You may be much more popular than I am on Instagram and have thousands or people commenting on your photos. I have a few hundred followers there so I see a few dozen likes and half that many likes. Not hard to keep up with. If your in the ‘more popular’ group or want to be able to get back to people’s comments faster, you may want to look into the iPhone app InstaCommentor.
The app pulls all of the comments people have made on your photos and allows you to more easily reply back. View by people who made comments or by the comments on a particular photograph. I have included screenshots from the developers of InstaCommentor as they have far more comments than I do… screen shots of my mine wouldn’t give you the full grip of what the app brings.
Once you comment back, or reply, the items move to out of the area of replies you have yet to handle. Why would anyone want this? Because people comment hoping you find their thoughts important enough that you will take the time in return.
Yes, InstaCommentor supports you replying right in the app.