What is the WhatsApp Cloud API?

How the Cloud API works

There is no server for you to run. Meta hosts the WhatsApp side; your software only makes HTTPS calls.

Because Meta hosts it, people chatting with a Cloud API business see the notice "This business uses a secure service from Meta to manage this chat". Here is what that notice means for customers.

1. Send. Your system posts a message to the Graph API endpoint of your phone number ID, authenticated with an access token.
2. Deliver. Meta delivers it to the customer's WhatsApp.
3. Receive. Replies, delivery receipts and read receipts come back to your webhook URL.

A simple text send looks like this:

POST /v21.0/<PHONE_NUMBER_ID>/messages
{
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
  "to": "919812345678",
  "type": "text",
  "text": { "body": "Your table for 4 at 8 pm is confirmed." }
}

Free-form messages like this one only work inside an open 24-hour customer service window. Outside it, you must send an approved message template.

Limits you work within

The upgrade to higher throughput needs an Unlimited messaging limit and a quality rating of Medium or better.

Example

Rangoli Home's developer, Arjun, connects the shop's Shopify store to the Cloud API. When an order is paid, his code sends an approved order-confirmation template with the customer's name and order number. When Priya replies "Can I change the colour?", the reply arrives at his webhook and appears for the support team. Meta charges per delivered message; see the pricing explainer.

Cloud API in Broadchat

Broadchat is built on the official WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API) and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta. You never touch tokens or endpoints unless you want to: numbers connect under Channels → All Channels, replies land in CRM → Live Chat, and campaigns pace themselves to the number's limits. Developers get a per-channel access token and a Graph-compatible proxy API. Start with what the WhatsApp Business API is.