Using the Unified Message Inbox

PostDart's unified inbox brings all your direct messages from connected platforms into one view. No more switching between Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, and other apps — every conversation lives in PostDart, and you can reply without ever leaving the dashboard.

This is especially valuable for businesses that receive dozens or hundreds of DMs daily. A unified inbox means no message falls through the cracks, and you can maintain professional response times across every platform.

How Message Syncing Works

PostDart automatically syncs your conversations from Facebook and Instagram using a background task that runs every 2 minutes. This means new messages are pulled from each platform's API and stored securely in your inbox within 120 seconds of being received.

But it gets better: PostDart also uses WebSocket real-time updates. This means that when a new message arrives, your browser receives an instant push notification — the message appears in your inbox in real time, without you needing to refresh the page or wait for the next sync cycle.

The combination of scheduled syncing (every 2 minutes) and real-time WebSocket pushes means you're always up to date. The scheduled sync acts as a safety net in case a WebSocket message is missed, while WebSocket provides instant delivery for the vast majority of messages.

The Inbox Layout

The Messages page uses a familiar two-panel layout, similar to email clients or native messaging apps:

Left panel — Conversation list: Shows all your conversations, sorted by most recent activity. Each conversation entry displays:

Right panel — Message thread: When you select a conversation, the full message history appears in a familiar chat-bubble layout. Your messages appear on one side, the contact's messages on the other, each with timestamps and the sender's avatar.

Filtering Conversations

At the top of the inbox, you'll find platform filter tabs:

This is particularly useful when you want to focus on one platform's DMs at a time. For example, if Instagram DMs tend to be product inquiries while Facebook Messenger handles customer support, filtering helps you context-switch efficiently.

Replying to Messages

To reply to a conversation, select it from the left panel, type your message in the input field at the bottom of the thread, and click Send (or press Enter).

Your reply is delivered through the platform's native API — the recipient sees it as a completely normal DM, as if you typed it directly in Facebook Messenger or Instagram. There's no "Sent via PostDart" watermark or third-party indicator.

Reply delivery is nearly instant. PostDart sends your reply directly through the platform's messaging API, and you'll see it appear in the thread immediately.

Manual Sync

If you want to force-check for new messages immediately — rather than waiting for the next 2-minute sync cycle — click the Sync button at the top of the inbox. PostDart will poll all connected accounts right away and pull in any new messages.

This is useful when you know someone just messaged you (maybe you saw the notification on your phone) and want to see it in PostDart immediately.

Search & Discovery

The search bar at the top of the inbox lets you search across all conversations by contact name or message content. This is invaluable when you need to find a specific conversation from days or weeks ago.

Message Notifications

PostDart supports real-time notifications for new messages. When you're in the dashboard (on any page, not just the inbox), a notification badge appears on the Messages sidebar icon showing the count of unread conversations.

If you have PostDart open in a browser tab, you'll also receive browser push notifications for new messages (if enabled), so you never miss an important DM even when you're working on other parts of the dashboard.

Tips for Inbox Management

Respond quickly: Response time matters — a lot. Facebook awards a "Very Responsive" badge to Pages that consistently reply within 15 minutes. Instagram's algorithm also favors accounts with fast response times. PostDart's unified inbox makes fast responses effortless.

Use the search bar: Don't scroll through hundreds of conversations to find that one message from last week. Use search — it's fast and searches both contact names and message content.

Check daily: Make inbox review a daily habit. Even 10 minutes in the morning and evening keeps your response times low and your audience engaged.

Platform context matters: Facebook Messenger conversations tend to be longer and more detailed (customer support, inquiries), while Instagram DMs are often shorter (quick questions, collaboration requests, reactions to Stories). Adjust your response style accordingly.

Combine with AI Studio: For frequently asked questions, use PostDart's AI Chat Assistant to draft quick, professional replies. You can type a prompt like "Write a polite response to a customer asking about our return policy" and get a ready-to-send reply in seconds.

Supported Platforms

Currently, PostDart's unified inbox supports:

YouTube and TikTok don't currently offer messaging APIs to third-party tools, so their DMs cannot be synced. However, PostDart does sync comments from YouTube, which you can manage from the Comments page.