Glossary
WhatsApp Business glossary
Short, accurate definitions of the terms you meet on the WhatsApp Business Platform, each with an example and links to go deeper.
A
- Access token (system user)
- An access token is the secret string an app sends with every WhatsApp Cloud API request to prove it is allowed to act for a WhatsApp Business account. Production systems usually create it for a system user, a non-human account inside the business portfolio, so it does not expire when an employee leaves. It carries permissions such as whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management and must be kept secret.
- Authentication message
- An authentication message is a WhatsApp template in Meta's authentication category, used only to send a one-time passcode for login, account verification or a sensitive action. Meta fixes most of the wording, and the template carries a copy-code or one-tap autofill button. It is charged per delivered message at the authentication rate, with a separate, higher authentication-international rate in some markets, including India.
B
- Broadcast
- Broadcast in WhatsApp means sending one message to many people at once, with each person receiving it as a private one-to-one chat from you. In the app this is a broadcast list of up to 256 contacts, and only contacts who saved your number receive it. On the WhatsApp Business API, a broadcast (campaign) uses an approved template, goes only to opted-in contacts and is capped by the messaging limit.
- Business portfolio
- A business portfolio is the top-level container in Meta's business tools, formerly called Business Manager, that represents one company. It owns that company's WhatsApp Business Accounts, Facebook Pages, ad accounts and catalogs, and controls who can access them. For WhatsApp, business verification is done on the portfolio, and since October 2025 the messaging limit is set per portfolio and shared by all its numbers.
- Business Solution Provider (BSP)
- A Business Solution Provider (BSP) is a company that Meta has approved to give other businesses access to the WhatsApp Business Platform. In Meta's current terms a BSP is a Solution Partner: a Meta Business Partner that onboards clients through Embedded Signup and can pay Meta for their messages through its own credit line, then bill the clients. Software companies without a credit line are Tech Providers instead.
- Business verification
- Business verification is Meta's check that a business portfolio belongs to a real, legally registered business, using documents and details such as the legal name, address, phone number and website. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a verified portfolio can move to a 2,000 messaging limit, add more phone numbers and hold more message templates. Verification does not give a blue badge or a higher tier by itself.
C
- Catalog
- A WhatsApp catalog is the list of products or services a business links to its WhatsApp Business Platform number, built on a Meta commerce catalog. Each item carries a name, image, price, description and retailer ID. Businesses use it to send product, multi-product and catalog messages, and customers can browse items and send a cart back in the chat, which the business then confirms and fulfils.
- Chatbot
- A WhatsApp chatbot is software connected to a business number on the WhatsApp Business API that reads incoming messages and replies automatically. It can follow fixed flows with buttons and lists, collect details such as a name or pin code, look up orders, or use AI trained on the business's own information. WhatsApp policy expects automated experiences to offer customers a clear way to reach a human.
- Click-to-WhatsApp ad
- A Click-to-WhatsApp ad is an ad on Facebook or Instagram whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with the advertiser instead of a website. The customer sends the first message, often a pre-filled one, which opens a conversation the business can answer with any message type. If the business replies within 24 hours, the chat becomes a free entry point and Meta's messaging charges are waived for up to 7 days.
- Cloud API
- The Cloud API is the version of the WhatsApp Business Platform that Meta hosts. Businesses or their software send messages by calling Meta's Graph API with a phone number ID and an access token, and receive customer messages and delivery statuses through webhooks. Since the On-Premises API shut down on 23 Oct 2025, the Cloud API is the only way to use the WhatsApp Business API.
- Coexistence
- Coexistence is a WhatsApp Business Platform feature that connects a number already used in the WhatsApp Business app to the Cloud API without removing it from the app. The owner keeps chatting from the phone, while software sends templates, campaigns and bot replies through the API. Contacts and up to six months of chat history sync. It has been available in India since 5 May 2025.
- Conversation routing
- Conversation routing is a WhatsApp Business Platform feature, launched by Meta on 23 Sep 2026, that lets more than one partner app work on the same business phone number. Thread control decides which app currently owns a customer's conversation, so a chatbot vendor, a support desk and a commerce tool can each handle their part without answering over each other. Details and eligibility are in Meta's changelog and documentation.
- Credit line
- A credit line is credit that Meta extends to a Solution Partner so the partner can pay for the WhatsApp messages its clients send. The partner attaches the credit line to a client's WhatsApp Business Account during onboarding, Meta invoices the partner, and the partner bills the client. Without a credit line or another valid payment method, a WhatsApp account cannot pay for messages beyond any free allowance.
- Customer service window
- The customer service window is the 24-hour period that opens each time a customer sends a message to, or calls, a business on WhatsApp. While it is open, the business can reply with any message type, including free text, media, buttons and lists, without a template. Each new customer message restarts the 24 hours. Once it closes, the business can only write with an approved message template.
D
- Direct Send
- Direct Send is a WhatsApp Business Platform feature that lets Meta deliver an eligible utility message to a customer without the sender creating and getting a message template approved first. Meta announced general availability on 31 July 2026; an authentication version is still in beta. Since 8 October 2026 it is switched on by default for business portfolios at the 100,000 or Unlimited messaging-limit tier, and can be turned off.
- Display name
- A display name is the business name shown to customers on a WhatsApp Business API phone number, in the chat header and the business profile. Meta reviews every display name before it appears, checking that it matches the business behind the number. A number can send messages while the name is under review, but the name customers see depends on Meta's decision, and changes are limited.
E
- Embedded Signup
- Embedded Signup is Meta's onboarding flow that a WhatsApp platform shows inside its own website. In one pop-up, a business logs in with Facebook, chooses or creates its business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account, adds and verifies a phone number, sets a display name, and grants the platform access. From 15 Oct 2026, Meta requires version 4 of the flow; versions 2 and 3 are deprecated.
F
- Free entry point
- A free entry point is a way a customer can start a WhatsApp chat that makes the business's messages free for a limited time. Today it means a Click-to-WhatsApp ad: when a customer messages through the ad and the business replies within 24 hours, Meta does not charge for messages in that chat for up to 7 days, except Meta Business Agent messages. The period was 72 hours before.
G
- Groups API
- The Groups API is a WhatsApp Cloud API feature that lets a business create and manage small WhatsApp groups and send messages into them from software. Meta launched it on 6 Oct 2025 and opened it to all Official Business Accounts on 3 Feb 2026. Each group holds up to 8 participants, people join only through an invite link, and group messages are charged.
I
- Interactive message
- An interactive message is a WhatsApp Business Platform message that gives the customer something to tap instead of text to type. Types include reply buttons, list messages, call-to-action URL buttons, product and multi-product messages, WhatsApp Flows and payment requests. Businesses send them as free-form messages inside the 24-hour customer service window; outside the window, buttons have to come from an approved message template.
L
- List message
- A list message is a WhatsApp interactive message with a single button that opens a menu of options. The menu can be split into up to 10 sections but holds no more than 10 rows in total. Each row has a title of up to 24 characters and an optional description of up to 72, and the menu button label is up to 20 characters. It is sent inside the 24-hour customer service window.
M
- Marketing message
- A marketing message is a WhatsApp template in Meta's marketing category: any business-initiated message that promotes a product, announces an offer or event, invites a purchase or tries to re-engage a customer. It needs the customer's opt-in, is charged per delivered message at the marketing rate for the recipient's country, and is subject to per-user limits that cap how many marketing templates one person receives.
- Marketing Messages API (MM Lite)
- The Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp, formerly the Marketing Messages Lite API or MM Lite, is Meta's dedicated route for sending marketing templates. Generally available since 19 November 2025, it optimises delivery towards users likely to engage and adds performance benchmarks, recommendations, time-to-live settings, GIF headers and optional automatic creative optimisations. Billing follows the same model as the Cloud API, and marketing rates are the same on both.
- Max Price
- Max Price is a setting on the WhatsApp Business Platform that lets a sender cap the amount Meta can charge to deliver one marketing message, similar to a bid. Meta ran it as a limited beta from 15 May 2026 and opened it more widely on 1 Oct 2026, with general availability expected in Q2 2027. Sending in a country where Max Price is not yet available fails with error 131065.
- Message template
- A message template is a pre-written WhatsApp message that Meta reviews and approves before a business can send it. Businesses must use one to start a conversation, or to message a customer more than 24 hours after that customer's last message. Each template belongs to one category (marketing, utility or authentication), can contain numbered variables such as {{1}}, and is priced by Meta according to its category and the recipient's country.
- Messaging limit
- The messaging limit is the maximum number of unique WhatsApp users a business can start conversations with, using templates outside the 24-hour customer service window, in a rolling 24-hour period. The tiers are 250, 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and Unlimited. Since October 2025 the limit is set per business portfolio and shared by all its phone numbers. Replies to customers who wrote first do not count.
- Meta Business Agent
- Meta Business Agent is a pricing category Meta added to the WhatsApp Business Platform rate card on 1 July 2026 for Meta's own AI-agent messaging. It is billed per token rather than per message: $2.00 per 1 million tokens, which Meta's documentation works out to roughly 4 to 5 cents (US) per message. Unlike other charges, Meta Business Agent usage is billed even inside the free entry point window that Click-to-WhatsApp ads open.
- Meta Verified
- Meta Verified for Business is a paid subscription from Meta that gives eligible businesses a verified badge and related account protections on Meta apps, including WhatsApp in some markets such as India. It is separate from free business verification of a business portfolio and from the Official Business Account badge on API numbers. Price, eligibility and features vary by market and are set by Meta.
- Multi-Partner Solution
- A Multi-Partner Solution is a Meta set-up that lets two WhatsApp partners serve the same business client. Typically a Tech Provider supplies the software that sends and receives messages, while a Solution Partner supplies the credit line that pays Meta for those messages. The client onboards once through Embedded Signup, and the solution's ID tells Meta which partners get access and who is billed.
O
- Official Business Account (OBA)
- An Official Business Account (OBA) is a WhatsApp Business API phone number that Meta has approved to show a blue badge next to the business name. To apply, the number must follow WhatsApp policy, be registered for at least 30 days, belong to a verified business portfolio, have two-step verification turned on and an approved display name. Meta reviews each request and decides; meeting the requirements does not guarantee the badge.
- On-Premises API
- The On-Premises API was the original, self-hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API. Businesses or their providers ran WhatsApp's software in containers on their own servers and handled scaling, storage and upgrades themselves. Meta stopped new On-Premises sign-ups on 1 Jul 2024 and shut the API down on 23 Oct 2025, with v2.63 as the last version. Only the Cloud API remains.
- Opt-in
- WhatsApp consent, or opt-in, means a person's permission for a named business to send them messages on WhatsApp. Under WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, a business needs the person's phone number and their opt-in before it starts a conversation with a template. The opt-in must make clear that the person agrees to receive messages from that specific business, and the business must honour any later request to stop.
- Opt-out
- An opt-out is a customer's request to stop receiving WhatsApp messages from a business. It can be a reply such as STOP, a tap on an opt-out button, a request to an agent or a choice in a preference form. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy requires businesses to honour opt-out requests, so the contact must be removed from future marketing sends and other unwanted messages.
P
- Paid exempt
- Paid exempt is the webhook subtype (paid_exempt) Meta uses to mark a WhatsApp Business Platform account that is excused from the 1,000-free-service-message-per-number monthly cap introduced on 1 October 2026. Meta keeps service messages free without limit for eligible government and non-profit accounts until 31 December 2027, after which the exemption's future has not been announced. Other message categories, such as marketing, utility and authentication templates, are still charged as normal.
- Pair rate limit
- The pair rate limit is a WhatsApp Cloud API throttle on how fast one business phone number can send messages to one specific customer. Meta allows roughly one message every 6 seconds to the same recipient from the same sending number. Sending faster than that to the same person, for example by resending immediately after a failed call, fails with error 131056 rather than queuing the extra message.
- Per-user marketing limit
- A per-user marketing limit is WhatsApp's cap on how many marketing templates one person receives from businesses, based on how that person engages with marketing messages. When a send would exceed it, the message is not delivered and the API returns error 131049; Meta advises waiting 24 hours before trying again. Marketing messages sent inside an open customer service window do not count.
- Phone number ID
- A phone number ID is the unique numeric identifier Meta assigns to a business phone number registered on the WhatsApp Cloud API. Developers use it, not the phone number itself, in API calls such as sending a message to /{phone-number-id}/messages. It is different from the WhatsApp Business account (WABA) ID, which identifies the account that owns the number and its templates.
- Phone number status
- Phone number status is the state Meta reports for a WhatsApp Business API number, telling you whether it can send and receive messages. Common values include Connected (working normally), Pending (registration not finished), Flagged (quality warning), Restricted (sending limited), and Disconnected, Banned, Deleted or Migrated, where the number can no longer send from that account. It is separate from, but often caused by, the quality rating.
- Product message
- A product message is a WhatsApp interactive message that shows items from a business's connected Meta commerce catalog. A single-product message presents one item; a multi-product message presents several, grouped under section headings. The customer can open each item, see its image, price and description, add it to a cart and send the cart to the business as an order message, all inside the chat.
Q
- Quality rating
- Quality rating is Meta's score for a WhatsApp Business phone number, shown as High (green), Medium (yellow) or Low (red). It reflects how recipients have reacted to the messages the number sent recently, with signals such as blocks and reports. A high rating is needed for automatic messaging limit upgrades and higher throughput; a low one is a warning to change what, when and to whom you send.
R
- Reply buttons
- Reply buttons are tappable answer options attached to a WhatsApp interactive message. A business can add up to three of them, each with a title of up to 20 characters, and the customer's tap comes back to the business as a reply with the button's ID. They are sent as free-form messages inside the 24-hour customer service window; templates use their own quick-reply buttons instead.
S
- Service message
- Service messages in WhatsApp are the non-template messages a business sends while a customer's 24-hour customer service window is open, such as a typed reply, an image, a document, buttons or a list. From 1 Oct 2026, Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages per month; after that, every delivered service message is charged. The allowance does not roll over to the next month.
- Shared team inbox
- A shared team inbox is a web screen where several employees answer customers on the same WhatsApp Business API number, each from their own login. Conversations can be assigned to a person or department, colleagues see each other's replies, and the inbox shows whether the 24-hour customer service window is open. It replaces passing one phone around the office.
- Solution Partner
- A Solution Partner is a Meta Business Partner approved for the WhatsApp Business Platform that has a credit line with Meta. It onboards businesses through Embedded Signup, pays Meta for the messages its clients send, and bills those clients itself. It is what the market usually calls a BSP. A Solution Partner can also lend its credit line to a Tech Provider's clients through a Multi-Partner Solution.
T
- Tech Provider
- A Tech Provider is a software company that builds on the WhatsApp Business Platform and onboards other businesses to it through Meta's Embedded Signup, but is not a Meta Business Partner and has no credit line. Its clients pay Meta directly with their own payment method, or through a Solution Partner's credit line. A Tech Provider that is or can become a Meta Business Partner is called a Tech Partner.
- Template category
- A template category is the label Meta assigns to every WhatsApp message template to describe its purpose: marketing, utility or authentication. The business proposes a category when it submits the template, and Meta checks the wording against its category guidelines. The category decides how Meta prices each delivered message and which rules apply, and Meta can change it automatically when the content fits another category better.
- Template pacing
- Template pacing is a Meta safeguard on the WhatsApp Business Platform that applies to new templates and templates that were recently paused. Instead of delivering a large send all at once, Meta may release it to an initial group of recipients and hold the remainder while it checks how people react. Related business portfolio pacing batches very large campaigns. Pacing protects customers from unwanted messages and protects the sender's quality rating.
- Template recategorisation
- Template recategorisation is Meta changing the category of a WhatsApp message template, most often from utility to marketing, when its wording matches another category better than the one the business chose. Since 9 Apr 2025 Meta does this automatically, and since 15 Sep 2026 templates can be re-checked even after an earlier review confirmed their category. A business can request an appeal within 60 days.
- Two-step verification PIN
- The two-step verification PIN is a 6-digit code set when a business phone number is registered on the WhatsApp Cloud API. Anyone who later tries to register that number again must enter the PIN, which stops a stranger from taking over the number with a stolen SMS code. It cannot be switched off through the API; that is done in WhatsApp Manager with a confirmation link sent by email.
U
- Utility message
- A utility message means a WhatsApp template in Meta's utility category: a non-promotional update about a transaction, booking, subscription or account the customer already has, such as an order confirmation, delivery alert, appointment reminder or payment receipt. Meta charges it per delivered message at the utility rate, and since 1 Oct 2026 utility templates are charged even when sent inside an open customer service window.
W
- Webhook
- A webhook is an HTTPS address that Meta calls whenever something happens on a WhatsApp Business account. Meta posts a JSON event to it for every incoming customer message and for every status change of a message you sent: sent, delivered, read or failed. Template approvals and category changes arrive the same way. Without a working webhook, a business cannot see replies or delivery reports.
- WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
- WABA means WhatsApp Business Account: the account inside a Meta business portfolio that holds a company's WhatsApp Business Platform assets, such as its API phone numbers, approved message templates and payment settings. Every number that sends through the Cloud API belongs to exactly one WABA. Meta is now splitting the WABA into a WhatsApp account and a Messaging account, while existing IDs keep working.
- WhatsApp Business account ID (WABA ID)
- A WhatsApp Business account ID (WABA ID) is the long numeric ID Meta assigns to the account that holds a business's message templates, billing and webhook subscriptions on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Under Meta's new account model the same value now identifies the Messaging account, and the waba_id field name is unchanged. Developers use it to manage templates and list phone numbers; messages are sent with the phone number ID instead.
- WhatsApp Flows
- WhatsApp Flows are structured, multi-screen forms that open inside a WhatsApp chat on the WhatsApp Business Platform. A business designs screens with fields such as text inputs, dropdowns, date pickers and options, then sends the Flow through a message template or an interactive message. The customer completes it without leaving WhatsApp, and the answers return to the business, optionally through an encrypted data endpoint.
- WhatsApp ID (wa_id)
- A WhatsApp ID, written wa_id in the WhatsApp Cloud API, is the identifier Meta uses for a WhatsApp user, meaning the customer, not the business. It appears in incoming message webhooks and in the response when you send a message. It usually looks like the user's phone number in international format without the plus sign, such as 919812345678, but Meta warns the two may not always match.
- WhatsApp payments (UPI)
- WhatsApp payments in India let a business on the WhatsApp Business Platform send an order-details message that the customer pays inside the chat. Payment runs through a Meta-supported payment gateway, namely BillDesk, Razorpay, PayU or Zaakpay, in Indian rupees only. The customer can pay with a UPI app, card, net banking or wallet, and the business receives a status update when the payment succeeds or fails.
- White-label
- White-label describes software that one company builds and another sells under its own name. A white-label WhatsApp platform lets an agency or reseller offer WhatsApp Business API tools, such as campaigns, chatbots and a team inbox, with its own logo, domain and prices, while the platform provider runs the technology. Clients still use Meta's official API and follow Meta's rules and pricing.
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