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Question

Messenger Ref URL trigger sometimes registers as "Direct" opt-in instead of Ref parameter (automation active but flow not starting)

  • March 23, 2026
  • 1 comment
  • 66 views
JBbbbb

Hi ManyChat community,I'm really stuck on a frustrating issue with Messenger Ref URL triggers and would love any insights from you guys.My setup:

  • Trigger: Messenger Ref URL with exact value "annons_kampanj" (lowercase, no spaces)
  • Generated link from my site looks like this (example, real page ID removed):
    https://m.me/[PAGE_ID]?ref=annons_kampanj&fbp=fb.1.xxx&extid=usr_xxx

What works perfectly:

  • For me and internal test users: Flow triggers 100% of the time. Contact shows "Opted In through: Ref URL" and automation runs immediately.

What fails for many real users (from ads):

  • Contact is created → shows "Subscribed" and "Automation active"
  • But "Opted In through" says "Direct" instead of the Ref URL
  • No flow starts → users only see Facebook's default "Get Started" button (and when they click it, it does not show in Many chat, but I can see it in messenger app.)
  • In Contacts: Automation is active (not paused), but the flow never executes

What I've already tried:

  • Double-checked trigger spelling/case sensitivity (exact match)
  • Refreshed permission

Questions:

  1. Can extra query parameters after ?ref= (like &fbp &extid) cause Facebook to drop or misparse the ref value on certain devices/Messenger versions?
  2. Why would ManyChat register the subscription but classify it as "Direct" opt-in instead of Ref URL?
  3. Has anyone seen this "Direct vs Ref URL" discrepancy recently? Any known fixes or workarounds?

 

Also I do not know if this direct issue but when I press “ads optimization” Meta Conversion API and connect it says something went wrong. I am on correct account and stuff. I also tried type in pixel does not work that way. This I do not really care about but maybe this information can get you to help me understand what I can do to fix this.

Been back and forth changing code for a week now with custom user field, removed it etc. This costs me money and the ManyChat AI support or any AI has not helped me to solve this to be honest.

Happy to share screenshots of trigger settings / flow / contact view (anonymized) if needed.Thanks so much in advance – this is killing conversions on live ads right now 

    1 reply

    Gustavo Boregio
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    • Gustavo Boregio
    • Community Moderator & Expert
    • March 23, 2026

    Hey ​@JBbbbb you won’t be able to control this unfortunately, as there are some phone/facebook/browser versions that end up stripping the ref parameters and sending the person to the page without it. This is when it counts as a ‘Direct’ optin, since Manychat doesn’t have any information regarding where it came from.

    I suggest you try the Ads trigger if you’re using this URL with Ads. Here’s the documentation:

    https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281372007196-Facebook-Ads-Trigger

    This trigger is usually much more stable and will give you much better tracking.

    The Ref URL in Ads it not reliable at all unfortunately… Because of how Meta handles it, not because of Manychat.

    Hope this!

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