Another app is handling your Instagram DMs

Fixes the error “The action is invalid since it’s not the thread owner” (code 2534037)
What is happening: another messaging app connected to your Instagram account — for example ManyChat, another DM automation tool, or a chat/CRM app — is set as the main app for your Instagram messages. Instagram then gives every conversation to that app and refuses replies from ViralDM. Your automations keep firing, but the DMs cannot be delivered until this is changed. Only you can change it, and it takes about two minutes.
1

Do you still use the other app?

If you have stopped using another DM tool, removing it is the cleanest fix.

Open Instagram on your phone → Settings and activity → Website permissions (or Apps and websites) → Active. Remove every DM or chat tool you no longer use. Keep ViralDM.

Also check Settings and activity → Messages and story replies → Connected tools (shown on some accounts) and remove old tools there too.

2

Make ViralDM the main app for Instagram messages

Needed if your Instagram account is linked to a Facebook Page, or if you want to keep the other app.

  1. Open Meta Business Suite and pick the business that owns your Instagram account.
  2. Go to Settings → Advanced messaging (on some accounts: Inbox settings → Conversation routing).
  3. Find Instagram receiver (or App settings) and click Configure.
  4. Set ViralDM as the primary receiver. If another app is primary and you no longer use it, remove it.
  5. Save.
The Meta Business Suite inbox can stay — it still shows your messages. It just must not be the primary receiver if you want ViralDM to reply automatically.
3

Test it

From a different Instagram account (a friend’s, or a second account of yours).

Comment your keyword on the post your automation watches. The DM should arrive within a few seconds. In ViralDM, Analytics → Why some did not go out should stop showing this reason for new comments.

Comments say “already has a reply”

Fixes the error “The comment you are trying to reply to, already has a reply” (code 2534023)
What is happening: Instagram allows only one private reply per comment. Something sent that reply before ViralDM did — almost always another comment-to-DM tool that is still switched on for this account (an old ManyChat, LinkDM or similar automation), sometimes a team member replying privately from the Instagram app. ViralDM’s reply then cannot be delivered.
1

Switch off comment-to-DM in the other tool

Two tools answering the same comment means only the faster one gets through.

Open the other tool and turn off its comment automations for this Instagram account — or remove the tool as shown in step 1 above. If your team answers comments by hand with “Send private reply”, let the ViralDM automation handle those posts instead.

2

Test it

From a different Instagram account.

Comment your keyword on the post. The ViralDM DM should arrive, and Analytics → Why some did not go out should stop showing “already had a private reply” for new comments.

Still failing after both steps? Disconnect and reconnect the Instagram account in ViralDM (Accounts), then test again. If it still fails, write to us from Support with the time of the test comment — we will check it with you.
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