Choices, answers, and timeouts

Action buttons and Quick Replies wait for a selection. Branch on selection controls where the contact goes after choosing, not whether the node waits. Leave it off when all choices should continue to the same next step. Turn it on and connect each choice when they need different paths.

A URL button opens a link instead. To wait for that action, use Wait for URL click. Opening a link does not open Instagram’s messaging window.

For a message with Action buttons or Quick Replies, turn on No selection after… to add a deadline. It starts off; when enabled, it starts at 120 minutes. You can choose from 1 minute to 43,200 minutes (30 days).

Connect the No selection output to the next step for someone who has not chosen by then. The timer starts after the message is sent, not when the flow starts. A choice and its timeout cannot both continue the same wait.

When Wait for URL click is on, use its URL timeout instead. The editor does not allow a separate selection deadline alongside it. A late tap on an expired choice from a deadline-enabled message cannot answer a later visit to that message.

Use Ask for Input to send a question, validate the answer when needed, and save it to a named field. A valid answer follows Answered. If Skip if Field Already Exists lets the node skip the question, it follows Answered too.

No reply after… adds a separate deadline and No reply output. Like the message deadline, it is off by default, starts at 120 minutes when enabled, and accepts 1 minute to 30 days. Connect that output before publishing.

Turn on Invalid answer to choose a different path after validation retries are used up. For example, offer help when someone cannot provide a valid email address. Without this branch, exhausted retries end the run. A retry prompt does not restart or extend the original No reply deadline.

No reply and Invalid answer do not invent a saved answer. For email questions, explain how you will use the address and complete the required consent acknowledgement before publishing.

No selection and No reply let you decide what happens next. They do not reopen Instagram’s messaging window. Before sending a follow-up DM, the contact still needs to be eligible for that message.

For a cold commenter who has not replied to the opening private reply, another automated DM is not available just because time passed. You can end the flow or notify your team instead. Email follow-up needs the person’s permission and a configured sender.

Preview the normal route and each enabled timeout or invalid-answer route. Use a live test to check real message delivery; Preview cannot prove Instagram will accept a send.