Meta in dev mode

Build IG analysis, a WhatsApp bot and a Messenger bot end-to-end before any review.

A Business app starts in Development mode — reachable by you and your testers, no App Review. Build Instagram analysis, a WhatsApp bot, and a Messenger bot end-to-end before any verification.

Foundation (all three products)

  1. 1

    Create the app

    developers.facebook.com → My Apps → Create App. Pick the Business type. New apps start in Development mode — no review required.
  2. 2

    Add yourself to roles

    App Roles → Roles → add your account as Administrator/Developer/Tester. In dev mode the API only returns data for these people's accounts — exactly what you want for your own analysis.

Instagram analysis

  1. 3

    Convert your IG to Business/Creator + link a Page

    Personal accounts have no API access. In the IG app: Settings → switch to Professional, then link a Facebook Page you admin. The Page link is a hard requirement for insights.
  2. 4

    Add the Instagram product & grab a token

    Add Instagram to the app, then use the Graph API Explorer (Tools menu) to generate a user token with these scopes:
    scopes
    instagram_basic            # profile + media
instagram_manage_insights  # analytics
pages_show_list            # resolve the linked Page
  3. 5

    Pull your account & media insights

    Current version is v23.0 on graph.facebook.com. Account-level, then per-post:
    Graph API
    # account insights
GET /v23.0/{ig-user-id}/insights
  ?metric=reach,follower_count,profile_views
  &period=day&access_token={TOKEN}

# single media insights
GET /v23.0/{ig-media-id}/insights
  ?metric=reach,likes,comments,saved
    Feed the JSON straight into Claude for summaries, trend detection, or content ideas.

Limits

Insights only return for the authenticated owner — which is you, so dev mode is enough. Long-lived tokens last ~60 days (refresh after 24h). Rate limit ≈ 200 calls/hour/app. Pulling other people's accounts needs App Review + Advanced Access.

WhatsApp bot

  1. 6

    Add WhatsApp → API Setup

    Add the WhatsApp product. The API Setup page hands you a free Meta test sender number, its Phone number ID, your WhatsApp Business Account ID, and a temporary token (valid 24h).
  2. 7

    Allow-list up to 5 recipients

    On the same page, register up to 5 of your own numbers as test recipients. Dev mode only delivers to this allow-list — perfect for building the bot end-to-end.
  3. 8

    Send the first message

    Business-initiated messages must use a pre-approved template — hello_world ships ready. Once the user replies, a 24-hour window opens for free-form text (how a bot converses).
    POST /messages
    POST /v23.0/{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/messages
Authorization: Bearer {TEMP_TOKEN}
{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "to": "{YOUR_TEST_NUMBER}",
  "type": "template",
  "template": { "name": "hello_world",
    "language": { "code": "en_US" } }
}
  4. 9

    Receive messages via webhook

    Configuration → set a webhook URL (ngrok or a cloud function) + verify token, subscribe to the messages field. Inbound texts now hit your server so the bot can reply.

Limits

No business verification needed at this stage. Going live on your own number is capped at ~250 conversations/24h until verified; the temp token must be swapped for a permanent System User token for anything beyond quick tests.

Messenger bot

  1. 10

    Add Messenger & generate a Page token

    Add the Messenger product, select a Page you admin, and generate a Page access token. With pages_messaging you can message anyone with a Tester/Admin role while in dev mode.
  2. 11

    Subscribe the Page to webhooks

    Point the Messenger webhook at your server, subscribe to messages + messaging_postbacks, then DM your Page from your own account to test the full send/receive loop.
console: developers.facebook.comexplorer: Tools → Graph API Explorerversion: graph.facebook.com/v23.0