> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.growthxai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Channel Limits & Restrictions
> The limits LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp and email providers set, and how GrowthxAI keeps every sender inside them.
LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, Gmail and Outlook each set their own rules on how much one account can do. If an account goes past them, the network can show warnings, hold back invitations, or restrict the account.
GrowthxAI builds these rules into every sender's daily limits, so you don't have to track them yourself. This page explains what each network allows and what GrowthxAI does about it. The exact numbers per warm-up level are in [Smart Limits & Account Safety](/getting-started/platform-overview/smart-limits-and-account-safety).
All limits apply **per account**. Using the same account by hand in LinkedIn and through GrowthxAI doesn't give it a second allowance: the network counts both together.
## At a glance
| Channel | What the network allows or recommends | The most GrowthxAI will send |
| - | - | - |
| **LinkedIn invitations** | 80–100 a day and about 200 a week on a paid account; far fewer on a free account | 80 a day, 150 a week |
| **LinkedIn profile views** | About 100 a day | 100 a day |
| **LinkedIn messages and other actions** | About 100 a day each | 100 a day each |
| **LinkedIn InMail** | Depends on the subscription; free InMails to open profiles up to 800 a month | 50 a day, growing slowly week to week |
| **LinkedIn search** | 1,000 results per search (2,500 on Sales Navigator and Recruiter) | Imports stop at the same cap |
| **Instagram** | 100 actions a day, no more than 10 an hour | 100 a day, 10 an hour |
| **WhatsApp** | No fixed number; new chats without replies are what gets accounts restricted | 2 to 35 new chats a day, based on reply rate |
| **Gmail** | 500 a day officially; 50–100 recommended for cold email | 150 a day per mailbox |
| **Google Workspace** | 2,000 a day officially; 100–150 recommended for cold email | 150 a day per mailbox |
| **Outlook / Microsoft 365** | 5,000 recipients a day, 1,000 of them new | 150 a day per mailbox |
## LinkedIn
### Invitations
| Account type | What LinkedIn allows |
| - | - |
| **Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter** | 80–100 invitations a day and about 200 a week, with a note of up to 300 characters |
| **Free** | About 5 invitations **with a note** a month (200 characters), and about 150 a week without a note |
**What GrowthxAI does:**
* The daily ceiling is **80 invitations**, and **150 a week** (weeks start on Monday).
* New senders start at 4 a day and build up through [warm-up](/getting-started/onboarding-first-steps/warm-up-best-practices).
* Free accounts never go above warm-up level 1 (9 invitations a day).
* If LinkedIn answers **"cannot resend yet"**, the sender has used up LinkedIn's own invitation allowance. GrowthxAI stops invitations for that sender until next Monday and keeps the rest of its sequence running.
The "cannot resend yet" limit is LinkedIn's, not ours. You'd hit the same wall sending by hand, and LinkedIn only shows the error at the very last click, so it looks as if the invitation will go through until it doesn't.
### New and small accounts
Accounts with fewer than about **150 connections**, and accounts that were created recently, often have invitations held back. LinkedIn may review them by hand before they appear to the recipient. LinkedIn also spots fake accounts easily, with or without automation, so only connect real accounts that belong to real people.
GrowthxAI keeps accounts with fewer than 150 connections at warm-up level 0 for at least 28 days.
### Profile views
LinkedIn tolerates about **100 profile views** per account per day. GrowthxAI's ceiling is 100, and a sequence's profile visits, lead enrichment and background enrichment all share it. Campaigns always get first use.
### Search imports
LinkedIn returns only part of a large search, however many results it says there are:
| Search type | Most results LinkedIn returns per search |
| - | - |
| Classic LinkedIn search | 1,000 |
| Sales Navigator or Recruiter (people) | 2,500 |
| Sales Navigator (companies) | 1,000 |
To get everything from a bigger search, split it with filters (location, seniority, company size, industry) and import each part. A job that hits the cap shows a **capped** badge. See [Imports Troubleshooting and FAQ](/crm-lead-management/imports-troubleshooting-faq).
We also recommend keeping the total number of results imported per sender to about **1,000 a day** on a standard account and **2,500** on Sales Navigator or Recruiter. GrowthxAI reads one page of results every 20–90 minutes within working hours, so large searches spread over several days on their own.
### InMail
How many InMails a sender can send depends on its LinkedIn plan. Some plans include a few InMails a month; Recruiter contracts can include thousands.
**Free InMails to open profiles** don't use credits, but LinkedIn allows at most **800 a month** per account. It lowers this for some accounts depending on the plan, account history and acceptance rate. LinkedIn can also refuse a free InMail when the account has no credits left, depending on whether it's sent from Classic, Sales Navigator or Recruiter.
**What GrowthxAI does:**
* The ceiling is **50 InMails a day**. We recommend 30–50 a day to make the monthly allowance last.
* InMail volume can grow by only about 50% a week, because LinkedIn has restricted accounts that jumped from a few InMails a day to many.
* When a sender runs out of credits, the lead takes the **no credit** branch of the step. See [How to Send InMails](/sequences/creating-managing-sequences/how-to-send-inmails).
### Accepted invitations
Checking for accepted invitations every hour, or at the same time each day, looks automated. GrowthxAI checks at random times within working hours, a few times a day. Leads move on in their sequence without anyone refreshing.
### Everything else
For every other LinkedIn action (messages, likes, comments, endorsements, follows, post reads), GrowthxAI caps each one at **100 a day or less** per sender, and spreads them out at random times within working hours. Nothing goes out in bursts or at fixed intervals. Your inbox syncs separately and has no limit.
### LinkedIn Recruiter accounts
LinkedIn Recruiter limits how many sessions an account can have open at once. When a Recruiter account is connected, LinkedIn may warn the owner not to share login details. Later, it may ask them to pick a session to end so they can keep using LinkedIn in their browser. If they end ours, the sender disconnects and has to be connected again. The account itself isn't at risk, but it gets tedious.
To avoid this, **Recruiter features are off by default** (**Settings → Workspace → Behaviour**). With them off, a Recruiter account connects as a normal LinkedIn account and the session prompt doesn't appear. Turn them on only if you need to send Recruiter InMails. If you do, connect Recruiter senders with the [Chrome extension](/senders/chrome-extension-guide).
## Instagram
Instagram is fine with about **100 actions a day** per account, and **no more than 10 in any hour**. That covers follows, direct messages, likes and comments together. Replying to people who message you first is safe at any volume, just as it is in the app.
**What GrowthxAI does:**
* Every Instagram sender has a **10-actions-an-hour** limit and a daily total that rises from 15 to 100 as it warms up.
* At level 0 a sender can only view profiles, follow and like. Direct messages unlock at level 1.
* Actions are spread at random within working hours, one to four minutes apart at the least.
* Replies you send from the Inbox don't count toward any limit.
| Level | Total a day | New DMs | Follows | Likes | Comments | Profile views |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| **0** | 15 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| **1** | 30 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 20 |
| **2** | 50 | 8 | 15 | 25 | 6 | 30 |
| **3** | 70 | 15 | 20 | 30 | 10 | 40 |
| **4** | 85 | 20 | 25 | 35 | 12 | 50 |
| **5** | 100 | 25 | 30 | 40 | 15 | 60 |
### "We suspect automated behavior on your account"
Instagram sometimes shows this warning. Accounts often carry on without further trouble, but GrowthxAI treats it as a signal rather than ignoring it:
1. The sender is **paused for 48 hours** and drops **one warm-up level**.
2. The sender's page shows Instagram's exact wording.
3. A manager can click **Resume anyway** if they're comfortable carrying on sooner.
A 48-hour pause costs a couple of days. A disabled Instagram account can't be recovered.
## WhatsApp
WhatsApp doesn't publish a daily number. What it watches is **new chats you start that get no reply**, along with people blocking or reporting you. Too many of those and the number is restricted, sometimes after only 2–3 new chats on a fresh number.
| WhatsApp's guidance | What GrowthxAI does |
| - | - |
| Use numbers with real history, not brand-new ones | You confirm the number is **at least 6 months old** with real conversations when you connect it |
| Wait up to 24 hours after connecting or reconnecting | A **24-hour quiet period** starts every time a WhatsApp sender connects or reconnects. The sender page counts down to when outreach begins. Replies still go out. |
| Leave at least 10–20 seconds between messages | Messages go out **20–90 seconds** apart at random |
| Keep new chats low and aim for replies | New chats per day are set by the sender's reply rate (below) |
| Don't message numbers that aren't on WhatsApp | Every number is checked before a new chat. Numbers not on WhatsApp are skipped without using the day's allowance. |
GrowthxAI also only starts a WhatsApp chat with someone who has a recorded **consent** (they messaged you first, opted in on a form, are an existing customer, and so on). See **Settings → Safety**.
### How many new chats a WhatsApp sender can start
| Level | New chats a day | To move up |
| - | - | - |
| **0** (on connect) | 2 | 7 days connected, at least 5 real conversations, and the number confirmed as 6+ months old |
| **1** | 5 | Reply rate of 40% or more over at least 10 new chats (last 14 days) |
| **2** | 10 | Reply rate of 40% or more over at least 25 new chats |
| **3** | 20 | Reply rate of 45% or more over at least 50 new chats |
| **4** | 35 | Top level: reply rate of 50% or more and no blocks in 30 days to stay here |
Messages in chats that already exist are capped at 100 a day at every level. A sender **drops one level straight away** if its reply rate falls below 25%, someone blocks it, or it's logged out within 24 hours of sending.
Write the first WhatsApp message so it invites a reply: ask a short question instead of pitching. Replies are what raise a sender's level.
## Email
### Gmail and Google Workspace
| | Personal Gmail | Google Workspace |
| - | - | - |
| **Google's official daily limit** | 500 | 2,000 |
| **Recommended for cold email** | 50–100 | 100–150 |
| **With good replies and low bounces** | Up to 150 | Up to 300 |
| **New mailbox** | Start at 20–50 and build up | Start at 20–50 and build up |
Google also limits how many requests one mailbox can make at the same time. GrowthxAI spaces sends 30–120 seconds apart, so you won't hit that limit.
### Outlook and Microsoft 365
| Microsoft 365 limit | Per day |
| - | - |
| Recipients | 5,000 |
| Recipients on one message | 500 |
| New recipients (people you've never emailed) | 1,000 |
Limits are lower for newer accounts and accounts without a Microsoft 365 subscription. For cold email, follow the Gmail recommendations above instead of these limits.
### Other email (IMAP)
Limits depend on the provider. Check with them, and follow the Gmail recommendations above until you know their numbers.
### What GrowthxAI does with mailboxes
* Mailboxes start at **warm-up level 3**, which is **80 emails a day**, and can reach **120** at level 5. No mailbox can go above **150 a day**.
* For a **personal Gmail** or a **new mailbox**, set a manual cap on the sender's **Budgets** tab (for example 50 a day) and raise it over a few weeks.
* To send more, add more mailboxes (ideally on more than one domain) rather than pushing one harder. [Rotate Sender](/sequences/creating-managing-sequences/rotate-sender-explained) spreads a sequence across them.
## When a limit is reached
| What happens | What GrowthxAI does |
| - | - |
| A sender's daily limit is used up | Remaining actions move to the next working day |
| Instagram's hourly limit is used up | The action moves to the next hour |
| LinkedIn returns 3 or more rate-limit or server errors within an hour | The sender pauses for 24 hours, then resumes on its own |
| LinkedIn says "cannot resend yet" | Invitations stop until next Monday; other steps carry on |
| Instagram shows an automation warning | 48-hour pause, one level down, **Resume anyway** available |
| A WhatsApp contact blocks the sender | One level down straight away |
You can see what's left for today on each sender's **Budgets** tab.
## Q: Can I raise a sender above these limits?
No. The ceilings are the most any sender can do, whatever its plan or settings. You can set a **lower** manual cap on the Budgets tab.
## Q: Do replies from the Inbox count?
No. Replies you send yourself from the Inbox don't count against any limit, on any channel.
## Related articles
* [Smart Limits & Account Safety](/getting-started/platform-overview/smart-limits-and-account-safety)
* [Warm-Up Best Practices for New Sender Profiles](/getting-started/onboarding-first-steps/warm-up-best-practices)
* [How to Send LinkedIn InMails](/sequences/creating-managing-sequences/how-to-send-inmails)
* [How to Connect an Instagram Account](/senders/connect-instagram)
* [How to Connect a WhatsApp Number](/senders/connect-whatsapp)
* [How to Connect a Mailbox](/email-management/connect-a-mailbox)
* [Why Is There a Delay Between Actions?](/sequences/sequence-troubleshooting/why-is-there-a-delay-between-actions)