Meta App Review Finally Passed! The 22-Day Journey to Instagram DM Reply Approval

AI-generated image, not my actual workspace.

At long last! The notification I’ve been desperately waiting for has finally arrived: Meta App Review has officially passed! 😭🎉

In my previous update, I mentioned receiving a rejection due to screencast video clarity. After revamping our onboarding UI and polishing the walkthrough guide, I resubmitted the review on July 6th. Today, on July 28th, the approval notification popped up.

It took a whopping 22 days from submission to completion. Because of that initial rejection, the whole process took double the expected time.

The Long 22-Day Review Odyssey

One of the core features of Myven is the Automated Instagram DM Reply function, designed to help creators and brands quickly respond to messages from fans and customers.

To make this feature available in production, passing Meta’s strict App Review for permissions like instagram_manage_messages is an absolute requirement.

However, navigating Meta’s review process is notorious for being unpredictable:

1. The First Rejection: In late June, our submission was rejected because the reviewer couldn’t clearly follow the feature flow in the demo screencast.
2. UI & Screencast Overhaul: We redesigned the onboarding UX so that any reviewer could instantly understand the app flow in seconds.
3. Resubmission (July 6): With everything polished, I hit the submit button on July 6.
4. Final Approval (July 28): After checking the Meta developer portal every single day with nervous anticipation, I finally received the message today: App Review: Your App Review results are ready (Normal)!

Having the review rejected once pushed back our entire roadmap by almost a full month. As a solo developer building a startup, watching days slip by while waiting for platform approval was nerve-wracking. 😭

What This Approval Means for Myven

With Meta App Review officially cleared, Myven can now offer full-fledged Instagram DM automation without sandbox restrictions:

• Leaving the Sandbox: Real users (not just designated test accounts) can now connect their Instagram Business/Creator accounts seamlessly.
• Reliable Webhook Delivery: Verified app status ensures real-time message Webhooks trigger instantly without dropouts.
• Solid Foundation: Myven’s biolink and creator automation ecosystem is now fully powered and ready for live action.

Next Steps: PG Approval & Outbound Outreach

Now that one of our biggest administrative and technical hurdles is behind us, it’s time to keep momentum going:

1. Finalizing Payment Gateway (PG) Approval: Completing the remaining PG compliance checks to enable live subscription payments.
2. Outbound Outreach & User Feedback: As I mentioned in my last post, passive waiting won’t bring users. I will be directly reaching out to creators to introduce Myven and gather real-world feedback.

Clearing a 22-day review blocker feels like a massive weight lifted off my shoulders. Thanks to everyone following along—I’ll keep grinding to make Myven better every day.

To all fellow developers currently stuck in Meta App Review limbo: hang in there! 🚀