WhatsApp Business messaging limits: What you must know

WhatsApp has become an integral part of business communication, allowing companies to connect with customers worldwide through one-to-one messaging or by sending messages through the WhatsApp broadcast feature. However, to maintain a fair and secure messaging environment, WhatsApp has implemented messaging limits for businesses using WhatsApp Cloud API. In this blog, we will delve into the details of WhatsApp's messaging limits and explore how they impact businesses.

Understanding messaging limits

WhatsApp's messaging limits are designed to regulate the number of business-initiated conversations a company can initiate using each of its phone numbers within a rolling 24-hour period. These limits are crucial to prevent spam and ensure a high-quality messaging experience for users.

The messaging limits for business phone numbers depend on several factors:

1. Phone number status: Your phone number must be in a "Connected" status to send messages.
2. Phone number quality rating: WhatsApp assigns quality ratings based on customer feedback. Ratings can be "High," "Medium," or "Low."
3. Verification and conversation count: The number of conversations you have initiated in the last 7 days plays a role. Your current messaging limit divided by 2 determines the threshold for an increase in messaging limits.

Here is a breakdown of messaging limits for business phone numbers:

1. Business phone numbers without a connected status and an approved display name have the limitation of 250 business-initiated conversations in a 24-hour period.
2. Business phone numbers with a connected status and an approved display name can have the following number of unique customers in the 24-hour timeframe. 

• 1,000 unique customers or conversations
• 10,000 unique customers or conversations
• 100,000 unique customers or conversations
• An unlimited number of unique customers or conversations

Note: 

• The messaging limit does not restrict the total number of messages your business can send but rather restricts the number of users you intend to message. 
• The messaging limit does not apply to the messages sent as responses to user-initiated messages within a 24-hour period.

Checking your messaging limit

You can verify your existing messaging limit by following these steps: Navigate to WhatsApp Manager > Overview Dashboard > Insights tab. The displayed panel will show the limit if it has been changed from the default limit of 250. 

Increasing messaging limits

WhatsApp dynamically adjusts your messaging limit based on your actions. If you meet specific criteria, your limit may increase within 24 hours. These criteria include:

• Phone number status: "Connected"
• Phone quality rating: "Medium" or "High"
• Number of conversations: Over the past seven days, you have initiated interactions with X or more distinct customers, where X represents your existing messaging limit divided by 2.

Read Facebook’s blog on messaging limits for more information. 

Examples

Here is how to increase the message limit from 1,000 to 10,000 in 2 days:

* If the 500th conversation is initiated at 7 PM on Tuesday (for example), the messaging limit is increased at 7 PM on Wednesday (the following day i.e. 24 hours later).

Here is how to increase the WhatsApp Business message limit from 1,000 to 10,000 in 4 days:

* If the 500th conversation is commenced at 7 PM (as an illustration), the messaging limit undergoes an increase at 7 PM on the next day, which is 24 hours later.

Phone number quality rating

Your phone number's quality rating is crucial in determining your messaging limits. The rating reflects how well customers or recipients have received your messages over the past seven days. WhatsApp considers multiple factors to determine your phone number quality such as the number of times your business was blocked or reported by customers, and the reasons users provided when blocking your business.

In WhatsApp Manager, you can find information about your business phone number's status, quality rating, and messaging limits by navigating to the "Account tools" section and selecting the "Phone numbers" tab.

The phone number quality rating can be as follows: 

• High (Green): Indicates positive reception and good customer engagement.
• Medium (Yellow): Suggests some issues or concerns raised by customers.
• Low (Red): Signifies significant issues or complaints.

Monitoring and addressing customer feedback is vital to maintain a good quality rating.

What happens when the quality rating is low or the phone number status changes?

If your quality rating drops to "Low" or your phone number status changes, WhatsApp will notify you via email and Business Manager notifications. There are two possible scenarios:

• Flagged status: This occurs when your quality rating is low. During this phase, you cannot upgrade to higher messaging tiers. If your quality rating improves within seven days, your status will return to "Connected" with a lower messaging limit. If not, your status will remain "Connected" with the reduced limit.
• Restricted status: This happens when you reach your messaging limit. In this phase, you can't send notification messages until the 24-hour window resets, but you can still respond to user-initiated messages.

Improving your quality rating

To enhance your quality rating and messaging reputation:

• Review templates: Check if any templates added in the last seven days might be causing issues and address them. Check and follow the dos and don’ts of WhatsApp message templates.
• Policy compliance: Ensure your messages align with WhatsApp business policy and Commerce policy to avoid potential violations.
• User opt-in: Ensure users have explicitly consented to receive specific message types. You can capture and manage consent within CRM.
• Best practices: Implement WhatsApp's best practice recommendations to optimise your messaging approach.

WhatsApp Message Templates for your Business: Introduction & Examples

WhatsApp message templates are pre-approved messages that companies send to their leads. Read more about Message templates and check out a few examples in this blog.

CRM Blog | Pepper CloudPepper Cloud Marketing

By following these steps, you can actively work to improve your quality rating, ensure better customer satisfaction, and maintain a healthy messaging reputation on WhatsApp.

Conclusion

WhatsApp's messaging limits are a crucial aspect of Cloud API, designed to ensure businesses maintain high-quality communication with users while preventing spam. Understanding these limits and actively working to meet the criteria for limit increases can help businesses leverage WhatsApp as a powerful communication tool while maintaining a positive messaging reputation.