Say Less

An Instagram bot you summon by @mention. It asks permission before it involves anyone else.

Status. Pre-release testing. Say Less currently interacts only with Instagram accounts controlled by its developer, and is not open to the public.

How it works

Say Less has no app to install and no account to create. It lives entirely in public Instagram comment threads. You summon it by @mentioning it in a comment, and it replies publicly in the same thread:

@saylessbot roast · @saylessbot explain · @saylessbot roast @someone

If it has nothing appropriate to say, it says nothing. Silence is a normal outcome, not a failure.

What you can ask it

CommandAlsoWhat it does
help Lists the available commands and their syntax.
roastcook, burn Generates a lighthearted contextual roast from permitted evidence.
explaincontext, eli5 Explains the parent comment, the content, or requested context.
botcheckbot, fake Estimates the likelihood of automated or coordinated behaviour, and states its own uncertainty rather than guessing.

Consent

Roasting yourself needs nobody's permission. Roasting someone else does.

When a request names another person, Say Less does not act on it. It asks that person publicly, in the thread, and waits. If they agree, it proceeds. If they decline — or simply never answer — nothing is published about them, and the request is not raised again for a cooling-off period.

This is enforced in the service itself rather than left to good manners. Requests that would involve someone who has not agreed do not produce output.

What it can see

Say Less reads the public comment that mentions it and the public context around that comment. That is all. It cannot read direct messages, private accounts, or private posts, and it never sends a direct message.

Instagram permissions we use

PermissionWhy
instagram_business_basic To identify the Instagram professional account the service operates as.
instagram_business_manage_comments To read the public comment that @mentions the service, and to publish its public reply in the same thread.

Automated content

Replies are generated by automated language models and are checked against safety rules before publication. They are not reviewed by a person beforehand and do not represent the operator's views. Treat them as entertainment, not as fact or advice.

Not affiliated with Instagram

Say Less is an independent application. It is not created, sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc.