WhatsApp 24-hour window

How the WhatsApp 24-hour window works

Meta's pricing documentation describes the rule plainly: when a WhatsApp user messages or calls a business, a 24-hour timer starts, and if the user writes again before it ends, the timer resets to 24 hours. While the window is open, the business can send non-template messages such as ordinary text replies and buttons.

The rule applies to businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API). It protects people from receiving unexpected messages from businesses they have not been talking to.

What a business can send outside the window

Outside the window, Meta says template messages are the only type of message a business can send. A template is a message written in advance and submitted to Meta, which reviews it and sets it to approved before it can be used. Each template is categorised as marketing, utility or authentication.

Is messaging free inside the window?

Not always. Meta moved to per-message pricing on 1 July 2025. Its pricing page, read on the date below, says each business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and that utility templates sent inside an open window were free until 1 October 2026 and are charged from then. Check Meta's current rates before you budget.

How Milvao handles the 24-hour window

Milvao runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform, so the same rule applies. Most member messages are replies inside the window, because the member wrote first. When Milvao has to write first, for example to offer a request to a member who has not messaged recently, it uses one of four templates your community submits to Meta. Operators who message a member from a request can write freely within 24 hours of the member's last message, and otherwise send an approved update template.