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WhatsApp Business Platform Policy and Terms of Use

Updated: Mar 6

The number one rule for WhatsApp is that the customer is king.

That's why WhatsApp set many regulations to keep the channel spam free and regulate how businesses can communicate with clients using the channel.

Today's post will explain the rules and policies that apply to the WhatsApp Business Platform.

Here's what we will look at:

So, let's start!

 

1- WhatsApp is a First-Class Customer Service Platform

It means that WhatsApp regulates when and how to send messages to your clients.

WhatsApp Rules and Policy
WhatsApp User-initiated conversations

When a customer sends your business a WhatsApp message, it kicks off a 24-hour WhatsApp "session" or "window," during which you can send free-form or non-templated messages to the user.

This is what WhatsApp calls user-initiated conversations.

WhatsApp Business API Rules and Policy
User-initiated conversations 24 hour window

 

2- WhatsApp Regulations to Keep the Platform Spam-Free

WhatsApp doesn't allow businesses to send messages to clients at any time.

WhatsApp Business API rules and policy of use
Business-intiated conversations

Outside of the 24-hour window, you can only send a message following a manually pre-approved template by Meta.

This is what WhatsApp calls business-initiated conversations.

WhatsApp API terms of use
WhatsApp Business Platform conversation types

Any message that doesn't match a pre-approved template is considered a free-form message.

 

3- WhatsApp Messages Quality Rating

A combination of factors determines the quality rating of your messages. It determines how recipients have received your messages over the past 7 days.

This includes the number of blocks by customers, the frequency of outbound messages such as notifications or promotional messages, and the response time.

There are three quality ratings:

  • High or green

  • Medium or yellow

  • Low or red



WhatsApp Business Platform Terms of Use
Messaging Capacity Rating

WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, so they can't view the content of your messages.

But, it relies on customers' feedback signals like blocks, reports, and what reason a customer provides for the block.

 

4- The Quality Rating of your WhatsApp API Number

A change in the quality rating of your messages may also affect your phone number status.

WhatsApp Rules and Policy
WhatsApp API Number Quality Rating

In total, there are five statuses:

  • Pending: the status before the Commerce Policy check is complete.

  • Offline: the status when businesses fail the Commerce policy check or cancel their WhatsApp API Account.

  • Connected: the default status.

  • Flagged: The status when the quality rating reaches Low. If it improves to Medium or High in 7 days, the status will return to Connected. WhatsApp will reinstate your status to Connected but impose a lower messaging limit on your number if it does not.

  • Restricted: The status when businesses reach their messaging limit while having a poor quality rating.

 

5- Messaging Limits

WhatsApp messaging limits mean the number of contacts a business can message in a rolling 24-hour window.

WhatsApp Business API Terms of use
Messaging Limits Tiers

There are four main tiers for WhatsApp messaging limits:

  • Tier 1: You can send messages to 1K unique Contacts in a rolling 24-hour period & have up to 25 numbers.

  • Tier 2: You can send messages to 10K unique Contacts in a rolling 24-hour period.

  • Tier 3: You can send messages to 100K unique Contacts in a rolling 24-hour period.

  • Tier 4: You can send messages to unlimited unique Contacts in a rolling 24-hour period.

Messaging limits apply to business-initiated conversations only.

 

6- Opt-in Rules

Businesses can share messages with opt-in customers only. So, your customers must explicitly admit that they want to receive WhatsApp messages from your business.

WhatsApp API Policy
WhatsApp Opt-in Rules

To grow your opt-in list, you can use WhatsApp entry points such as Facebook and Instagram Ads that click to WhatsApp, QR codes on product packages, Google Adwords, and much more.

WhatsApp Business Platform Policy of use
WhatsApp Business Platform Entry Points

 

7- The Option of Talking to a Human Agent

You can always use WhatsApp buttons and list messages to include the option of rotating the conversation to a human agent.

So, if the customer needs an agent's interference, he can select the option from the menus you provide.

WhatsApp Business Platform Terms of use
The option of speaking to alive agent on WhatsApp

 

To End..

That's all about WhatsApp Rules and policies.

We hope that you find this post about WhatsApp rules useful. What's your main takeaway from today's post? Or maybe you have a question about something. Either way, leave a comment below right now or contact our team for support.


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