Glossary
Message requests
Message requests is the Instagram folder for messages from accounts a person does not follow. Meta's documentation says a private reply lands in the recipient's inbox if they follow the professional account, and in their requests folder if they do not. People who rarely open that folder can miss the DM, which is why creators mention it in the caption.
Why it happens
Instagram decides where a message lands, not the tool that sends it. Every comment-to-DM product uses the same private reply feature, so the same rule applies to all of them: followers get the message in their inbox, everyone else in requests.
What helps people find the DM
A line in the caption, like "comment GUIDE, then check your requests", sets the right expectation. A public reply under the comment that says the DM is on its way does the same for people reading the thread. Some creators only send the full DM to followers. Elevion's Only for followers option checks the follow before it sends the link, and asks everyone else to follow first.
The business side of the inbox
The same split exists in the professional account's own inbox. Meta's messaging guide says new conversations from people who don't follow the account appear in Requests, that a conversation moves to General once the app replies, and that messages in Requests that have not been active for 30 days are no longer returned by the API.
For how this fits into the whole flow from comment to DM, read How comment-to-DM automation works.
Sources
- Meta for Developers: Send a Private Reply to a Commenter
- Meta for Developers: Instagram API with Instagram Login: Send Messages
Checked against Meta's documentation on 2026-10-20. Meta changes its rules from time to time, so its pages are the final word.
