WhatsApp Cloud API
Connect your WhatsApp Business number to send and receive WhatsApp messages in the Team Inbox, run chatbots and automations, send booking reminders and broadcast approved templates. Whautomate uses Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API.
There are two ways to connect:
- Embedded Signup (about 10 minutes, recommended): log in with Facebook and pick or create your WhatsApp Business account in a Meta window. You can connect a new number, or an existing number that you want to keep using on the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.
- Your own Cloud API keys (about 30 minutes): create an app in the Meta developer portal and paste its keys. For developers who already manage their own Meta app.
Before you start
- A phone number that you own, with its country code, that can receive a verification code by SMS or voice call.
- Admin access to your Meta Business Manager (business.facebook.com). If you can see your business there, you can connect.
- Your business must be allowed under the WhatsApp Commerce Policy.
- Have your business documents ready in case Meta asks you to verify your business. See Meta Business Verification.
Which numbers can you use?
- A new number, or one with no WhatsApp account: works straight away.
- A number on the WhatsApp Business app: you can keep using the app on your phone and connect the same number (coexistence). Meta decides which numbers qualify, and some features are not available for these numbers. If yours does not qualify, delete the WhatsApp account on that number first, then connect it as a new number.
- A number on the personal WhatsApp app: delete the WhatsApp account on that number first.
- A number already on the Cloud API with another provider: turn off two-step verification for the number in WhatsApp Manager first, then connect. See Meta's guides to migrate a number.
Connect with Embedded Signup
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Go to Settings > Integrations and click Connect on the WhatsApp card.
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Under Configure WhatsApp via Embedded Signup - Simple (10 mins), click Configure.
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Keep Create/Migrate your WhatsApp Business Account(WABA) selected and click Login with Facebook.
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In the Meta window, log in and follow the steps:
- Choose or create your business portfolio.
- Choose Create a WhatsApp Business Account (recommended), or an existing one that is not used by another provider.
- Enter your WhatsApp display name, category and phone number, and verify the number with the code Meta sends.
- To keep using the WhatsApp Business app, choose the option to connect your existing WhatsApp Business app number, then confirm in the app on your phone (scan the QR code or open the link Meta shows).
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Wait while Setting up your WhatsApp account. Please hold on for a moment... is shown. When it is done you see Successfully connected to your WhatsApp Business Account! and the WhatsApp page opens.
If Meta did not finish adding your number, the next step appears on the same page:
- Migrate your WhatsApp Business Number: enter the Phone Number with country code (for example +6598765432) and click Migrate Phone Number.
- Verify Phone Number: choose Text Message or Voice Call, click Request Code, enter the code and click Verify.
Keep using the WhatsApp Business app (coexistence)
When you connect a number that is on the WhatsApp Business app, the app keeps working on your phone and both stay in sync:
- Chat history: with your permission in the app, Meta shares up to six months of past chats. They are imported into the Team Inbox in the background, so older conversations appear over the first hours after you connect.
- Contacts: names from the app's contact list are used to name your WhatsApp contacts. Importing them does not start conversations.
- Messages you send from the phone also appear in the Team Inbox, labelled WhatsApp Business App User, so your team sees the whole conversation.
Good to know:
- Imported history and contacts never trigger automations, webhooks or notifications.
- Meta shares history only once, within 24 hours of connecting. If you turned history sharing off in the app, it cannot be imported later.
- Messages Meta cannot share appear as [Unsupported message].
- Some Cloud API features are not available for WhatsApp Business app numbers because of Meta's limits. Meta may also disconnect the number if the app is not opened on the phone for a long time, so keep the app in use.
Connect with your own Cloud API keys
Use this method only if you manage your own app in the Meta developer portal.
- Go to Settings > Integrations, click Connect on the WhatsApp card, then Configure under Bring your own WhatsApp Cloud API keys - Complex (30 mins).
- In Meta for Developers, create an app of type Business and add the WhatsApp product to it.
- Add your phone number to the app and verify it (WhatsApp > API Setup > Add phone number).
- Create a permanent token: in Business Settings go to System users, add a system user with the Admin role, assign it your WhatsApp account and your app with full control, then click Generate New Token. Choose your app, set expiry to Never and select the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions. Copy the token.
- Back on the WhatsApp Settings form, fill in:
- API Token: the system user token.
- Meta App ID and Meta App Secret: from your Meta app under App settings > Basic.
- WhatsApp Phone Number Id and WhatsApp Business Account ID: from your Meta app under WhatsApp > API Setup.
- Click Save. The WhatsApp webhook of your Meta app is connected for you. This replaces any WhatsApp webhook already set on that app.
- Send a test message to your number from another phone and check that it arrives in the Team Inbox.
Setups saved before the Meta App ID field existed still show Webhook Settings with a Webhook callback URL and Verify Token. Keep them set in your Meta app (WhatsApp > Configuration, subscribed to messages, message_template_status_update and template_category_update), or add your Meta App ID and Meta App Secret to have the webhook connected for you.
After you connect
The WhatsApp page (Settings > Integrations > WhatsApp > Edit Setup) shows your number and its health:
- WhatsApp # Info: Phone Number, Verified Name, Connection Status, Quality Rating and Messaging Limits (how many people you can start conversations with in 24 hours, for example 1,000 Business Initiated Conversations/24hr). See How to check my WhatsApp quality rating and messaging limits.
- Shortcut cards for Payment Method, Verify your Business and WhatsApp Manager on Meta.
The tabs on this page manage the rest of your WhatsApp setup:
| Tab | What it does |
|---|---|
| Profile | Your WhatsApp business profile. See WhatsApp Profile. |
| Compliance Info | Legal details required for businesses in India. See WhatsApp Compliance Info. |
| Commerce | Cart, catalog and product import. See WhatsApp Commerce Settings. |
| Message Templates | Create and manage templates. See WhatsApp Message Templates. |
| Flows | WhatsApp Flows forms. See Send a WhatsApp Flow. |
| Conversational Components | Up to 4 Ice Breakers shown when someone first chats with you, and up to 30 Commands people see when they type /. |
| Calling | Let customers call your WhatsApp number. See WhatsApp Calling. |
Account health alerts
If Meta limits your WhatsApp account, an alert appears on the WhatsApp page and wherever you send WhatsApp messages:
- WhatsApp account disabled by Meta: broadcasts, automations and reminders are paused. Click Open WhatsApp Manager to see the reason and request a review. See WhatsApp Business API account disabled? Here's how to recover it.
- WhatsApp messaging restricted by Meta: depending on the restriction, broadcasts, automations and reminders, utility templates or replies are paused until the date shown. The restriction lifts on its own.
- WhatsApp account will be disabled: Meta plans to disable the account. Fix the issue in WhatsApp Manager before the date shown.
- Meta reported a policy violation: a warning only; nothing is paused, but repeated violations can lead to restrictions.
- WhatsApp account disconnected: messages cannot be sent. Click Reconnect WhatsApp.
While templates are paused, broadcasts cannot be scheduled and running broadcasts are stopped.
Marketing Messages
Accounts connected with Embedded Signup may see Improve marketing message delivery. Accepting Meta's Marketing Messages terms gives your marketing templates Meta's optimized delivery. In WhatsApp Manager, go to Overview > Alerts and select Accept terms. Once accepted, the WhatsApp page shows Optimized marketing delivery: On.
Share your number with other workspaces
If your account has several workspaces, click Share Config and choose workspaces under Share Configuration with Other Workspaces, then Save. Other workspaces can use this number only to send messages (for example reminders and broadcasts); replies are handled in the workspace where WhatsApp is connected.
Changed your display name?
After Meta approves a new display name, click Register Phone Number, enter a 6-digit PIN and click Register. See How to change your WhatsApp Business display name.
Disconnect WhatsApp
Click Disconnect WhatsApp, read the warning, type CONFIRM and click Yes, Disconnect. Your templates are removed and the number is disconnected from Whautomate only: it stays on your Meta account. To delete the number from the Cloud API completely, see How to delete your WhatsApp Business API number.
Troubleshooting
- The Meta window closes without connecting: allow pop-ups for the app, make sure you are an admin of the business portfolio, and try again. Click Book a meeting on the setup page if you need help.
- Messages do not arrive: check Connection Status on the WhatsApp page and any account health alert above it.
- Templates fail to send: check the Payment Method on your WhatsApp account and your Messaging Limits. See My WhatsApp template message is failing to send to some users.