WhatsApp API is WhatsApp's official business connection, direct with Meta. It's the most stable one, the one that enables every feature (bulk campaigns, templates, ad measurement) and the recommended option for serious operations.
How to connect it
- Go to Channels and, on the WhatsApp API card, click Connect (there's a Tutorial button with the video guide).
- The official Meta window opens: log in with Facebook and choose (or create) your WhatsApp Business account and your number.
- Follow the steps — the button shows the progress: Connecting… → Processing… → Saving connection… → Connected ✔.
- When you're done you'll see the message "Connection established!".
💡 A new number or the one you already use? Either works. If you already use the number in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, you must remove the account from the app first (WhatsApp → Settings → Account → Delete my account): WeSpeak connects the number as pure API, messaging moves to the platform and the line's calls keep working. If you need to keep the chats on your phone, back them up beforehand — Meta doesn't carry them over to the API.
ℹ️ If the connection with Meta is later lost (password change, expired permissions), the system detects it automatically and sends you a channel disconnected notification — you don't have to notice it on your own.
Your number's statuses
On the channel card you'll see three indicators:
| Indicator | What it means |
|---|---|
| Connection status | Connected / Pending (verification not finished yet) / Disconnected (see the detail below). |
| Business name | Meta reviews your business's display name: Approved, Under review or Rejected. |
| Messaging limit | Shown as "N conversations/day": how many conversations you can start per day outside the 24-hour window. Replying to customers who wrote to you doesn't consume this limit and has no cap. It only goes up if you keep good quality. |
All possible connection statuses
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Connected | Your number is connected and operating normally. |
| Pending | The number was added to the WhatsApp Business account but hasn't finished the setup/verification process yet. Complete the verification in Meta. |
| Disconnected | The number lost its connection with WhatsApp. Reconnect it from Channels. |
| Deleted | The number is no longer available in the WhatsApp Business account (it was removed from Meta). |
| Banned | Meta suspended the number. Check the account status in Meta Business Suite (see the Problems with WhatsApp guide). |
The business name, besides Approved, Under review and Rejected, may also appear as Name Expired (the certificate expired: request it again in Meta) or Name does not exist (you still need to validate the name in Meta Business Suite).
The 24-hour rule (the most important thing)
WhatsApp lets you write freely during the 24 hours after the customer's last message. Once that time is up (or to start a new conversation), you can only send templates approved by Meta:
- In the chat, type / to choose a template.
- Only templates with the Approved status can be selected.
- If you try to send free text outside the window, the system warns you: "You must use a template to send this message."
- Each message you send outside the window needs its own template, until the customer replies.
- When the customer replies, the window reopens instantly and you can write freely again (without reloading the page). It also closes precisely: exactly 24 hours after the customer's last message, even if you have the chat open.
What it supports
| Feature | WhatsApp API |
|---|---|
| Text, emojis, attachments, voice notes | ✅ |
| Approved templates (with /) | ✅ |
| Quote / reply to a message | ✅ |
| Schedule messages | ✅ |
| Bulk campaigns | ✅ (the recommended channel) |
| Several numbers at once, with name and default ⭐ | ✅ |
| Free text after 24 h with no reply from the customer | ❌ Approved templates only |
| Delete messages | ⚠️ Only messages from the contact and only from your panel (the contact still sees them) |
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I write to a customer who messaged me last week?
More than 24 h have passed since their last message: use an approved template (type /).
My business name is "Under review," can I operate?
Yes, messaging works; Meta approves the name in parallel.
Can I have WhatsApp API and the QR code connection at the same time?
No — they're mutually exclusive. To connect the API, the QR is disconnected first: in Channels, the WhatsApp QR card has a Disconnect button next to the status check. Confirm in the dialog and that's it — you don't need to contact support. Keep in mind that to use the QR connection again you'll have to scan the code once more (you won't need to re-enter the number).
If I migrate from QR to API, do I lose the conversation history?
Not necessarily: your advisor can run a history migration to the new channel, which moves the conversations, all the messages (sent and received) and the notes of each conversation. If the same contact already has an open conversation on the destination channel, that conversation isn't migrated on its own: it's flagged at the end of the process and your advisor sorts it out with you.
Can I keep using the number from the app while it's on the API (coexistence)?
No — WeSpeak doesn't offer coexistence mode. The WhatsApp API connection is always pure API: the number lives only in the API, you stop using the WhatsApp app, and everything is answered from the platform. The phone number and calls keep working normally; what moves to the API is the messaging.
How do I disconnect WhatsApp API to use the number in the app again?
Removing the channel in Channels isn't enough: the number stays registered on Meta's API until you delete it from WhatsApp Manager, with your portfolio's admin account. Steps, requirements and the 30-day rule in Disconnect WhatsApp API and free up your number.
What do I need to migrate from QR to API? Do I lose anything?
You need the business's Meta username and password (and the Facebook/Instagram ones if you're going to link them) and to remove the WhatsApp Business account from the phone. You don't lose the line: the API only takes over WhatsApp's messaging — the phone number and calls keep working normally. What changes: you stop using the app and answer everything from the platform.
I used WhatsApp with another provider (or another chatbot) before. Do I need to do anything before connecting?
Yes: fully cancel with that provider and ask them to remove their access to your WhatsApp Business account. In Meta Business Suite, WhatsApp accounts → Partners shows which companies have access to each account. If your number is still connected with them, don't delete it: tell your advisor before connecting, because switching providers is done through a migration (Disconnect WhatsApp API and free up your number explains how it works). Also check whether they left a credit line on your account (next question).
In Meta I see a "credit line" from another company. What does it mean?
That a WhatsApp provider you worked with assigned you its payment method. You'll find it in Meta Business Suite, under Billing & payments → Credit lines, labeled "Allocated from:" followed by that company's name (for example, Gupshup). What it means:
- The line belongs to that company, not to you or to WeSpeak: Meta bills that company for the messages of the WhatsApp account the line is attached to, and the company charges you. With WeSpeak there's no credit line involved: Meta charges the card on your account directly (How to add or change the WhatsApp payment method in Meta).
- You can't edit or remove it, and Meta doesn't allow changing a WhatsApp account's credit line once it's attached.
- If that company revokes it, the account is left without a payment method: until you add your card, Meta stops delivering the messages it charges for.
Before connecting that account to WeSpeak, confirm with that provider that you fully canceled and which WhatsApp account their line is attached to, and let your advisor know.
Can I post WhatsApp "statuses" from WeSpeak?
No — statuses are an app feature and aren't available via the API.
I want a QR code for a flyer that opens a chat with my number.
It can be done: it's a QR that points to your number with a predefined message. Ask your advisor for it (it's not managed from the panel).
How do I get the green checkmark (verified account)?
Meta grants it, not WeSpeak. The usual requirements: 30 days or more using WhatsApp Business, compliance with Meta's policies, and business notoriety. It's requested from your Meta Business Suite (Instagram verification is a separate process).
My phone also has the WhatsApp Business app and it replies on its own.
Turn off the app's greeting, away, and quick reply messages (WhatsApp Business → Settings → Business tools): they clash with the assistant.