How tracked links work — and what a click does not mean

A tracked link records an open, not interest. What the service receives, the three states, and what a click never proves.

Applies to Ins Autopilot 3.22 and later · Updated 2026-10-17

What this helps you do

Sharing a link is a small ask. Sharing it without knowing whether anyone opened it is how you end up guessing — and guessing is what turns a nice conversation into a clumsy follow-up.

A tracked link records one fact for you: the link you shared was opened. It does not tell you why, and it is careful not to pretend it does.

How a tracked link works

• You share a link inside a message. The extension records that the link was shared with a particular contact.
• When the link is opened, the service records the open against that share.
• The service receives the target URL and an opaque contact reference — a pointer, not a name.
• Everything else stays where it was: your ledger, your notes and your qualification answers never leave your browser.

What the service does not receive

• It does not receive the contact's Instagram ID.
• It does not receive your ledger, your notes, your qualification answers or your recorded outcomes.
• It does not receive the text of the message you sent.
• The tracked-link record is the narrow exception to the local-only ledger: a target URL plus an opaque reference, so a click can be attributed to the right contact and to nobody else.

The three states you will see

• Recorded — the link was opened, and the open is on the contact's record.
• None — no open has been recorded for that link.
• Unavailable — the extension could not read whether the link was opened.

What a click does not mean

A click is one fact: the link was opened. It is not interest, it is not qualification, it is not a sale, and it is not a booking. Those are four different things, and none of them follows from an open.

Opening a link takes a second and costs the person nothing. Plenty of people open a link and never reply. Plenty of people reply without ever opening it.

Treat an open as a reason to look, not as evidence. If you want to know whether someone is a fit, ask them — and record the answer yourself in the qualification fields on the contact.

Step by step

1. Open the message composer — in Direct Message or Bulk DM Queue, write your message the way you normally would.
2. Insert your link — use the tracked-link option so the link you paste is the one that will be recorded.
3. Send as normal — a tracked link does not change whether a message can be sent. The send still passes the same delivery decision.
4. Watch the contact — an open shows up on the contact's Activity timeline as Opened tracked link, and can bring that contact into Today under Opened your tracked link.

Limits and important behavior

• Tracked links are Pro.
• Tracked links record opens. They do not record who the reader is beyond the contact you sent to, and they do not record what the person did after opening.
• A tracked link does not add to, or draw from, your DM allowance. It is part of the message, not a separate send.
• If the open cannot be read, the state is Unavailable — it is never silently reported as None.
• Opens do not change a contact's qualification or outcome. Only you change those.

Troubleshooting

The link shows as unavailable.

The extension could not read whether the link was opened. That is a gap in reading, not proof that nobody clicked. Do not treat it as a "no".

Someone clicked, so can I assume they are interested?

No. A click means the link was opened. Interest, qualification, a sale and a booking are separate things — ask and record the answer yourself.

I sent a link but no state ever appeared.

Check that the link was inserted with the tracked-link option rather than pasted as plain text, and that the message was actually delivered.

Do tracked links share my contact list with the service?

No. Only the target URL and an opaque reference to the contact are sent, so an open can be attributed correctly.