Automation Settings: Run the Public Reply Without the DM
The ⋯ button at the top right of the Setup direct message section holds the settings for the DM half of the automation.
Disable direct message
Section titled “Disable direct message”One toggle, with a consequence worth reading twice: when disabled, only the public comment reply works.
Switch it on and the automation still watches the post, still matches your trigger, and still replies publicly under the comment. It just doesn’t send anything to anyone’s inbox. Everything you built in the DM section — the opener, the collect steps, the message, the follow-up — stays saved exactly as it is, and comes back the moment you switch it off.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”Comment engagement without the DM load. Some posts want a lively comment section and nothing more. A public reply to every comment is engagement Instagram can see; a DM to every commenter is send volume you may not want to spend.
Testing your triggers safely. Publish with DMs disabled, comment from a second account, and confirm the right keywords fire and the public replies read well — without a single real person receiving a half-finished DM.
Pausing a campaign mid-flight. The offer sold out, the link broke, the code expired. Disabling the DM stops delivery immediately while the automation stays live and your comment section keeps answering. It’s a far lighter action than unpublishing, and nothing has to be rebuilt to resume.
A post that outgrew its automation. Something went unexpectedly viral and the DM volume is more than you want. Turn off the DM, keep the replies.
What it doesn’t do
Section titled “What it doesn’t do”It doesn’t unpublish the automation, doesn’t clear the queue of DMs already scheduled behind a delay, and doesn’t affect any other automation on the account. It’s scoped to the DM section of the automation you’re editing.