Guide
ig.me Link: How to Create an Instagram DM Link
An ig.me link is a URL Meta provides, in the format ig.me/m/username, that opens a new or existing Instagram DM thread the moment someone taps it, built for bios, ads and QR codes.
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Put that same link on a receipt, a story sticker or a paid ad, and the result is the same: one tap and the visitor lands inside a DM thread with your account, no app switching or search box required. Meta documents the mechanism in its developer docs rather than its consumer help pages, and explanations of ig.me often stop at "it opens a chat," skipping the parts that matter for a brand running paid social.
What an ig.me Link Actually Does
The format is fixed: https://ig.me/m/<USERNAME>, where USERNAME is the Instagram handle of the account. Meta's developer documentation describes ig.me as "a shortened URL service operated by Meta that redirects users to a conversation in Instagram." Click it, and Instagram opens a new thread or an existing one, depending on whether that visitor has messaged the account before.
Instagram shows the visitor a disclosure before they can see anything else. For a brand-new thread it reads, "You opened this conversation from a link. [Business handle] will see that you used their link once you send a message." For an existing thread it reads, "You opened this conversation from a link. [Business handle] can see that you used their link," with an option to turn off messages from that point. There is one hard limitation worth knowing before you build a campaign around it: Meta's own documentation says ig.me is not currently supported on Instagram Web, so a visitor on desktop clicking the link from a browser will not get the same result as someone on the mobile app. A link shared in an email footer or printed on packaging reaches mobile buyers reliably, while one pasted into a desktop help-widget flow may quietly fail for anyone still on a laptop.
Referral Parameters Turn a Click Into Tracked Data
A bare ig.me link opens a thread and nothing else. Add a referral parameter and the link starts carrying information: https://ig.me/m/<USERNAME>?ref=<REF_PARAM>. Meta passes that REF_PARAM value to your server through a webhook when the conversation starts. Meta's documentation names three uses for it: tracking different links placed in different channels, tying an Instagram user to a session or account in an external app, and directing the user to specific content or features inside your Instagram experience.
A few requirements apply before that parameter actually arrives. The Instagram experience connected to the account must have Icebreakers set up, because that is what triggers the referral data to be passed on a brand-new conversation, the connected account generally must be published, and the parameter itself is capped at a string of up to 2,083 characters. Skip the Icebreakers setup and the link still opens the chat, it just arrives with no attribution attached, which is how "which link drove this DM" questions go unanswered.
m.me Links Are the Same Idea for Messenger
Facebook Pages get their own version for Messenger: m.me/PAGE-NAME. Meta's documentation describes it the same way, as "a URL service operated by Meta that redirects people to Messenger where they can start conversations with your business' Facebook Page," usable on a website, in email newsletters, or printed as a QR code.
m.me links add a feature ig.me does not document: a text parameter that adds a customized message alongside Meta's default line. m.me/PAGE-NAME?text=Hello%20and%20Welcome sends that exact text into the thread as the first message, alongside Meta's default line, instead of the visitor typing from a blank thread. m.me also supports the same ref parameter, and Meta's docs note that when the visitor taps Get Started, a messaging_postbacks webhook notification fires to your server, carrying that reference.
Feature | ig.me (Instagram) | m.me (Messenger) |
|---|---|---|
Link format | ig.me/m/username | m.me/page-name |
Referral tracking | ref parameter, needs Icebreakers enabled first | ref parameter, delivered on the Get Started postback |
Preloaded message | Not documented | text parameter sets a custom first message |
Desktop browser | Not supported on Instagram Web | No desktop limitation documented |
Where These Links Actually Earn Their Keep
The common thread across every real use case is the same: the link removes the step where a visitor has to find your account and start typing. A bio link, a QR code on packaging or a receipt, a Story sticker, an email signature and a paid ad all lead to the same one-tap entry. A skincare brand printing a QR code on an order insert, for example, is really just swapping a customer-service phone number for a thread that already has the order context attached, since the visitor arrives from your own packaging rather than a cold search.
Paid ads deserve a specific callout. When the link a person clicks is a Click-to-Messenger or Click-to-Direct ad, that first message changes how long the standard messaging window stays open. Meta's messenger platform policy page says the standard window lasts 24 hours for most actions, but when the action is a person's first message after clicking one of those ad formats, "the window may last up to 7 days from that message." Every other entry point, including a plain ig.me or m.me link in a bio or on a QR code, still runs on the regular 24-hour window, not the extended one.
Exerta's own comment-to-DM moderation sits one layer upstream of all of this: a shopper's ad comment, not a clicked link, is what starts the thread, and Exerta reads the comment itself before deciding whether to reply publicly, move it to a DM, or hide it. The link gets someone into your inbox. What happens to the message once they are there is a separate problem.
What an ig.me or m.me Link Cannot Do on Its Own
Both links are, deliberately, just doors. Neither one reads what the visitor types next, decides whether that message needs a human, or reports which click eventually became a sale. Meta's own automation guidance backs this up indirectly: where the law requires it, an automated chat must disclose that the visitor is talking to an automated service, and Meta recommends that disclosure everywhere, and any automated bot has to respond to what a person sends within 30 seconds. None of that logic lives inside ig.me or m.me. It has to be built on the other side of the door, by a Meta inbox automation, a third-party tool, or a person watching the inbox.
That is also why a brand running both ads and an always-open bio link needs more than the link itself: something has to triage the volume once the door is open, especially during a launch or a spike in ad spend, so the DM thread a link creates does not just sit unread until someone gets to it.
FAQ
What happens when someone clicks an ig.me link?
Instagram opens a new DM thread with the account named in the link, or an existing one if that visitor has messaged before. The visitor sees a disclosure that the business will know they came from a link, with an option to turn off messages from there.
Does ig.me work if someone clicks from a desktop browser?
Not reliably. Meta's documentation states that ig.me is not currently supported on Instagram Web, so a link that works perfectly from the mobile app can behave differently for a visitor browsing on a desktop, which matters if a campaign leans on email or a website where laptop traffic is common.
What is the ref parameter for?
It is a string you attach to the link, up to 2,083 characters, that Meta passes back to your server through a webhook when the conversation starts. Brands use it to tell apart links placed in different channels or to tie a click to a specific campaign or user session.
Do I need anything set up before the ref parameter will work on Instagram?
Yes. Meta's documentation requires Icebreakers to be enabled on the connected Instagram experience before a referral parameter gets passed on a brand-new conversation. Without it, the link still opens the chat, it just arrives with no tracking data attached.
Can an m.me or ig.me link send a promotional message to someone who never messaged me before?
The link itself only opens a conversation. Once that conversation exists, Meta's messaging window rules decide what can be sent and when: promotional content is allowed inside the standard window, which runs 24 hours for most entry points and up to 7 days when the first message follows a Click-to-Messenger or Click-to-Direct ad.
What is the real difference between ig.me and m.me?
They do the same job on different apps: ig.me opens an Instagram DM thread, m.me opens a Messenger conversation with a Facebook Page. m.me additionally supports a text parameter that preloads a custom first message, which is not part of Meta's documented ig.me behavior.
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An ig.me or m.me link only gets a shopper to the door. What they type next, and how fast someone or something answers it, is what decides whether that click turns into a sale. Exerta's Instagram chatbot reads every comment and message that follows and routes it in your brand voice. See it running on your own ads at a live demo.
