Comment moderation: hide spam and abusive comments automatically

Hide or delete?

Hiding takes a comment out of public view without deleting it, so the thread looks clean and you keep a record. Deleting removes it for good. Most teams hide spam and promotional junk, and save deletion for abuse, scams and anything that puts other customers at risk. OutReply counts both, so you can see how much was filtered.

How a moderation rule is built

1. Choose the account and posts

   Pick the Facebook Page or Instagram account, and apply the workflow to all posts or only to selected ones, such as a giveaway that attracts spam.

2. Add a keyword rule

   Check whether a comment contains, doesn't contain or exactly matches a word or phrase, and combine several checks with AND or OR. Good for links, known spam phrases and slurs.

3. Add an AI rule for the grey areas

   Ask a yes-or-no question in plain English, such as "Is this comment selling something or sharing a suspicious link?" or "Is this comment abusive?".

4. Pick the action

   Hide the comment, delete it, or leave it up and reply publicly or by private DM. Every run is written to the workflow log.

What it looks like in practice

Three illustrative comments and what a moderation workflow did with them.

Complaints aren't spam

A negative comment is often a customer who needs help, and hiding it makes things worse. Put an AI condition such as "Is this a complaint about our product or service?" before the hide step, so complaints skip it and wait for your team. In the review queue they arrive with the commenter's mood and a suggested next step; see sentiment analysis and AI comment replies.

The same approach suits sensitive industries. A healthcare practice can hide comments where patients post personal health details, and restaurants can keep honest criticism visible while clearing out spam.

Where moderation works, and what it costs

Automatic hiding and deleting runs on Facebook Pages and Instagram professional accounts, because Meta sends OutReply new comments the moment they're posted. X and YouTube don't send OutReply real-time comment events, so automatic moderation isn't available there. OutReply doesn't read TikTok comments; its TikTok integration covers publishing.

Moderation runs on workflow triggers, which are part of Advanced ($30/month) and Elite ($45/month). Keyword rules, hiding and deleting don't use credits; each AI rule check costs one credit from your plan's monthly allowance.

Comment moderation FAQ

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