WhatsApp Business API glossary

A company authorised by Meta to provide WhatsApp Business API access and messaging services to other businesses.

A cloud platform that lets businesses add messaging, voice and chat channels to their software through APIs, without building the infrastructure.

A Meta-hosted flow that lets a business connect its number and create a WhatsApp Business Account through a partner in minutes.

Meta's official AI agent for business chats — it answers customers, recommends products and books appointments on WhatsApp and Messenger.

A company Meta officially recognises for its expertise across Meta's business products, including the WhatsApp Business Platform.

A single workspace where multiple agents handle WhatsApp conversations for one business number, with assignment, notes and history.

A programmatic interface from Meta that lets businesses send and receive WhatsApp messages at scale through software instead of a phone.

A free mobile app for small businesses to chat with customers manually from one phone — distinct from the programmatic WhatsApp Business API.

Meta's umbrella name for its whole WhatsApp business-messaging offering — the WhatsApp Business App plus the programmatic Business API.

Meta's cloud-hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API, where Meta runs the messaging infrastructure so businesses don't self-host.

The older, self-hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API that businesses ran on their own servers — retired by Meta on 23 October 2025 in favour of the Cloud API.

The Authentication template category — one-time passcodes and verification codes, in a fixed format with a copy-code button.

A WhatsApp message button that performs an action — opening a URL or dialling a phone number — rather than sending a reply.

The 24-hour window opened by an inbound customer message, during which a business can reply with free-form messages instead of templates.

A WhatsApp message with structured tappable elements — buttons or list menus — instead of plain text, to guide customer replies.

The Marketing template category — promotions, offers and announcements; the strictest review, requires opt-in, and the highest-priced category.

A WhatsApp message that carries an image, video, document, audio file or sticker instead of, or alongside, text.

A pre-approved WhatsApp message format that a business must use to start conversations or message customers outside the 24-hour window.

A tappable button in a WhatsApp message that sends a pre-set reply back to the business when the customer taps it.

A free-form reply a business sends inside the 24-hour customer-service window — not a template and not a template category.

A free-form message a business can send within 24 hours of a customer's last message, without needing a pre-approved template.

Meta's review of every message template before it can be sent, checking category, content and formatting — typically minutes to hours.

The classification — Marketing, Utility or Authentication — that Meta assigns to a message template and that determines its use and billing.

The Utility template category — transaction-triggered updates like order, appointment or payment notifications; fast to approve and lower cost.

Structured, form-like experiences rendered inside a WhatsApp chat — menus, inputs and pickers for booking, sign-up or data collection.

The 24-hour message thread between a business and a customer. It was WhatsApp's billing unit until 1 July 2025; Meta now bills per delivered message instead.

The type of a billed WhatsApp message — Marketing, Utility, Authentication or Service — which sets how it is priced.

How Meta charges for WhatsApp business messaging — per delivered message by template category since 1 July 2025, with rates that vary by country.

Meta's process of confirming a business is a legitimate legal entity, required to unlock full WhatsApp Business Platform capabilities.

India's data-protection law governing how businesses collect, use and safeguard the personal data of individuals in India.

The business name shown to customers on a WhatsApp Business number, which Meta reviews against its naming guidelines before approval.

The European Union's data-protection law setting strict rules for consent, transparency and individual rights over personal data.

A green verified badge Meta grants to notable, authentic businesses on WhatsApp, shown next to the business's display name.

A cap on how many unique customers a WhatsApp number can start conversations with per day, which rises through tiers as the number performs well.

A customer's explicit permission for a business to message them on WhatsApp — required by Meta before any business-initiated messages.

A customer's request to stop receiving WhatsApp messages from a business, which the business must honour promptly.

A health score Meta assigns to a WhatsApp Business number based on how customers respond to its messages, shown as green, yellow or red.

A six-digit PIN that secures a WhatsApp Business number's registration on the API, required to register or move the number.

A secret credential that authenticates API requests to the WhatsApp Business Platform, proving the caller is authorised.

An automated conversation on WhatsApp that replies to customers and guides them through steps using rules or a visual flow builder.

Status events that tell a business when a WhatsApp message was sent, delivered to the device and read by the customer.

The delivery lifecycle of a sent WhatsApp message — accepted/sent, delivered, read or failed — surfaced through webhooks.

An authorization framework that lets a business grant a partner access to its WhatsApp Business Account without sharing a password.

A unique identifier Meta assigns to each WhatsApp Business phone number, used to send messages via the API.

Caps on how many API requests can be made in a time window, protecting the platform and pacing message throughput.

An HTTP callback that WhatsApp uses to push events — inbound messages and status updates — to a business's endpoint in real time.

The unique identifier for a WhatsApp Business Account, the container that holds a business's phone numbers, templates and settings.

The unique identifier assigned to every WhatsApp message, used to track its status and correlate replies and receipts.

A message sent to many opted-in contacts at once on WhatsApp, using approved templates rather than manual one-to-one chats.

The metrics that measure broadcast performance — sent, delivered, read, replied, clicked and conversions — and how to read them well.

A wa.me link or QR code that opens a WhatsApp chat with a business, optionally with a pre-filled message, without saving the number.