Messaging on the WhatsApp API

Text, images, video, audio, documents, location and contact cards, plus interactive formats — reply buttons, list menus, call-to-action buttons and Flows. Which you can use to start a conversation depends on template approval; inside an open window you have more freedom.

When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens in which you can reply freely without a template. Meta gives the first 1,000 of these service replies free every month, then charges ₹0.115 for each one. Once it closes, reaching out again requires an approved template.

Webhooks report status changes — sent, delivered, read and failed — back to your provider, and the dashboard surfaces them per message and per broadcast. This is a significant practical advantage over SMS, where you get no read confirmation.

The common causes are a recipient who has not opted in or has blocked you, a template that is not approved for the language being used, a daily messaging limit already reached, or an invalid number format. The error code returned identifies which.

Yes. Pricing varies by the recipient's country, and some message categories have rolled out on different timelines in different markets, so check rates for the countries you send to before planning a campaign.