How to connect Facebook and Instagram

Why a link to your profile doesn't work

Facebook and Instagram show a login screen to any app that isn't signed in. If you paste your profile link, all that comes through is that screen — not your content. It's not a limitation on our side: Meta applies it to all apps equally.

That's why there are Connect with Facebook and Connect Instagram only buttons: you authorize the connection once from Facebook or from Instagram, we read what we need at that moment, and that's it. With this connection we don't post anything, we don't store your password and we don't keep permanent access to your account.

What you need for this to work

• A Business or Creator Instagram account, not a personal one. Instagram doesn't let any app read a personal account.
• To connect with Facebook: a business Page you administer (not a personal profile) and that Instagram account linked to that Page. With that we bring in both at once.
• To connect Instagram only: nothing else. No Facebook Page and no link needed.

If you manage several Pages, we ask which one is for this brand and read only that one. If you have more than one business, each one is connected from its own brand in RedesIA.

Don't have a Facebook Page? Connect Instagram only

Many businesses only use Instagram, or have a Page and an account that were never linked. The direct connection is for them: you sign in to Instagram and RedesIA is connected to that account, without going through any Page.

Don't accept "all Pages": choose yours

When connecting, Facebook asks what you're giving access to and offers two options: all your current and future Pages, or only the ones you select. Giving access to all seems the most convenient, but it's exactly what doesn't work.

If you choose "all", Facebook hides from us the Pages that belong to a business portfolio — which is most business Pages — and doesn't even tell us they exist. If you select your Page by hand, that same Page reads without a problem. It's a Facebook limitation, not something you set up wrong.

Select just one Facebook Page and just one Instagram account: the ones for the business you're setting up in RedesIA. Afterward we show you what we found so you can confirm they're the right ones.

What if I run my business from my personal profile?

It's the most common setup in Latin America, and it's not your mistake: for years it was the natural way to sell on Facebook. But a personal profile isn't a Page, and Meta doesn't let any app read it — not RedesIA and not any other.

The tool that converted a profile into a Page no longer exists. Meta retired it. Today it offers "professional mode" for profiles, which adds tools to your profile but is still a profile, so it doesn't work for connecting here either. The only real route is to create a Page and move over to it.

It sounds worse than it is: the Page is free, your personal profile isn't lost or closed, and you don't have to start from scratch with your contacts — you can invite them to follow the Page from Facebook itself.

Meta changes these screens from time to time. If something doesn't match, its own help is always up to date: create a business Page and switch your Instagram account to professional.

To publish from RedesIA, the connection is separate

Reading your business to build your profile and publishing are two different connections, and the second only exists if you ask for it: in the Publish step of any post you tap “Publish or schedule” and authorize that RedesIA publishes to your Facebook Page, your Instagram account or both — each is connected on its own. We publish or schedule only what you ask us to, and you can disconnect them any time from the brand’s details or by removing the app on Facebook or Instagram.

• The same requirements as above: for Facebook, a business Page you administer; for Instagram, a business or creator account, either linked to that Page or connected directly with “Connect Instagram only”.
• Facebook or Instagram asks you to accept the permission to publish. Without it we can’t publish.
• If you publish for several brands, tick every Page you use in RedesIA on Facebook, not only this brand’s: if you leave one unticked, Facebook disconnects it and its posts stop going out. The Pages you already approved are offered when you connect another brand, with no new login.
• After connecting you choose whether to publish right away or schedule the day and time, and you can change the day and time of a scheduled post, or cancel it, before it goes out.

If you manage several brands in RedesIA, keep the Pages of all of them ticked on Facebook every time you connect; here you choose which one to publish to. If you untick one you had already connected, you will have to connect it again. And if you can’t see your Page even though you chose “all”, it’s for the reason explained above: use “Choose other accounts on Meta” and tick them by hand.

Switching Instagram to a business account costs nothing

It's the worry that holds people back the most, so it's worth saying plainly: a professional Instagram account is free, just like a personal one. You don't start getting charged, there's no subscription, and you're not required to run paid ads or spend a cent. The only thing that changes is that business tools get turned on — insights, contact info, the ability to link it to your Page — that a personal account doesn't have.

It's not a permanent decision either: you can switch back to a personal account whenever you want, from the same settings. What does change is that a professional account is public, so if your profile is private today, it won't be anymore.

What if I don't want to connect my social accounts?

You don't have to. You can tell us about your business in your own words, upload photos of your products or of posts you've already made, and paste the link to your website or your catalog. We build the brand profile just the same.