DM templates · Instagram
Instagram away messages for nights, weekends and time off
An Instagram away message is an automatic reply that tells people you're not around and when a person will answer. The free built-in option is in Meta Business Suite: open Inbox, then Automations, and turn on Away message for your Instagram account. Below are 12 to copy for evenings, weekends, holidays, sick days and busy launches, plus the rules for what an automatic reply can do while you're gone.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 12 templates
12 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
Every evening
Hi, thanks for your message. Our inbox closes at {time} each evening, so this reply is automatic. We'll read your message first thing tomorrow and answer everyone in the order they wrote.
Answering in order tells people that sending the same question twice won't get them seen any sooner.
Weekend closure
Hello! We're closed for the weekend, so you're reading an automatic reply. We're back on Monday from {time}. If it's about an order, add your order number below and we'll start with that.
With the order number already in the chat, Monday's first message can be an answer rather than another question.
Holiday closure with a ship date
Happy holidays from all of us! The studio is closed from {date} to {date}, and this message is sent automatically. The online shop stays open, and anything ordered now ships from {date}. Every message will get a reply when we're back.
During a closure, online shoppers mostly want to know when their order will leave, so answer that before they ask.
Creator taking a break
Hey! I'm taking a short break from Instagram until {date}, so this message is automatic. I'll read everything when I'm back, though catching up might take me a day or two. Thanks for your patience.
Admitting that catching up takes time is kinder than promising an answer on the morning you return.
Sick day
Thanks for your message. I'm unwell today and away from my phone, so this is an automatic reply. Bookings for this week still stand unless I message you myself. I'll answer everything by {time}.
Saying that existing bookings still stand heads off a wave of “are we still on?” messages.
Busy launch day
Thank you for the message! It's launch day and the inbox is busy, so this first reply is automatic. Sizes, delivery times and returns are all covered here: {link}. For anything else, a person will reply by {time}.
On a busy day the problem is speed, not absence. A page of answers lets many people sort themselves out while the queue goes down.
Customers in other time zones
Hello from {city}! It's night here, so this message is automatic. We're online from {time} our time, which may be the middle of your night. Put all the details in one message and we'll answer it in one go.
Naming your city saves people working out the time difference, and one detailed message beats a slow back-and-forth across time zones.
With an emergency number
We're away until {date}, and this reply is automatic. If you're staying with us and something needs fixing now, call {phone}. Everything else will be answered when we're back.
Only for businesses that really keep an emergency line, such as holiday rentals. Say exactly who the number is for, or everyone will call it.
With clients right now
Hi! I'm with clients until {time}, so this reply is automatic. If you'd like to book, you can pick any free slot yourself here: {link}. Questions can wait in this chat, and I'll answer them after my last appointment.
Suits hairdressers, trainers and therapists, who are busy rather than away. The booking link lets people finish without you.
Short and light
Out of office 🌴 This is an automatic reply: we're back on {date}, and we'll read your message then.
Fine for a brand with a playful voice. It still gives the date, the one detail no away message can skip.
At a market or event
We're at {event} today, so come and say hi at stall {number}! This DM is automatic while we're busy with customers, and we'll catch up on messages tonight.
Turns an away message into an invitation, which suits makers who sell at markets and fairs.
Back from time away, sent by hand
Hi {name}, sorry for the wait, we're back now. About your question: {answer}. Is there anything else I can help with?
Send it from the Instagram app. The 24-hour limit covers messages that tools send through Meta's API, not a person replying in the app.
Set it up in DMFast
“Are you open?” answered while you're closed
While you're closed, “are you open?” keeps arriving, so it gets its own answer with the exact date. Words match whole and in any case: “are you open Sunday?” triggers it, “opening hours” doesn't, so add OPENING and CLOSED as extra words.
Pick direct messages
Connect your Instagram account and add an auto-reply for DMs. It answers messages, not comments.
Set the word: OPEN
Any message with the word OPEN in it gets this answer, in capitals or not.
Paste the message
Add the message shown here. It goes out in seconds, day and night.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- Automated messages can only be sent within 24 hours of the person's last message. An away message has to go out straight away, and nothing automatic can follow after a long weekend unless they write again.
- Under Meta's policy, an automated chat has to tell people they're dealing with an automated service, so say it in the away message itself.
- A person replying through a business tool can use Meta's human agent tag to answer up to 7 days after the last message, where the tool supports it. The tag is for people, never for automated replies.
- Meta's help centre says that when a template automation such as the away message and a custom keyword reply are both triggered, Business Suite sends the template response, not the keyword reply.
- Only professional accounts (Business or Creator) can send automatic replies. A personal account has no away message.
Sources
Where to switch an away message on
Meta Business Suite, free
In Meta Business Suite, open Inbox and then Automations, choose Away message and select your Instagram account. You set when it runs, such as outside your business hours, and write the text. Meta's help centre points out one catch: while the away message is on, it goes out even to people whose message matches one of your custom keyword replies, so a shopper asking the price gets “we're away” instead of your prices.
DMFast
In DMFast an away message is a DM auto-reply with no keyword. It answers any new message, at most once a day per person, so someone who sends five messages gets one away notice. It doesn't follow a timetable: you switch it on when you leave and off when you're back. Keyword replies are checked first, so a message with PRICE in it still gets your price list. On the Growth and Business plans, AI replies can then take follow-up questions, using only the business details you've written, at one credit per reply.
Tip: Put a reminder in your calendar to switch it off. An away message left running tells people you're closed while you're sitting there answering.
What a good away message says
- That it's automatic. A few words do it, and Meta requires it for automated chats.
- When a person will answer, as a day and a time. “Monday from 9am” lets people decide whether to wait.
- What they can do meanwhile: add an order number, book a slot themselves or read the answers to common questions.
- Nothing you can't keep. If nobody will check messages over the holiday, don't say someone will.
How long you're gone changes what you can promise:
| Time away | What to promise |
|---|---|
| One evening | A reply first thing tomorrow, with the time |
| A weekend | A reply on Monday, plus a request for order numbers |
| A week or longer | The return date, and where to find answers in the meantime |
| A sudden day off | That existing bookings still stand, and when you'll be in touch |
What happens to messages while you're away
The away message goes out as soon as someone writes. After that, the clock matters. Tools that send through Meta's API, DMFast included, can only send automated messages within 24 hours of the person's last message. If someone writes on Friday night and you're back on Monday, nothing automatic can reach them in between unless they message again.
When you're back, reply from the Instagram app. The 24-hour window applies to messages sent through Meta's API, not to a person typing in the app, so answering a Friday message on Monday is fine there. Some business inboxes also support Meta's human agent tag, which gives a real person up to 7 days.
Mistakes that make an away message backfire
- Leaving it on after you're back, so people get “we're away” from an account that posted a Story an hour ago.
- Dates that have passed. “Closed until 2 January” still showing in March suggests nobody is minding the account.
- Writing “back soon”. Soon means nothing at 11pm on a Saturday.
- Promising to message people later. Once 24 hours pass, no automated message can reach them until they write again.
- Burying the return date under a paragraph of thanks. Put it in the first two lines, where it shows in the chat preview.
When you're back, count how many people wrote a second time before anyone replied. If it's a lot, the away message didn't make clear enough when they'd hear from you.
Questions people ask
How do I set up an away message on Instagram?
In Meta Business Suite, go to Inbox, open Automations and choose Away message. Select your Instagram account, set when it should run and write the text. Your account has to be a professional one connected to Business Suite. Apps built on Meta's API, DMFast among them, can send one too.
Can an Instagram away message run only outside business hours?
In Meta Business Suite, yes: you choose the times it covers. A DMFast auto-reply has no schedule, so you switch it on and off yourself, which suits holidays and sick days more than a nightly routine.
Will someone get the away message every time they write?
Not in DMFast. An auto-reply with no keyword answers each person at most once a day, however many messages they send. Still, write it so it makes sense to a regular customer who sees it twice in one week.
Can I send an automatic message when I'm back?
Only to people whose last message was under 24 hours ago. Everyone else needs a reply from a person, either typed in the Instagram app or sent through a tool that supports Meta's human agent tag, within 7 days.
Do keyword replies still work while the away message is on?
It depends on the tool. Meta's help centre says Business Suite sends the away message even when a keyword reply matches. In DMFast, keyword replies are checked first, so a message with PRICE in it still gets your price answer and everything else gets the away message.
Can a personal Instagram account have an away message?
No. Automatic replies need a Business or Creator account. Switching to a professional account is free in Instagram's settings, and you can switch back later.
Related templates
Set-ups by business
More DM templates
Send these messages automatically
DMFast replies under the comment, sends the first DM in seconds and your link once they answer, day and night. Free plan, no card.
Start free