# How to collect emails and phone numbers from DMs

> In your automation, find “Collect their contact info” and choose “Ask for email” or “Ask for phone”. The person replies with it in the DM, and it is saved in your Lead Inbox.

- Topic: Leads
- Plans: Free: limited · Pro: included · Scale: included. Free: your oldest 1,000 leads are visible. Pro and Scale: all of them.
- In the app: Open Lead Inbox — https://app.replavia.com/contacts
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Web page: https://replavia.com/help/capture-emails-and-phone-numbers

## How it works

Your automation sends one extra message at the end of the DM. It asks the person for their email or their phone number. They type it as a normal reply, and Replavia saves it as a lead.

The ask is a plain message, not a button. Instagram does not always show its own email and phone buttons, so a typed reply works for everyone.

## Steps

1. Open the automation in **Automations**, or create a new one. See [How to create an automation](https://replavia.com/help/create-an-automation).
2. Go to the DM section. It is called **Response flow (DM)** for a comment automation, and **Auto-reply** for a DM or story automation.
3. For a comment automation, turn on **Use a tappable button**. The person must tap first, which opens the chat. Without the button, the capture choice does not appear.
4. Under **Collect their contact info**, choose **Ask for email** or **Ask for phone**. Choose **Don’t ask** to collect nothing.
5. Read the message in the box below. Replavia fills in a ready-made one. You can change the words.
6. Click **Save & activate**.

> You can ask for an email or a phone number, not both. Instagram removes all the quick choices as soon as one is tapped, so asking for two things only ever collected one.

## Where your leads appear

Open **Lead Inbox** in the menu. The **Inbox** tab lists the people who engaged with your automations, with the email or phone number they shared.

Every reply becomes a contact you own. You can export it as a CSV file on every plan. See [How to export leads](https://replavia.com/help/export-and-sync-leads).

## Good to know

- If a person replies **STOP**, **UNSUBSCRIBE** or **CANCEL** to a DM, your automations stop messaging them unprompted: no DM from their comments, no follow-up email, no reminder. If they DM you themselves later, a DM automation can still answer. This is on every plan.
- STOP only ends their Instagram DMs. If you email or text people yourself, you need your own unsubscribe link and a lawful reason to contact them.
- If someone unsends the message that held their email or phone number, Replavia deletes that detail. It also tells your connected spreadsheet or CRM to delete it.
- On the Free plan, the Lead Inbox shows your oldest 1,000 contacts. New leads after that are still captured, but they stay locked until you upgrade. See [The Free plan](https://replavia.com/help/free-plan).
- Lead capture is not a paid extra. It works on every plan, including Free.