Story mention

A story mention is what Instagram sends your business account when someone tags you in their story: a message in your inbox that points to that story. Instagram story mention automation starts a flow on that message, in Inrō with the trigger Someone mentions you in a story.

What does Instagram send when someone tags you in a story?

The tag arrives as a webhook on the messages field, like a DM. The Meta for Developers story mention documentation lists what it carries (Meta, checked 1 October 2026):

• sender.id: the tagger's Instagram-scoped id, not their username
• recipient.id: your account
• timestamp and a message id (mid)
• one attachment of type story_mention, with a CDN link to the story

For how webhooks reach Inrō, see the Instagram webhook entry.

What does the webhook leave out?

• Tags from private accounts that do not follow you. Meta sends a story mention only when the tagger's account is public, or private and following you.
• The story id and the username. Inrō looks up the story and the tagger's profile itself.
• Any text. No caption or sticker text. To filter on words, Inrō reads them off the image or video.
• The file. A story disappears after 24 hours or when deleted, and the link then stops working (Meta, checked 1 October 2026).
• Tags in posts. Tagging on regular posts does not trigger this webhook; post mentions have their own trigger in Inrō.

How does Inrō turn a story mention into an automation?

The mention lands in your Inrō inbox as a message. On the Scenarios page, pick Someone mentions you in a story, then a filter:

• Any story that mentions you: every mention starts the flow.
• Stories with visible keyword(s): Inrō extracts the text it can see in the story and matches your keywords. The keyword must be clearly visible.
• Stories showing something: you describe the picture in plain words, and an AI check compares it with the story. Without AI available on your account, this filter matches nothing and the trigger shows a warning.

If the story expired before the check, the keyword and picture filters cannot read it and the flow does not start. Text read from the story is available in your messages as the Story text variable.

For a ready-made flow, use the respond to story mentions template. For what to say back, read the guide to Instagram mention automation. Replies to your own stories are a different event: see story reply trigger. Comments on your posts go through Inrō comment-to-DM automation, and more entry points are in the Inrō automation glossary.