WhatsApp Business Services (as defined in the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service) enable rich, conversational experiences between businesses and WhatsApp users. Creating valuable experiences for users relies on businesses complying with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy below. By using these products, businesses agree to the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines, and the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service.
The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy defines what is and isn't allowed when using WhatsApp Business Services. If content or actions violate WhatsApp's terms or policies, WhatsApp may limit or remove access to WhatsApp Business Services.
This policy, along with the WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines and the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service, governs the use of WhatsApp Business Services, including those listed below:
- The WhatsApp Business App
- The WhatsApp Business Platform
- Other WhatsApp Business offerings or features that may be provided in the future.
1. Create a Quality Experience
- Follow any guidelines and instructions in technical and product documentation.
- Maintain a WhatsApp Business profile with customer support contact information and one or more of the following: email address, website address, and/or telephone number. Keep all information accurate and up-to-date. Businesses must not impersonate another business or otherwise mislead customers as to the nature of their business.
- Businesses may not use WhatsApp Business Services to impersonate another business or entity, misrepresent their affiliation with a business or entity, or otherwise mislead customers as to the nature of their business or activity on WhatsApp products. WhatsApp may consider an account to be violating the Business Messaging Policy, the WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines, and the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service if the business pretends to take on someone else’s name, brand, or speaks in the voice of another business or entity without permission.
- Businesses may only contact people on WhatsApp if: (a) they have given their mobile phone number; and (b) opt-in permission has been received from the recipient confirming that they wish to receive subsequent messages or calls from the business on WhatsApp.
- The opt-in must clearly state that the person is opting in to receive messages and/or calls from the business over WhatsApp and must clearly state the business' name.
- The business is solely responsible for determining the method of opt-in, ensuring opt-in compliance with laws applicable to communications, and that the business has provided notices and obtained permissions required under applicable law. To help ensure a strong user experience, WhatsApp suggests reviewing the best practices below.
- Businesses must respect all requests (either on or off WhatsApp) by a person to block, discontinue, or otherwise opt out of communications from them via WhatsApp, including removing that person from their contacts list. They must not confuse, deceive, defraud, mislead, spam, or surprise people with communications.
- If a WhatsApp account is believed to be infringing intellectual property rights, businesses are advised to consult this page.
2. WhatsApp Business Platform Specific Terms
- Businesses may only initiate conversations using an approved Message Template (as defined in WhatsApp's documentation). Any Message Template must comply with WhatsApp's terms and policies and only be used for its designated purpose. WhatsApp reserves the right to review, approve, pause, or reject any Message Template at any time.
- Businesses may reply to a user message without the use of a Message Template as long as it's within 24 hours of the last user message. Conversations initiated by users are open once the first business reply message is delivered. Outside the 24-hour customer service window, businesses may only send messages via approved Message Templates.
- Standard pricing applies to all conversation categories.
- Businesses may use automation when responding during the 24-hour window but must also have available prompt, clear, and direct escalation paths. These escalation paths include:
- In-Chat Human Agent transfer
- Phone number
- Web support (on the business website)
- In-store visits (e.g., visit retail store, bank branch)
- Support form
3. Protect Data and Comply with Law
- Businesses are responsible for securing all necessary notices, permissions, and consents to collect, use, and share people's content and information, including maintaining a published privacy policy, and otherwise complying with applicable law.
- Businesses must not use any data obtained from WhatsApp about a person they message, other than the content of message threads, for any purpose other than as reasonably necessary to support messaging with that person.
- Businesses must not share or ask people to share full-length individual payment card numbers, financial account numbers, personal ID card numbers, or other sensitive identifiers.
- Businesses must not use WhatsApp for telemedicine or to send or request any health-related information if applicable regulations prohibit the distribution of such information to systems that do not meet heightened requirements to handle health-related information.
- Businesses may not forward or otherwise share information from a customer chat with any other customer.
4. Prohibited Organizations and Restrictions on Use
- WhatsApp prohibits organizations and/or individuals who have been deemed to be engaged in terrorist or organized criminal activity from using the WhatsApp Business Services.
- WhatsApp prohibits the use of WhatsApp Business Services to facilitate or organize criminal activity, including exploiting or causing physical, financial, or other harm to people, businesses, or animals.
- WhatsApp prohibits the use of WhatsApp Business Services for operating, buying, selling, promoting, or otherwise facilitating the exchange of illegal products or services.
- WhatsApp prohibits the use of WhatsApp Business Services for buying, selling, promoting, or otherwise facilitating the exchange of certain regulated or restricted goods and services listed below, as determined in WhatsApp's sole discretion. Please refer to Section 5 Further Guidance on Regulated Verticals for limited exceptions, subject to specific requirements, for promoting specific regulated or restricted goods and services (“Regulated Verticals”).
- Firearms
- Alcohol and tobacco
- Drugs, whether prescription, recreational, or otherwise
- Medical and healthcare products
- Endangered species (wildlife and plants)
- Live non-endangered animals excluding livestock
- Hazardous goods and materials
- Real, virtual, or fake currency, including ICOs and binary options
- Body parts or fluids
- Business models, goods, items, or services that WhatsApp determines may be or are fraudulent, misleading, offensive, or deceptive, or may be or are exploitative, inappropriate, or exert undue pressure on targeted groups
- Real Money Gambling and Gaming (Online Gambling and Gaming is a subset of Real Money Gambling and Gaming. See Section 5 and Section 6 for limited exceptions.)
- Adult products and services
- Dating services
- Multi-level marketing
- Payday loans, paycheck advances, peer-to-peer lending, debt collection, and bail bonds. These prohibitions apply irrespective of the global or local licenses, registrations, or other approvals a business may hold.
- Organizations must not wrongfully discriminate or suggest a preference for or against people based on a personal characteristic, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, marital status, disability, or medical or genetic condition. Organizations must comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination.
- Messages must not contain offensive content, such as sexually explicit materials or nudity, as determined at WhatsApp's sole discretion.
- Organizations that primarily publish news content must be registered as a News Page through Facebook.
- If businesses use Catalogs or provide any other commerce experiences to sell or otherwise facilitate the exchange of goods or services prohibited by the Meta Commerce Policy, WhatsApp may prohibit them from using some or all of the WhatsApp Business Services.
5. Further Guidance on Regulated Verticals
WhatsApp allows the use of the WhatsApp Business Platform for messaging about the Regulated Verticals listed below in Section 5, in limited countries, and pursuant to applicable law. The drop-down charts below indicate the specific countries in which businesses may message about each Regulated Vertical.
Additional Requirements for messaging about Regulated Verticals on the WhatsApp Business Platform:
- Businesses are prohibited from messaging about any Regulated Verticals on the WhatsApp Business App.
- Businesses are prohibited from providing any commerce experiences to buy or sell goods or services that are Regulated Verticals (see [Policy for WhatsApp Commerce Features](https://business.whatsapp.com/policy#policies_for
_whatsapp_commerce_features) below).
- Businesses must ensure—through technical and organizational measures—that messages are gated per legal age, geographic requirements, and regulatory requirements.
- Businesses must comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to local laws and industry codes.
- Businesses must not use the WhatsApp Business Platform to send messages about Regulated Verticals outside of the allowed countries.
- Businesses must ensure that they have all required licenses, notices, permits, and registrations.
- Businesses must immediately stop sending messages to users in the allowed country if their required license expires, is modified, or is terminated.
- WhatsApp Business messaging that promotes alcohol must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licenses, and must comply with age and country requirements consistent with applicable local laws.
- Messaging about any Regulated Vertical using the WhatsApp Business Platform may not be sent to people under 18 years of age.
- Within Real Money Gambling and Gaming, if a country/region prohibits certain activities such as gambling, games of chance, and/or any other related activities (i.e., India), then business messaging should not include such prohibited activities and should only include those activities that are lawful.
Exceptions to Regulated Verticals – Allowed Countries
Online Gambling and Gaming – Allowed Countries
WhatsApp Business messaging that promotes online gambling and gaming must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, and licenses, and must comply with age and country requirements consistent with applicable local laws. Messaging may not be sent to people under 18 years of age.
- Australia
- India (state-specific restrictions will be applicable)
- Japan
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Peru
Over-the-Counter Drugs – Allowed Countries
WhatsApp Business messaging that promotes over-the-counter drugs must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, and licenses and must comply with age and country requirements consistent with applicable local laws. Messaging may not be sent to people under 18 years of age.
- American Samoa
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Curacao
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Falkland Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Nepal
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- St. Lucia
- Suriname
- Thailand
- The Bahamas
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uruguay
- US Virgin Islands
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Alcohol – Allowed Countries
WhatsApp Business messaging that promotes alcohol must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, and licenses and must comply with age and country requirements consistent with applicable local laws. Messaging may not be sent to people under 18 years of age.
- American Samoa
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Australia
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- British Virgin Islands
- Cambodia
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Curacao
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Falkland Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- St. Lucia
- Suriname
- The Bahamas
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uruguay
- US Virgin Islands
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
6. Additional Requirements for Messages Promoting Online Gambling and Gaming using the WhatsApp Business Platform
To message users to promote online gambling and gaming (a subset of real money gambling and gaming), organizations will need to:
- Request permission from Meta Platforms, Inc. using this application form. Note that businesses can only apply to message people in certain countries.
- Provide evidence that the online gambling and gaming activities are appropriately licensed by a regulator, or otherwise established as lawful in the countries listed in Section 5 that the business wants to send messages to.
WhatsApp defines online gambling and gaming as any product or service where anything of monetary value is included as part of entry or prize. Monetary value includes, but is not limited to, cash or digital currencies like Bitcoin.
Online gambling and gaming activities include:
- All forms of online gambling. Some common types of gambling include betting, lotteries, raffles, casino games, fantasy sports, bingo, poker, skill game tournaments, and sweepstakes.
- Games where anything of monetary value is part of entry, and games where anything of monetary value is part of the prize. This includes games that require purchases to continue gameplay or to provide an advantage in winning prizes (in cases where the prize is of monetary value).
- Promotions for online gambling or games, even if there is no opportunity to gamble or game directly within the WhatsApp chat.
The following activities do not require permission from Meta to message on the WhatsApp Business Platform. However, organizations engaged in these activities must comply with all applicable local laws.
- Physical, real money gambling activity, or establishments like “brick and mortar” casinos, entertainment events at casinos, or the streaming of offline poker tournaments.
- State or government lotteries, as long as the business is directly or exclusively responsible for running the lottery.
- Prize promotions that involve purchasing a product at the usual retail price, so long as online gambling isn’t the primary business model of the business or any featured brand.
- Entirely free-to-play games.
7. Enforcement and Updates
- WhatsApp may limit or remove a business’s access to or use of the WhatsApp Business Services if they receive significant amounts of negative feedback, cause harm to WhatsApp or its users, violate or encourage others to violate WhatsApp's terms or policies, or to maintain a high-quality experience on WhatsApp, as determined by WhatsApp at its sole discretion.
- Driving high-quality conversations between people and businesses is a top priority for WhatsApp. People can block or report businesses, and WhatsApp's systems will limit the number of messages a business can send or the calls a business can initiate if the business's quality tier is low for a sustained period.
- If businesses use or operate a service that utilizes WhatsApp in violation of WhatsApp's terms or policies, such as messaging people at scale in an unauthorized manner, WhatsApp reserves the right to limit or remove their access to WhatsApp Business Services.
- WhatsApp may update this WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy ("Change") without notice (unless such notice is required by law); by continuing to use WhatsApp Business Services after such Change, businesses consent to such Change.
- If WhatsApp terminates a business’s account for violations of the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service, the Business Messaging Policy, or the WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines, WhatsApp may prohibit the business and its organization from all future use of WhatsApp products and services.
- WhatsApp may use both technology and human review teams to detect and review reported messages and unencrypted account, group, and business profile information for potential violations.
Additional information about how WhatsApp detects violations of its terms and policies is available in the WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines.
To learn more about WhatsApp's Platform Enforcement processes, please visit the WhatsApp Business Platform Policy Enforcement.
Best Practices
Best Practices for Opt-In
Users should expect the messages and calls they receive. This expectation can be set by:
- Obtaining an opt-in that encompasses the different categories of messages that will be sent (e.g., order updates, relevant offers, product recommendations, etc.).
- Obtaining a separate opt-in to initiate a call to a user.
- Obtaining separate opt-in by specific message category.
- This mitigates the risk that users will block the business because they receive unsolicited messages.
- Providing clear instructions for how people can opt out of receiving specific categories of messages or calls, and honoring these requests.
- Ensuring opt-in and opt-out flows are clear and intuitive for users.
- Clearly communicating the value of receiving this information on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp may also reactively evaluate a business's opt-in flows, including reviewing user feedback, to flag policy violations and develop additional types of enforcement over time.
Steps to Take if an Account is Suspended or Terminated
To maintain high-quality conversations on WhatsApp Business Services, WhatsApp enforces actions on WhatsApp Business Accounts that violate the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines, or WhatsApp Business Terms of Service.
If a business believes its account has not violated WhatsApp's policies or terms, the following resources can provide more information on how to appeal:
- For more information on enforcement for the WhatsApp Business App, including how to appeal, please review the Business Help Center page.
- For more information on enforcement for the WhatsApp Business Platform, including how to appeal, please review Policy Enforcement - WhatsApp Business Platform.
- For more information on banned accounts, businesses can refer to this article in WhatsApp's Help Center.
Policy for WhatsApp Commerce Features (including offering goods or services for sale)
The Commerce Policy governs whether businesses can sell their products and services using WhatsApp Business Services, such as WhatsApp commerce product features like catalog and payments.
If a business uses Catalogs or provides any other commerce experiences to sell goods or services, it must comply with the policies and prohibitions listed in the Meta Commerce Policy, as well as all applicable terms, laws, and regulations.
- Businesses are solely responsible for their transactions and for providing any sales terms, privacy terms, or other terms applicable to their interactions with users.
- WhatsApp is not responsible for processing, paying for, or fulfilling any sales relating to transactions.
- Businesses are solely responsible for determining, collecting, withholding, reporting, and remitting all applicable taxes, duties, fees, and additional charges for sales relating to their transactions.
Policy on Government and Political Use
The following area provides policy guidance on government and political use of the WhatsApp Business Platform.
- WhatsApp permits the use of the WhatsApp Business Platform for government entities and requires access through a Solution Provider (formerly known as Business Service Provider).
- WhatsApp prohibits the use of the WhatsApp Business Platform by Political Parties, Politicians, Political Candidates, and Political Campaigns.
- WhatsApp prohibits the use of the WhatsApp Business Platform by Law Enforcement Agencies, Military Services, National Security and Intelligence Agencies.
- WhatsApp prohibits the use of the WhatsApp Business Platform by entities that offer services related to politics, political candidates, political campaign strategy, political campaigning services, private companies that provide voting solutions and systems for elections, and exclusive government service providers.
For more information on government and political use, please visit WhatsApp's Building Community on WhatsApp page. For more information on how to use WhatsApp responsibly, please visit WhatsApp and elections page.