Facebook Messenger Setup

Last updated: June 2026

The Facebook Messenger integration allows customers to contact your support team through messages sent to a Facebook Page. Incoming Page messages are captured as i-net HelpDesk tickets and answered from the Tickets application.

Prepare the Meta app

Before configuring Facebook Messenger in i-net HelpDesk, prepare a Meta app and the Facebook Page that should receive customer messages:

Sign in at Meta for Developers.
Create or open a Business app and add the Messenger product or the Engage with customers on Messenger from Meta use case.
If Meta opens the app Dashboard, the Page selector is not shown directly. In App customization and requirements, click Customize the Engage with customers on Messenger from Meta use case. You can also open Use cases in the left navigation and customize the Messenger use case from there.
In the Messenger use-case customization page, look for the Messenger API, Page setup, or access-token section. Click Add Page, Connect Page, Select Page, or Generate token for the Page, depending on whether a page has already been connected to your app.
Follow Meta's Facebook permission dialog. Log in as a person or system user that can manage the Page, choose the Page that customers will message, and grant the requested permissions. If the Page is not listed, first check in Meta Business settings that the Page belongs to the selected business and that your user has Page management access.
Generate a Page access token for that Page. The token must be requested for a person or system user that can perform the messaging task on the Page and needs the pages_messaging and pages_manage_metadata permissions. Meta also lists pages_show_list as a dependency for Page management and Page subscription operations.
For production use, switch the app to Live mode and complete Meta App Review and Business Verification when Meta requires Advanced Access for the Page permissions.
Note these values from Meta:

Value	Where to Find
Page access token	Messenger API setup, Graph API Explorer, or a production system-user/Page token
Facebook Page ID	Messenger API setup, Page details, or the Page list returned by Meta
App secret	App Settings → Basic
Webhook verify token	A password of your choice. Enter the same value in i-net HelpDesk. i-net HelpDesk uses it when Meta verifies the callback URL

Useful Meta references: Messenger Platform quick start, Permissions Reference, App subscriptions, and Page subscribed_apps.

Important: Use a durable Page access token for production. Short-lived test tokens from Graph API Explorer are only suitable for setup tests.

Configure in i-net HelpDesk

Open Configuration → Communication → Messenger Channels.
Click Add Messenger... and choose Facebook Messenger.
Enter the values from Meta in the Account and Connection groups:

Field	Group	Description
Enabled	Account	Turns the Facebook Messenger account on or off
Webhook URL	Account	Shown automatically. It is based on the external server URL and ends with `/hooks/messenger/facebook`
Ticket resource	Account	Optional. Resource for new tickets from this channel
Page access token	Connection	Facebook Page token with Messenger and metadata permissions. i-net HelpDesk stores it encrypted
Facebook Page ID	Connection	Page ID used as sender and as the webhook subscription target
App secret	Connection	Secret of the same Meta app that issued the Page access token. i-net HelpDesk stores it encrypted and uses it to verify webhook signatures
Webhook verify token	Connection	Your chosen verification password. i-net HelpDesk stores it encrypted

Set Enabled and click Validate in the Connection group.
If Connection valid. appears, confirm the account dialog with OK.

When validation succeeds or the enabled account is applied, i-net HelpDesk registers the Page webhook and subscribes the Page in Meta automatically. Manual webhook setup in Meta is normally not required.

Important: The External server URL in i-net HelpDesk must use HTTPS and must be reachable from the internet before Meta can verify the webhook callback.

Note: Currently, one Facebook Page can be configured per i-net HelpDesk installation.

Note: Enter the App secret only in i-net HelpDesk. In Meta's webhook form, the matching value is the Webhook verify token, not the app secret.

Commands for customers

Customers can send these text commands:

/finish – Closes the current support ticket
/support – Requests human support for the current ticket. This is mainly useful when Messenger AI answers first or when an AI conversation should be handed over to support staff

Behavior and limits

i-net HelpDesk stores the Facebook Messenger sender ID as Facebook Messenger user ID and can use it to match incoming messages to existing i-net HelpDesk users.
Unknown Facebook Messenger contacts are created as i-net HelpDesk users only when Create unknown users from messenger requests is enabled on the Messenger Channels page.
Incoming attachments are downloaded when the Attachments plugin is loaded. Otherwise they are ignored.
Supporter text replies are sent through the Facebook Page Send API. Reply attachments from i-net HelpDesk are not sent to Facebook Messenger because Facebook outbound media messages require a public media URL.
Facebook may reject replies outside the messaging window or when the Page token no longer has the required permissions.

Troubleshooting

Validation fails immediately: Check that the Page access token belongs to the same Meta app as the app secret, that the token has pages_messaging and pages_manage_metadata, and that the Page can be managed by the token owner.
Webhook verification fails in Meta: The external server URL must be public HTTPS, the account must use the same Webhook verify token, and the token in Meta must match exactly.
No messages in i-net HelpDesk: Check the account status in i-net HelpDesk, the Page ID, and the messages subscription at both app and Page level in Meta.
Replies are not delivered: Check whether the Page access token is still valid and whether Meta allows the reply for the current conversation.