WhatsApp 24-Hour Window

The WhatsApp 24-hour window is the rule that a business can reply freely to a customer for 24 hours after their last message, but after that must use a Meta-approved template message to start the conversation again.

It’s the rule behind a common complaint: an assistant or an agent goes quiet on a conversation for a day, and suddenly can’t just send a free-form reply — it has to send a template, which needs to already be approved and can feel stilted for a routine follow-up. The window resets every time the customer messages back, so an active conversation never hits the limit; it only matters for restarting one that’s gone cold.

The rule exists to stop WhatsApp being used as an unlimited free messaging channel for businesses, and it’s also why a genuinely fast first response matters — replying inside the window keeps a conversation in the flexible, free-form mode for as long as the customer keeps engaging.

More on how enquiries actually behave on the channel, on the WhatsApp for business hub.