Connect Instagram

HIVE connects to Instagram through Facebook. Before you connect, your Instagram account needs to meet a few requirements.

Before you start: what your Instagram needs

To connect Instagram to HIVE, all three of these must be true:

1. Your Instagram is a professional account - a Business or Creator account, not a personal one.
2. Your Instagram is linked to a Facebook Page.
3. You manage that Facebook Page - you’ll sign in with the Facebook account that runs it.

This is the most common reason a connection fails

If your Instagram is a personal account, or it isn’t linked to a Facebook Page, the connection stops before it starts and you’ll see a message like “No linked Instagram Business account found.”

Need to set these up? Use the platforms’ own guides - their screens change often, so we link to the source rather than copy steps that go stale:

• Make your Instagram a professional account: Instagram Help Center
• Link your Instagram to a Facebook Page: Meta Business Help Center

You also need to be a HIVE admin

Only HIVE admins can connect a platform. If you don’t see a + button on the Instagram card, you’re not an admin - ask one of your admins to connect it (you can find them in Settings → Team & Roles).

Connect Instagram, step by step

1. Open your profile menu (top-right) and choose Connect Platforms.

2. Find the Instagram card and select the + button in its corner.

3. Read the short “Heads up before connecting” note, then choose Continue to Meta.

4. A window opens on Facebook. Sign in to the Facebook account that manages your Page and approve the access HIVE asks for.

5. Back in HIVE, the Select Instagram Accounts window appears. Tick the account(s) you want to connect, then choose Connect.

Your Instagram now shows as connected on the Connect Platforms page.

What to expect during connection

• The login screen is Facebook’s, not Instagram’s. HIVE reaches your Instagram through the Facebook Page it’s linked to, so you won’t type your Instagram password.
• You’ll see a permission screen. It lists what HIVE will be able to do - for example, publish posts and read and reply to comments. Approve it to continue.
• You choose your account in HIVE. After Facebook, HIVE shows the Instagram account(s) it found - each listed under the Facebook Page it belongs to - so you pick which to connect.
• Your existing posts come in. Once an account is connected, HIVE imports the posts already published on it so they sit alongside what you publish through HIVE. See Imported posts.

Leave your Pages ticked on Facebook's screen

On Facebook’s permission screen, keep all Pages ticked. Unticking a Page there removes HIVE’s access to it - which can disconnect it from places it’s already in use. You’ll choose which accounts actually go into HIVE on the next screen, inside HIVE.

If it doesn’t work

Most problems are one of these

• No + button on the Instagram card - you’re signed in to HIVE as a non-admin. Ask an admin to connect it (see Settings → Team & Roles).
• “No linked Instagram Business account found” - your Instagram is still a personal account, or it isn’t linked to a Facebook Page. Fix both (links above), then try again.
• Your Instagram isn’t offered to pick - the Facebook account you signed in with doesn’t manage the Page your Instagram is linked to. Sign in with the right Facebook account, or ask whoever manages that Page to connect it.
• It worked before, then posting fails or analytics stop updating - the connection may have quietly lapsed (Instagram access can expire or be withdrawn on Meta’s side). Open the connected Instagram account and choose Re-authenticate Account to refresh it; reconnect fully if that doesn’t help.
• Publishing fails and Facebook mentions “Publishing Authorization” - occasionally a specific Facebook Page must complete Page Publishing Authorization before any tool can post to it. The Page’s admin completes this one-time step on Facebook; see Get authorized to post as your Page.

Disconnect or reconnect

• Disconnect: on the Connect Platforms page, select your connected Instagram account, choose Disconnect Account, and confirm. It’s removed from HIVE and you can reconnect it later. (Admins only.)
• Reconnect or refresh: connect it again with the + button, or use Re-authenticate Account on the connected account to refresh its access without removing it.