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Glossary

Rate Limiting

Developer & API

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

What Rate Limiting means

Rate limiting is the practice of capping how many API requests a client may make within a given time window. The WhatsApp Business Platform applies rate limits to protect its infrastructure and to pace throughput; exceeding a limit returns an error asking the client to slow down and retry.

Rate limiting is distinct from messaging limits: messaging limits cap how many unique customers you can start conversations with per day, while rate limits cap the raw request rate against the API. Well-built integrations respect both, using retries with backoff.

InfiQ handles pacing and retries on your behalf for broadcasts and platform sends, and documents rate-limit behaviour for developers building directly against the API.

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