Connect your Instagram account to Blackbox
Report on how your Instagram posts perform, in about two minutes, with read-only access and no Facebook Page or Business Manager required.
Before you start
A Professional account
Your Instagram must be a Business or Creator account. Check in Instagram under Settings, then Account type and tools.
The account's own login
You sign in with the Instagram username and password for the account itself. If two-factor is on, keep your phone to hand to approve it.
Nothing else
No Facebook Page, no Business Manager and no ad account are needed. If you do not run ads, this still works.
Step by step
- 01
Open Data in Blackbox
Sign in to Blackbox and click Data in the left menu, then Connect a channel at the top right.
- 02
Pick Instagram & Facebook
Open the Provider dropdown and choose Instagram & Facebook — this is the option for Instagram accounts. Do not pick Meta Ads, which is the separate advertising connection. Then click Connect.
- 03
Log in with Instagram
An Instagram window opens. Sign in with the username and password of the account you want connected, and approve the two-factor prompt if one appears.
- 04
Choose what to share
Meta asks which Pages to share, and the Instagram account behind each one comes with it. Whatever you tick here is all Blackbox can ever read. Leave the permissions switched on — turning one off stops that part of your reporting working.
- 05
That's it
You are returned to Blackbox and your Instagram account appears under Connected channels. Your last 30 days of posts start loading within a few minutes.
Blackbox can read
- Your published posts, reels and stories, and their reach
- Your follower growth and engagement over time
- The comments and mentions on the account, as the numbers behind your reporting
Blackbox will not
- Post, reply or change a setting on your account unless you press Publish yourself
- Reach your ad account or spend a single dollar through this connection
- See your password — it goes to Instagram, never to Blackbox
If something doesn't work
- The login is not accepted
- The account is most likely still a personal one. Switch it to Business or Creator in Instagram under Settings, then Account type and tools, and try again.
- Do I need a Facebook Page?
- No. Blackbox connects to Instagram directly. The dropdown option is labelled Instagram & Facebook because the same option covers both — you only sign in to what you want connected.
- Does this let Blackbox into my ads?
- No. This connection reads organic Instagram only. Running ads through Blackbox is a separate Meta Ads connection, approved separately by you.
- I missed a Page. Should I reconnect?
- No — reconnecting silently reuses the choice you made the first time, because Meta remembers it and will not ask again. Use Choose Pages on the connector instead.
- How do I disconnect later?
- In Instagram, go to Settings, then Apps and websites, and remove Blackbox. Data stops updating immediately. You can also disconnect from the Data page in Blackbox.
Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call.