go to Meta Business Suite and make sure you're in the correct Business Portfolio.
Click Settings, then select Pages.
Find and your name, then click the Manage button.
Scroll down and toggle on Full control.
Click Save to confirm.
A few things to keep in mind:
Check your email. If you were recently added to a Business Portfolio, you may need to accept an invitation via email before your access activates.
Alternative method. You can also go to Settings > Pages > Add Assets to connect a Page to the Business Portfolio first, then assign yourself as the manager.
Full control = Page Admin. Granting Full control in Business Suite gives you the same permissions as a Page Admin, including the ability to manage roles, update settings, and delete the Page if needed.
Requirement 4: Allow Facebook Access to Your Instagram Messages
Archive monitors your Instagram direct messages to detect when you've been tagged in Stories. You must enable Facebook's access to your Instagram messages for this functionality to work.
Enabling Message Access (Mobile App)
Go to your Instagram profile
Select Settings and activity
Under How others can interact with you, select Messages and story replies
Tap Message requests
Under Connected tools, enable Allow access to messages
📋 Note: this is the same Message requests screen used in Requirement 5's "Allowing Message Requests from Anyone" step below — no need to navigate here twice if you're doing both.
Enabling Message Access (Desktop)
Log in to Facebook and click your profile icon in the top-right corner, then switch to your Facebook Page
Click the menu icon and select Settings & privacy, then Settings
Scroll down and click Linked accounts
Click Instagram
Toggle "Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox"
Log in to your Instagram account when prompted to confirm the permission
⚠️ Critical: This permission is essential for Archive's core functionality. Without it, Archive cannot detect Stories where your brand has been mentioned.
Requirement 5: Allow Story Replies and Message Requests from Anyone
Archive detects brand mentions by monitoring your Instagram direct messages for Story tags. To ensure Archive can identify all Stories mentioning your brand, you must configure your account to accept Story replies and message requests from anyone, not just people you follow.
Allowing Story Replies from Anyone (Mobile App)
Go to your Instagram profile
Select Settings and activity
Under How others can interact with you, select Messages and story replies
Tap Story replies
Select Allow story replies from everyone
Allowing Message Requests from Anyone (Mobile App)
This setting lives on the same Message requests screen from Requirement 4 above (Settings and activity → Messages and story replies → Message requests). Under Who can send you message requests, tap Everyone.
