What is a source?

In Behold a "source" represents a connected social media account that can be used to populate a feed of posts.

Currently we have two types of Instagram sources, but in the future we plan to add support for other social networks, like Twitter and TikTok.

Why are there two different source types?

Instagram currently provides two official ways to access posts: the Basic Display API and the Graph API.

Under the hood, advanced sources use the Graph API. Doing this provides additional features, but at the cost of some convenience.

What are the differences between them?

To start, we are able to automatically refresh basic source access when it expires. That means you will only have to reauthorize basic sources if something unusual happens, like an account password is changed.

Advanced sources, on the other hand, need to be manually reauthorized every three months. We will send you an email one week before the reauthorization is due with a re-auth link to make it as simple as possible.

Advanced sources provide a few benefits:

1. Advanced sources are able to access collab posts.
2. An advanced source is required to create hashtag feeds
3. Advanced sources have access to like and comment counts on posts.

If those things are not necessary for your purposes, we recommend using a basic source.

Adding a basic source

Connecting a basic source is very simple. First navigate to the sources page, click on the + Add source button and select Basic source

If you have login access to the Instagram account:

1. Click on the Connect button
2. After being redirected to Instagram, click allow. Make sure all permissions are granted. It will say "optional" next to some requested permissions, but they are required for Behold to function.
3. You should then see a loading screen, followed by your sources page with a new source added.

If you do not have login access to the Instagram account:

1. Copy your unique auth link, displayed below the Connect button
2. Have the owner of the account visit that link. They can authorize the account without being logged in to Behold.
3. Once they have completed authorization, their account will appear on your sources page

Adding an advanced source

Rather than connect directly with Instagram, advanced sources connect with a Facebook user that has admin privileges for a Facebook page with a connected Creator or Business Instagram account.

Yeesh, that was a long sentence. Let's break it down:

1. To start you need a creator or business Instagram account
2. Then you need to connect that Instagram account to a Facebook page

Once those two things are done, you can connect to Behold:

1. Make sure you're logged into the correct Facebook account and click on the “+ Add Account” button on the sources page.
2. You will be asked to choose between source types. Select Advanced
3. After being redirected to Facebook, click on Continue as [YOUR USERNAME]
4. You will be shown a list of Instagram accounts connected to your pages. Select the accounts you want to connect to Behold.
5. You will see a list of your Facebook pages. Make sure you select the pages that your Instagram accounts are connected to. If you're not certain, just select all of them.
6. You will be asked to approve three sets of permissions. All three must be allowed for Behold to function.
7. Click done, and then OK
8. That's it! After a brief loading screen, your connected Facebook account should appear on your sources page, with a list of associated Instagram accounts below it.