Meta Business PartnerGlossary term

Green API vs Official API

"Green API" is a nickname for third-party tools that automate WhatsApp by driving the ordinary consumer or Business app through unofficial means — WhatsApp Web sessions, reverse-engineered protocols, or headless emulators. The "Official API" is the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API and On-Premises API) that Meta exposes to approved Business Solution Providers and Meta Business Partners like InfiQ. Both can send messages, but only one is sanctioned by Meta. The distinction decides whether your number stays live, whether your messages are delivered reliably, and whether you actually own the WhatsApp business asset you are pouring budget and customers into. For any Indian business planning WhatsApp at scale, this is one of the first decisions worth getting right.

Only the Official API

Meta-sanctioned

High on green, low on official when compliant

Ban risk

Per delivered message by category (since 1 Jul 2025)

Billing model

24-hour service window for replies

Free window

Owned WhatsApp Business Account on official only

Business asset

Transparent ₹ per-message pricing (ex-GST)

InfiQ pricing

In one line

Green API means unofficial tools that puppeteer the regular WhatsApp app and violate Meta's terms — cheap to start, but prone to bans, blocked numbers, and no template or delivery guarantees. The Official WhatsApp Business API is Meta-sanctioned, ban-safe when you follow policy, and the only path with verified sending, higher limits, and a business asset you truly own. Build on the official API; treat any "green" shortcut as disposable.

What people actually mean by "Green API"

"Green API" is not a Meta product — the name simply borrows WhatsApp's green branding. It refers to a category of unofficial gateways and libraries that log in to a normal WhatsApp account (consumer or the free Business app) and automate it from the outside: scanning a QR code to hijack a WhatsApp Web session, replaying reverse-engineered mobile-protocol packets, or running the app inside an emulator farm. Because they piggyback on the free app, they can look attractive — no formal onboarding, no template approval, and seemingly "unlimited" sending. But every one of these methods operates against WhatsApp's Terms of Service. Meta's anti-abuse systems are specifically built to detect the fingerprints of automated, non-human sending on consumer accounts, which is exactly what these tools produce.

Drives the regular WhatsApp app instead of Meta's official platform
Common methods: WhatsApp Web session hijacking, protocol emulation, device farms
No formal Meta onboarding, no verified business identity
Explicitly prohibited under WhatsApp's Terms of Service

What the Official WhatsApp Business API is

The Official API is the WhatsApp Business Platform that Meta publishes and supports. It comes in two flavours — the Cloud API, hosted by Meta, and the On-Premises API (now being sunset in favour of Cloud) — and businesses access it through an approved Business Solution Provider or Meta Business Partner. Onboarding runs through Meta: you connect a WhatsApp Business Account, verify your business, register a dedicated number, and submit message templates for review. In return you get a documented, versioned interface with webhooks, a green or blue verified display name once approved, rising messaging limits as your quality holds up, and — critically — a business asset registered in your name. InfiQ, as an official Meta Business Partner, handles this onboarding and layers a management platform on top, with transparent ₹ pricing (ex-GST).

Why the difference matters: bans, deliverability, and cost

The headline risk with a green-style setup is a ban. Meta can — and routinely does — block numbers caught running unofficial automation, and there is no appeals desk you can escalate through as a partner because you were never a sanctioned sender. Lose that number and you lose the chat history, the customer relationships tied to it, and any recovery path. Deliverability is the quieter tax: unofficial traffic gets throttled or silently dropped, and you have no template approvals, no quality rating, and no verified badge to lean on. On cost, "green" tools look free because they avoid Meta's message charges — but that is precisely because Meta isn't billing them as a legitimate sender, which is the same reason they get banned. The official API is billed transparently per delivered message.

Ban risk: unofficial automation can get the number blocked with no partner recourse
Deliverability: no template approvals, no quality rating, throttled or dropped traffic
Ownership: an official WhatsApp Business Account is a registered asset you keep
Trust: verified display name and green/blue badge only exist on the official platform

How WhatsApp billing really works on the official API

A common myth is that the official API bills "per conversation" — it no longer does. Since 1 July 2025, Meta moved off per-conversation billing and now charges per delivered message, priced by category: marketing, utility, or authentication. The 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages you still exists, but it is a free service window for replies — a delivery-and-timing rule, not a billing unit. Understanding this matters because green-API vendors often pitch "unlimited free messages" against an outdated per-conversation caricature of the official model. On InfiQ, you pay transparent ₹ pricing on Meta's live per-message rate card (ex-GST), so your cost tracks exactly which message categories you actually send.

Meta bills per delivered message since 1 July 2025, not per conversation
Rates vary by category: marketing, utility, authentication
The 24-hour window is a free service window for replies, not a billing unit
InfiQ applies transparent ₹ pricing, ex-GST

Common mistakes when choosing between them

The biggest mistake is treating the two as interchangeable and picking green for a quick launch, then discovering the number can't be migrated cleanly to the official API later — history and, in some cases, the number itself are stranded. A second mistake is assuming "official" is slow or expensive to start; a Meta Business Partner can typically get a verified number and approved templates live in days. A third is confusing the free WhatsApp Business app with the API: the app is perfectly legitimate for small, manual, human-run conversations, but the moment you bolt an unofficial automation tool onto it, you've crossed into green-API territory. If you plan any broadcast, chatbot, or CRM integration at volume, start on the official platform and skip the detour.

Launching on green, then hitting a wall migrating to official later
Believing official onboarding is slow — a partner does it in days
Confusing the legit free Business app with unofficial automation bolted onto it
Underestimating how aggressively Meta detects automated sending on consumer numbers

See InfiQ pricing

Frequently asked questions

Is Green API legal to use in India?+

There's no India-specific ban on the tools themselves, but using them to automate WhatsApp violates Meta's Terms of Service. The practical consequence isn't a legal one — it's that Meta can block your number at any time, with no partner-level recourse to recover it. For any business use at scale, the official WhatsApp Business API is the safe, sanctioned route.

Will my WhatsApp number get banned if I use an unofficial API?+

It can, and Meta's anti-abuse systems are specifically tuned to detect automated, non-human sending on consumer and free Business-app accounts. There's no warning quota you're guaranteed — numbers get blocked once flagged. The official API, used within policy, is designed to be ban-safe because you're a recognised, verified sender.

Can I migrate my number from a green setup to the official API later?+

Sometimes, but not cleanly. Chat history tied to the app-based setup generally doesn't carry over, and if the number has already been flagged or banned, migration can be blocked entirely. It's far less painful to start on the official platform than to rescue a stranded number after the fact.

Is the official WhatsApp Business API more expensive than Green API?+

Green tools look free because they dodge Meta's billing as unsanctioned senders — which is the same reason they get banned. The official API is billed transparently per delivered message by category (marketing, utility, authentication). With InfiQ you pay ₹ pricing, ex-GST, so cost is predictable rather than a hidden liability.

Does the official API still bill per conversation?+

No. Since 1 July 2025, Meta bills per delivered message, priced by category, and has moved off the older per-conversation model. The 24-hour window still exists as a free service window for replies — it's a timing rule, not a billing unit. Any vendor still quoting per-conversation is working from an outdated model.

Is the free WhatsApp Business app the same as an unofficial API?+

No. The free WhatsApp Business app is a perfectly legitimate product for small, manual, human-run conversations. It becomes a green-API problem only when you attach an unofficial automation tool to drive it. If you need broadcasts, chatbots, or CRM integration at volume, that's the official WhatsApp Business API's job.

How fast can I go live on the official API with InfiQ?+

As an official Meta Business Partner, InfiQ runs the full onboarding — connecting your WhatsApp Business Account, verifying your business, registering a dedicated number, and getting your first templates approved — typically within days, not weeks. You come out with a verified sender and a business asset registered in your name.

What do I actually own with the official API that I don't with Green API?+

On the official platform you own a registered WhatsApp Business Account, a verified display name, your approved templates, and a quality rating that grows your sending limits. With a green setup you own none of that — you're renting access to a consumer number that Meta can revoke at will.