Troubleshooting your Instagram web feed in emails

You will learn

Learn how to troubleshoot your Instagram web feed if it is not working in your emails, which is likely due to Klaviyo having an issue retrieving your feed content. To determine the cause, we recommend first trying to test your feed.

Test your feed

To test or preview an existing Instagram feed, open Web feeds using the steps below. You need permission to edit web feeds to follow these steps.

1. Click your account name in the lower left corner.
2. Navigate to Settings > Other > Web feeds.
3. Find your Instagram feed, click its three-dot menu, and select Edit.
4. In the upper right-hand corner, click Preview.

If you can preview your feed content, Klaviyo can retrieve and read the feed. If it still does not appear in your email, check that the template uses the correct feed name and fields, following our guide to adding a custom web feed. Send a preview email to your own inbox to check the result.

If you see an error message, check the reported cause. Errors can result from an incorrect URL, expired access permissions, a slow or unavailable feed provider, or invalid JSON or XML.

1. Select Edit web feed to return to the feed settings.
2. Check Feed URL, Request method, and Content type against your provider’s instructions. The URL must return JSON or XML feed content directly, without a redirect.
3. After fixing the feed or its settings, click Update feed and wait for validation to finish. Then click Preview to test it again.

Does your feed rely on a retired Instagram API?

Instagram deprecated its Legacy API on June 29, 2020. This API was commonly used by Instagram users and third-party applications to pull Instagram content and generate a feed of recent posts.

Feeds that rely on Instagram’s Legacy API no longer work, including feeds generated by third-party apps that still use it. Instagram also retired its Basic Display API on December 4, 2024. Klaviyo cannot restore access to these APIs.

Open your Instagram feed from the Web feeds page and check Feed URL. If the feed comes from a third-party app, ask the provider whether it uses a retired Instagram API.

What to do if your feed relies on a retired Instagram API

If your feed connects directly to a retired Instagram API

Use an RSS feed generator to create a replacement feed, or have your developer review Meta’s current Instagram APIs for business and creator accounts. Review our step-by-step instructions on adding Instagram content to your emails.

You can alternatively seek out a third-party application that supports generating an Instagram Feed for you such as Klaviyo technology partner Foursixty.

If you are using a third-party app to generate your feed

Reach out to the service you are using and follow their instructions to ensure your feed can remain active if possible.

Alternatives to using an Instagram web feed

If you don’t need an automatically updating Instagram feed, you can add static images of your Instagram posts to your emails. This is recommended if you are having trouble generating a feed directly from your Instagram account. For instructions, see our guide to inserting an image into a text block.

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