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Follower check (isFollower) for comment automations

Currently, follow-gating on comment automations requires a two-step flow: send a private reply with a button, then check isFollower when the user clicks it. This works, but adds friction for people who already follow the account — they have to click a button to prove something that's already true.

The root cause: comment.received only carries the comment author's id and username. isFollower lives on instagramProfile, which is only populated once a DM conversation exists.

What I'd like: The ability to check whether a commenter follows the account at the moment the comment event fires — either as a field in the comment.received payload, or as a condition inside comment automations.

Why it seems possible: ManyChat supports exactly this with their follows business on IG condition on comment triggers. Users on other platforms (e.g. GoHighLevel) are actively requesting the same feature and citing ManyChat as already having it. So Meta appears to expose this somewhere for the comment path, at least to approved Tech Providers.

Use case: Creator/business accounts that reward followers with exclusive links or content. Someone comments a keyword → if they follow, they get the link immediately; if not, they're asked to follow first. Right now everyone has to click a button regardless, which makes the flow feel like an interrogation for loyal followers.

Status: Completed2 comments

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Comments2

  • Miquel Palet López changed status to Completed
    Team•

    Aug 6

    Pinned

    Hey! This is live

    Instagram only reveals whether someone follows you once that person has messaged you (a comment does not count, we verified it against Meta's API), so we built it around that limit. Comment automations now have an Audience setting: followers only, non-followers only, or a minimum follower count. Anyone who has DMed you before is checked instantly and gets the link with no extra step. For a first-time commenter, pick "Ask them to confirm" and we send a one-tap "I'm following" button: the tap is what unlocks the check, then the right DM goes out automatically.

    Inbox > Campaigns > Comment-to-DM > your automation > Audience. Details in the docs (https://docs.zernio.com/platforms/instagram#comment-to-dm-automations). On the API side, comment.received now carries author.instagramProfile when we already know the commenter, plus a new follow-status endpoint (https://docs.zernio.com/accounts/get-instagram-follow-status).

  • Arthur Saada

    •

    Jul 25

    Yes very useful ! Please add . Lot of is missing from Instagram ..