WhatsApp Business API
The WhatsApp Business API is Meta's official interface for businesses to send and receive WhatsApp messages programmatically at scale.
Every business messaging platform is built on it, so the same rules apply everywhere: a conversation window, pre-approved templates for messages you start, and per-message charges. Meta now calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform, and the hosted version is the Cloud API. It is separate from the free WhatsApp Business app, which is designed for one person on one phone.
More in WhatsApp platform
Worth knowing alongside it.
- WhatsApp Business Account
- A WhatsApp Business Account, usually abbreviated WABA, is the container inside a Meta business that holds your WhatsApp phone numbers, message templates, and messaging settings.
- Conversation window
- The conversation window is the period, 24 hours on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, during which a business may send free-form messages after a customer's most recent message.
- Message template
- A message template is a message format submitted to Meta for review in advance, which a business may then send to a customer outside the conversation window with variables filled in.
- Business Solution Provider
- A Business Solution Provider is a company authorised by Meta to give other businesses access to the WhatsApp Business Platform, usually bundling software and billing on top.