Shared Inbox

The shared inbox in Content Mate combines all direct messages and comments from your connected social media accounts into one central interface. Instead of switching between Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct, and the respective comment sections on each platform, you manage everything in a single place. Every team member in your workspace sees the same conversations, making it easy to coordinate who responds to what.

Feature Overview

The inbox provides the following capabilities:

• Receive and reply to messages -- Manage Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Messages in one view
• Manage comments -- Read, reply to, like, edit, delete, and hide comments on your Facebook and Instagram posts
• Filter by account -- View conversations from a specific social media account only
• Filter by type -- Switch between messages and comments using tabs
• Search -- Search conversations by sender name or message content
• Assignment -- Assign conversations to workspace members for team coordination
• Assigned to me -- Filter to show only conversations assigned to you personally
• Read/Unread status -- Identify unread conversations at a glance through visual indicators

Interface Layout

The inbox page is divided into three main areas: a header with source selector, a left panel for conversation listing, and a right panel for the active conversation detail.

Header Area

The header at the top of the inbox contains:

• An Inbox icon and the page title
• A subtitle describing the inbox purpose
• A source selector (tabs) on the right side to switch between Messages and Comments

The source selector determines what type of conversations are shown in the left panel. When "Messages" is selected, you see direct message conversations from Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct. When "Comments" is selected, you see comment threads on your posts.

Left Panel: Conversation List

The left panel occupies approximately one-third of the screen width and contains the following sections from top to bottom:

Account filter:

At the top of the left panel, you see your connected accounts as filter buttons. Each account shows a profile picture and display name. Click an account to filter the conversation list to show only conversations from that account. Click "All" to reset the filter and show conversations from all accounts. A count in parentheses shows the total number of conversations for each filter option.

Assigned to me:

Below the account filter (visible when your workspace has multiple members), a button labeled "Assigned to me" lets you filter conversations to show only those assigned to you. The count in parentheses shows how many conversations are assigned to you. Click the button to toggle this filter on and off.

Search field:

A search input field allows you to filter conversations by typing a keyword. The search matches against the sender name and message content. Results update as you type.

Conversation entries:

Each conversation in the list shows:

• Sender profile picture with a fallback icon if no picture is available
• Sender name (displayed in bold for unread conversations)
• A platform badge (blue for Facebook, pink for Instagram)
• The time since last interaction (e.g., "5 min ago", "2 h ago")
• A preview of the last message (truncated to two lines)
• A red dot indicator for unread conversations

Click on a conversation to open it in the right panel. On mobile devices, clicking a conversation hides the list and shows the detail view full-screen; use the back button to return to the list.

Right Panel: Conversation Detail

When a conversation is selected, the right panel shows the full conversation content. The layout differs depending on whether you are viewing messages or comments.

Header:

• Sender profile picture and name
• A platform badge showing which platform the conversation is from
• An assignment badge if the conversation is assigned to someone
• An assignment dropdown (visible when your workspace has members) to assign or reassign the conversation

Message thread (for Messages):

Messages are displayed in a chat-like format:

• Incoming messages appear on the left with a white background
• Outgoing messages appear on the right with a themed color background
• Each message shows the content text, a relative timestamp (e.g., "Just now", "5 min ago"), and for outgoing messages the suffix "Sent"

Comment thread (for Comments):

When viewing comments, the right panel shows a post card at the top followed by the nested comment tree. See the Managing Comments section for details.

Reply input:

At the bottom of the right panel, a text area allows you to compose and send replies. See Replying to Messages for details.

Replying to Messages

To reply to a direct message conversation:

1. Select a conversation in the left panel
2. The message history loads in the right panel
3. Type your reply in the text area at the bottom
4. Click the Send button or press Enter to send
5. Use Shift+Enter to insert a new line without sending
6. While sending, a loading indicator appears on the send button
7. On success, the message appears in the thread and a confirmation toast is shown

Emoji picker:

Click the smiley icon inside the text area to open the emoji picker. Browse categories or search for an emoji, then click it to insert at the cursor position. Click outside the picker or on the smiley icon again to close it.

Message Reactions

You can react to individual messages with emoji reactions:

1. Hover over a message
2. A reaction button (smiley icon) appears at the top corner of the message bubble
3. Click it to open a reaction picker with six options: heart, thumbs up, laugh, wow, sad, angry
4. Click a reaction to send it to the platform
5. The picker closes automatically after selecting a reaction

Managing Comments

When you select "Comments" in the source selector, the left panel shows comment-based conversations. Selecting one loads the comment thread in the right panel.

Post Card

At the top of the comment view, a post card displays information about the post that the comments belong to:

• Media preview -- An image or video thumbnail of the post (with a play button overlay for videos)
• Media type badge -- Shows "IMAGE", "VIDEO", "CAROUSEL", or "REEL"
• Post caption -- The description text of the post (truncated to three lines)
• Engagement statistics -- Likes count, comments count, and shares count with colored icons
• Creation date and a link to view the original post on the platform

Comment Actions

Each comment in the thread supports the following actions:

Note: Editing Instagram comments is not possible. This is a limitation of the Instagram API, not a Content Mate limitation.

Nested Replies

Comments are displayed in a tree structure:

• Top-level comments appear at the first indentation level
• Replies are indented below their parent comment with a left border line
• Each reply shows the same actions as top-level comments except the reply button (to prevent deeply nested threads)
• The reply input appears inline below the comment when you click "Reply"

Filtering Conversations

Filter by Account

1. Click on the button of a specific account in the filter area at the top of the left panel
2. The conversation list updates to show only conversations from that account
3. The conversation count updates accordingly
4. Click "All" to reset the filter and show all conversations

Filter by Type

1. Click "Messages" in the header tabs to see only direct message conversations
2. Click "Comments" to see only comment threads on your posts
3. The conversation list and detail panel update accordingly

Filter by Assigned to Me

1. Click the "Assigned to me" button below the account filter
2. The list shows only conversations assigned to you
3. Click again to deactivate the filter
4. This filter works in combination with the account filter

Using Search

1. Type a keyword in the search field below the account filter
2. The conversation list filters to show only conversations matching your search term
3. The search checks both sender names and message content
4. Clear the search field to show all conversations again

Assigning Conversations

You can assign conversations to workspace members to coordinate who handles which messages:

1. Open a conversation in the right panel
2. Find the assignment dropdown in the conversation header (shows "Unassigned" by default)
3. Click the dropdown and select a workspace member from the list
4. The assignment is saved immediately and a confirmation toast appears
5. An assignment badge with the member's name appears in the conversation header

To remove an assignment, select "Unassigned" from the dropdown.

Tip: Use assignments to prevent duplicate replies. When a team member is assigned to a conversation, other members can see who is responsible and avoid sending conflicting responses.

Supported Platforms

Note: TikTok messaging and comments are not available in the inbox. TikTok does not provide API access for direct messages or comment management.

Mobile Experience

On mobile devices (screens narrower than the medium breakpoint), the inbox uses a single-panel layout:

• Initially, the conversation list is shown full-width
• Tapping a conversation hides the list and shows the detail view full-width
• A back button in the detail view header returns you to the conversation list
• All features (filtering, search, assignment, replies, comment actions) work the same as on desktop

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are no conversations showing?

If your conversation list is empty, one of the following may apply:

• No social media accounts are connected to this workspace yet. Go to Settings and connect at least one Facebook or Instagram account.
• The connected accounts have not received any messages or comments yet.
• You have an active filter (account or "Assigned to me") that hides existing conversations. Reset filters by clicking "All".

How quickly do new messages appear?

New messages are fetched when you open the inbox page. The inbox polls for updates periodically, but for the most current state, refresh the page manually. Messages sent through Content Mate appear immediately in the thread.

Can I send images or attachments in replies?

The current version of the inbox supports text-only replies. Images, videos, and other attachments cannot be sent through the Content Mate inbox at this time.

Why can I not edit Instagram comments?

Instagram does not provide a function for editing comments through its API. This is a platform limitation, not a Content Mate limitation. You can delete an Instagram comment and write a new one as a workaround.

What happens when I hide a comment?

Hidden comments are not visible to the public on the social media platform, but they remain visible to you in Content Mate with a "Hidden" badge and reduced opacity. The comment author typically does not receive a notification that their comment was hidden.

Next Steps

• Manage Messages -- Advanced tips for emoji, reactions, comment moderation, and efficient filtering
• Create and Schedule Posts -- Create posts that will generate inbox conversations
• Analytics Overview -- Analyze engagement metrics related to your inbox activity