# The Social Inbox: read and reply Read and answer comments, mentions, direct messages and Google reviews from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Pages, YouTube, Threads and Google Business Profile, in one place. Last checked: Oct 8, 2026 on the live app. Source: https://heropost.ai/docs/analytics/social-inbox/ ## How it works The **Social Inbox** collects comments, mentions, direct messages and Google reviews from your connected accounts, so you can read and answer them without opening each network. Click **Social Inbox** in the left menu. On a phone, tap the tray icon in the bottom bar. It shows the workspace you have open. Heropost collects new items in the background, every few minutes. ## What's included | Network | **Comments** tab | **Mentions** tab | **Direct Messages** tab | Like | |---|---|---|---|---| | Facebook Page | Comments on your 25 most recent posts (up to 50 per post) | Posts that tag or mention your Page | Messenger conversations | Yes | | Instagram (business or creator) | Comments on your 25 most recent posts (up to 50 per post) | Posts that tag your account | Messages, when the Instagram account's Facebook Page is also connected in this workspace | – | | LinkedIn Page | Comments on your 10 most recently updated posts (up to 50 per post), after [Connect inbox](/docs/analytics/linkedin-inbox/) | – | – | – | | YouTube | Comments and replies on your 10 most recent videos | – | – | – | | Threads | Replies to your 25 most recent threads | Mentions of your profile | – | – | | Google Business Profile ("Google My Business") | Reviews, with their stars, for each location | – | – | – | **Not included:** X, TikTok, Pinterest, Bluesky, Reddit and Telegram. How conversations are grouped: all comments on one post form one conversation, each review and each mention is its own conversation, and each chat is one conversation. ## When new items arrive - Expect new comments and messages within about half an hour of their arrival on the network. LinkedIn is checked at most once an hour. - **The page doesn't update by itself.** Press the refresh button (the circular arrow above the list) to load what has arrived. Refreshing shows what Heropost has already collected; it doesn't make it check the networks sooner. - An account that needs reconnecting stops updating, without a message. [Reconnect it](/docs/social-accounts/reconnect/). - The inbox holds your **100 most recently active conversations**, across the three tabs. ## Find your way around [Screenshot: The Social Inbox on a computer: the account bar, the Comments, Mentions and Direct Messages tabs, the list, and a Facebook post's comments open with Like, Reply and Mark as done] - **Account bar** (top): every account you've connected, with a switch each in the **Accounts** list (arrow button). All are on. Switch accounts off to narrow the lists. Only the open workspace's accounts on the networks above have conversations. - **Comments**, **Mentions** and **Direct Messages**: each shows how many conversations are still open. - **The list:** latest activity first, with an unread dot, a bookmark icon on conversations marked important, and the time since the last activity ("Just now", 5m, 3h, 2d, 1mo). - **Filters:** switches the list between open conversations and the ones you've marked as done. **A comment conversation** shows the post (picture, caption, number of comments, and **Open post** to see it on the network), then the comments. Under each comment: **Like** (Facebook only), **Reply**, and **⋯** to copy the comment's text. Google reviews appear here with their stars and text. **A message conversation** shows the chat, their messages on the left and yours on the right, with dates. Messages are text only: photos and attachments aren't shown. **A mention** shows who mentioned you, their post, and **View original post** when Heropost has its link. ## Reply 1. Open the conversation. 2. In a comment conversation, **Reply** under a comment adds the commenter's name, starting with @, to the reply box. 3. Type your answer in the box at the bottom ("Comment on this post...", "Replying as {account}..." or "Reply as {account}..."). 4. Press Enter or the arrow. Your reply appears in the conversation under your account's name. If it can't be sent, your text stays in the box and an error appears: try again. - **Messages** are sent in the chat from your Page or account. Instagram messages are sent through the Instagram account's Facebook Page, which must be connected in the same workspace. - **Google reviews:** your reply is posted as your business's reply to the review. - **LinkedIn and Threads comments:** your reply is posted as a new comment on your post. - **Facebook and Instagram mentions:** your reply is posted as a comment on the post that mentioned you. Replies you send from the Social Inbox don't use AI actions. (Replies sent by Hero_Agent or a connected AI tool do: see [AI actions](/docs/ai/actions-and-allowance/).) **Like** (Facebook comments) likes the comment as your Page. It can't be undone from Heropost: unlike it on Facebook. ## Keep track - **Read:** opening a conversation marks it read. There's no "mark as unread". - **Mark as done** moves the conversation to the done list. **Filters** shows that list; press **Resolved** in a conversation to reopen it. A new comment or message in a conversation marked as done makes it unread again. - **Mark important** (the bookmark) flags a conversation; **Unmark important** removes the flag. On a phone, the **Important** chip lists them. ## Who can use it Everyone in the workspace can read and answer conversations, whatever their role. What Hero_Agent and connected AI tools can do in the inbox depends on your plan: see [Use Heropost from your AI tools](/docs/ai-tools/overview/). ## On a phone Tap the tray icon in the bottom bar. **Inbox** has the chips **Comments**, **Mentions** and **Messages** (with counts) and **Open**, **Resolved** and **Important**, plus a refresh button. Tap a conversation to open it full screen; the back arrow returns to the list. There's no account filter on a phone. [Screenshot: The Inbox on a phone with the Comments, Mentions and Messages chips and the Open, Resolved and Important chips] ## If it doesn't work | What you see | What it means | What to do | |---|---|---| | No conversations at all | The workspace has no accounts on the networks above, they were connected in the last half hour, or they need reconnecting. LinkedIn needs **Connect inbox**. | Check **Accounts**, wait 30 minutes after connecting, [reconnect](/docs/social-accounts/reconnect/) accounts, and press refresh. | | "No open comments" and "Try to refresh or select another social profile." | Nothing open for the selected accounts. | Press refresh, switch accounts back on in the account bar, or check **Filters**. | | "Mentions will appear here when your accounts are tagged" | No mentions yet. | Nothing to fix. | | No Instagram messages, or replies to them fail | The Instagram account's Facebook Page isn't connected in this workspace, or needs reconnecting. | Connect the Page in the same workspace. See [Connect Instagram](/docs/networks/instagram/). | | "An unexpected error occurred while processing your request." when you reply or like | The network refused it. Often the account needs reconnecting, or the comment or message was deleted. | Your text stays in the box. Reconnect the account and try again. | | "Access denied to workspace with Id: {id}" | You're no longer a member of that workspace. | Reload Heropost and pick another workspace. | | A new comment doesn't show | It hasn't been collected yet, or the page hasn't been refreshed. | Press refresh after a few minutes. | | Older conversations are missing | The inbox holds the 100 most recently active conversations, and comments on your most recent posts. | Answer older ones on the network. | | Post pictures are gray | Pictures of conversations with no activity for 30 days may be removed. | Nothing to fix. The conversation still works. | | X messages and replies aren't there | X isn't part of the Social Inbox. | Answer on X. | ## Questions **Can I answer X, TikTok or Pinterest comments here?** No. The Social Inbox covers Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Pages, YouTube, Threads and Google Business Profile. **Can I send photos or emojis?** Replies are text. Emojis you type or paste are sent as part of the text; there's no emoji picker and no attachments. **Can I assign a conversation to a teammate or add a note?** No. Everyone in the workspace sees the same inbox. Use **Mark important** and **Mark as done** to share what's handled. **Can I hide or delete a comment?** Not from Heropost. Do it on the network. **Can Hero_Agent read and answer my inbox?** Yes, depending on your plan. See [AI plans](/docs/billing/ai-plans/) and [Use Heropost from your AI tools](/docs/ai-tools/overview/).