- Meta requires opt-in before a business starts a WhatsApp conversation. The person must clearly agree to hear from your business by name.
- Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per delivered template message. Marketing templates cost the most; replies inside the 24-hour service window are free.
- Send fewer, useful messages. Blocks and reports lower your quality rating, which can limit how many people you can message.
What are the opt-in rules?
You need a person's permission before you message them first on WhatsApp. Meta's Business Messaging Policy says the opt-in must make clear that the person is agreeing to receive messages from your business, and it must name your business.
Since a policy update in November 2024, the opt-in does not have to mention WhatsApp by name. A general, clear consent to receive updates from your business, collected on your website, by SMS, over a call or inside a WhatsApp chat, can count. It must still meet Indian law, which we cover below.
A phone number alone is not consent. A customer giving you their number for an invoice or a delivery has not agreed to receive offers.
WhatsApp Business app or the API?
Start with the free WhatsApp Business app if you have a small list and one or two people replying. Move to the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API, used through a provider) when you need automation, several team members, CRM links or campaigns to thousands of people.
| Business app | Business Platform (API) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Per-message charges plus provider fees |
| Best for | Shops, clinics, consultants | D2C brands, real estate, education, high volume |
| Bulk messages | Broadcast lists, limited reach | Approved templates to opted-in lists |
| Automation | Greeting and away messages, quick replies | Chatbots, CRM triggers, order updates |
On the app, broadcast messages only reach people who have saved your number. That is one reason growing a genuine, saved contact list matters more than buying data.
Which messages cost money?
On the API, you pay for each delivered template message. Meta moved from per-conversation to per-message pricing on 1 July 2025. Templates are pre-approved messages and are the only kind you can send outside a 24-hour customer service window.
- Marketing templates: offers, launches, reminders to buy. These are the costliest category in India, a little under one rupee each before your provider's fee and 18% GST.
- Utility templates: order confirmations, appointment reminders, delivery updates. Much cheaper, and free inside an open service window.
- Authentication templates: one-time passwords.
- Service replies: when a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens. Normal replies inside it are free.
Rates change, so check Meta's current rate card before you plan a budget. Do not label a promotion as a utility message to save money; Meta reviews template categories.
How to collect opt-ins the right way
Ask at the moment the customer is already engaging with you, and say exactly what they will get.
- Website forms: add an unticked box such as "Send me updates and offers from [Business name] on WhatsApp".
- Checkout and booking pages: let buyers choose order updates, offers, or both.
- Store counters and events: a QR code that opens a chat with a ready-typed "Yes, send me updates" message.
- Inside a chat: after you solve a customer's question, ask if they would like to hear about new launches.
Keep a record of when and how each person agreed, and make it easy to stop. A simple "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" line, and actually honouring it, keeps reports down.
What to send, and what not to
Send messages a customer would be glad to get. A good test: would they forward it to a family member?
- Back-in-stock alerts for a product they viewed.
- A site-visit slot for a project they enquired about.
- Class schedules, results dates and fee reminders for students.
- Order, delivery and appointment updates.
- One clear offer a month, not one a day.
Avoid long forwards, several images in a row, and messages to old lists who have not heard from you in months. Users can block or report a business, and Meta lowers a number's quality rating when that happens often. A low rating can reduce your messaging limits and, if it continues, restrict the account.
What India's DPDP law means for your list
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 were notified in November 2025 and come into force in phases. Provisions on consent managers start in November 2026, and most business duties, including clear consent notices, apply from May 2027.
In plain terms: collect only what you need, explain why you are collecting it, get consent that is freely given and specific, and let people withdraw it easily. If your opt-in already meets Meta's rules and you keep good records, you are most of the way there. For anything beyond marketing basics, speak to a lawyer.
How to measure WhatsApp marketing
Track replies and sales, not just messages sent. Useful numbers to watch each week:
- Delivery and read rates per campaign.
- Reply rate and how fast your team responds.
- Leads, bookings or orders that came from WhatsApp, tracked with UTM links or your CRM.
- Blocks and opt-outs after each send.
If opt-outs rise after a campaign, send less often or make the message more useful. A smaller list that buys beats a big list that blocks you.