WhatsApp Business API answers

The WhatsApp Business API is Meta's programmatic interface that lets businesses send and receive WhatsApp messages at scale through software instead of a phone. It has no chat screen of its own — messages flow through a platform, CRM or backend, enabling notifications, chatbots, a shared inbox and automations.

The WhatsApp Business Platform is Meta's umbrella name for the business side of WhatsApp built on the API. It covers the Cloud API and On-Premises API, WhatsApp Business Accounts, message templates, per-message billing and the messaging rules — the whole framework businesses use to message customers at scale.

The 24-hour customer service window opens when a customer messages your business and stays open for 24 hours from their last message. During it you can reply with free-form messages — no template needed. Outside the window, any business-initiated message must use a pre-approved template.

Embedded Signup is Meta's in-app onboarding flow that lets a business connect its WhatsApp Business Account through a partner in minutes. You click a button, log in with Facebook, pick or create a Business Manager and WABA, add a phone number, verify it, and the partner receives access automatically.

Messaging limits cap how many unique customers your number can start conversations with per rolling 24 hours. New numbers begin at 250; verified businesses scale through tiers of 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and then unlimited as message volume and a good quality rating are sustained. Replies within open conversations do not count.

WhatsApp coexistence lets a business use the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business Platform on the same phone number at the same time. You keep chatting from the app on your phone, while a provider's platform adds a team inbox, templates and automation. Messages are mirrored between both.

Yes. With WhatsApp coexistence, you connect a number you already use on the WhatsApp Business app to the WhatsApp Business Platform through a supported provider. You keep replying from the app, the platform adds team and automation tools, and messages are mirrored between both.

Yes, if you approve it. Your chats stay in the WhatsApp Business app, and you can share up to 180 days (about six months) of one-to-one history with your platform. Media files come across only for the last 14 days, and group chats aren't included.

In one-to-one chats, disappearing messages turn off and view once and live location are disabled. Broadcast lists become read-only, and linked devices are logged out once and can be re-linked, up to four. Groups, calls, catalog, Status, Channels, quick replies, labels and your business profile keep working.

Yes. Meta has let providers connect Indian (+91) WhatsApp Business app numbers to the WhatsApp Business Platform since 5 May 2025. Your number needs an up-to-date WhatsApp Business app, genuine activity on it, and no connection to another provider at the same time.

Meta bills WhatsApp business messaging per delivered message, priced by template category — Marketing, Utility and Authentication. Rates vary by country and category, and since 1 October 2026 service messages and utility templates sent inside an open 24-hour window are charged too (they were free until 30 September 2026). See your dashboard rate card for the exact rates.

The WhatsApp Business API has two cost layers: WhatsApp's message charges (billed by Meta per delivered message, varying by country and template category) and your provider's platform fee. InfiQ plans start at Rs.999/month, with Rs.2,999 and Custom tiers, and a 7-day free trial with no card required.

Max price is a Meta feature for WhatsApp marketing messages sent through the Marketing Messages API. A business sets the most Meta can charge for each delivered marketing message, and Meta charges that amount or less. Meta's documentation says open beta began on 1 October 2026; general availability is planned for Q2 2027.

Meta recommends setting the max price on the marketing template, at the highest price you would accept, then scaling individual sends down. Check reach estimates first, ramp volume up gradually, and run a four-way test: no ceiling, Meta's published rate, a higher ceiling (1.2 times for India) and 0.9 times.

One-to-one messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app stay free and aren't bound by the 24-hour window. Messages sent from the platform follow Meta's per-message pricing: templates by category and country, and from 1 October 2026 replies inside the 24-hour window too. App messages never open or extend platform windows.

Marketing templates promote — offers, launches, re-engagement — and are the most expensive category and the strictest to approve. Utility templates support a specific transaction the customer already has, like order updates, receipts and appointment reminders. Utility is cheaper and easier to approve; sending marketing content in a utility template risks rejection.

Authentication templates deliver one-time passwords and verification codes over WhatsApp. They follow a fixed Meta format — a code, a short expiry note and a copy-code or one-tap autofill button — with limited free-form text. They are their own billing category, approve quickly when compliant, and must not carry marketing content.

WhatsApp business verification timing varies. Once you submit valid documents in Meta Business Manager, review typically takes a few days, though it can be same-day or stretch to a couple of weeks if documents are unclear or details don't match. You can start sending on a limited tier before verification completes.

The green tick — the Official Business Account badge — is granted by Meta at its sole discretion based on your brand's notability, not by application alone. Complete business verification, build a strong verifiable public presence, and request it through your provider. Meta reviews notability; it cannot be guaranteed or bought.

Quality rating is Meta's per-number score — Green (high), Yellow (medium) or Red (low) — based on recent customer signals like blocks and reports. A high rating helps you climb messaging tiers; a low one can restrict your number. Send relevant, opted-in, well-timed messages to keep it healthy.

Yes. WhatsApp requires businesses to obtain and record opt-in before sending business-initiated messages. Customers must actively agree to hear from you on WhatsApp, and you should log when, where and how consent was given. Messaging without valid opt-in risks blocks, low quality ratings and number restrictions.

WhatsApp templates are most often rejected for wrong category (marketing content in a utility template), policy issues, formatting problems (broken or mismatched variables, placeholder gaps), or unclear, spammy or misleading wording. Fix the specific cause, resubmit, and keep the template tightly scoped to one clear purpose.

WhatsApp numbers are usually banned or restricted for policy or quality reasons: messaging without opt-in, high block and report rates, a quality rating that fell to red, prohibited content, or sudden abnormal sending. Fix the root cause, appeal through Business Manager, and rebuild quality with clean, opted-in messaging.

A common reason is inactivity: if the WhatsApp Business app on your main phone isn't used for about 14 days, Meta disconnects the platform link. Changing or reinstalling your phone, changing your number, moving to personal WhatsApp, deleting the account or a policy action also end it.

Webhooks let WhatsApp push events to your server in real time. You expose an HTTPS endpoint, register it and a verify token in your app configuration, pass Meta's verification challenge, then subscribe your WABA to event fields like messages and message status. WhatsApp then POSTs JSON payloads for each event.