Glossary term
WhatsApp 24-Hour Window
The WhatsApp 24-hour window is the period that starts when a customer messages or calls your business on the WhatsApp Business Platform. While it is open you can reply with anything; once it lapses without a new message from them, only an approved template gets through.
What is the WhatsApp customer service window?
The customer service window, usually called the 24-hour window, is the WhatsApp Business Platform rule that decides when a business may reply with free-form messages. When a user messages or calls the business number, a 24-hour timer starts; if the user messages or calls again before it runs out, the timer resets to a full 24 hours. While the window is open the business can send any service message type: text, images, documents, audio and interactive buttons. Once it closes, only a template Meta has already approved will be delivered. The rule protects users from unwanted messages while keeping the conversation open as long as the customer is the one engaging. In practice it turns reply timing on WhatsApp into a commercial decision, not just a courtesy.
Example: how the window moves over a weekend
| Time | What happened | Window | What you can send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 18:30 | Customer asks if a villa is free next weekend | Opens until Friday 18:30 | Anything |
| Thursday 19:05 | Agent sends photos and the price | Open; the agent's message does not extend it | Anything |
| Friday 17:50 | No reply yet | Closing soon | Anything; follow up now |
| Friday 18:30 | 24 hours have passed | Closed | Approved template only |
| Saturday 11:00 | Customer answers the template | Reopens until Sunday 11:00 | Anything |
One special case affects cost, not the sending rules: if the customer starts the chat on the mobile app from a Click to WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action button, and the business replies within 24 hours, a 72-hour free entry point window opens in which the business is not charged for its messages, according to Meta's pricing page. Free-form messages are still bound by the 24-hour window, so once it closes you send templates, at no charge until the 72 hours are up.
Common mistakes with the window
- Leaving it for tomorrow. A reply after the window closes needs a template, which is stiffer than a normal conversation, and the lead may have spoken to a competitor meanwhile.
- Typing free text after it closes. WhatsApp will not deliver it; the message fails and the rep's time is wasted.
- Ending on a statement. Your own messages do not extend the window, so make the last one before it closes a clear, easy question.
- Forgetting calls. A customer's call to the number opens the window too, which is a good moment to send a written recap.
In Naffes CRM
The Naffes CRM composer tracks the window on every WhatsApp conversation and shows it as open, closing soon (under an hour left) or closed. When it is closed, the rep is steered to pick an approved template and fill in its variables instead of writing a message that would never arrive.
- Failures are explained. If a message fails because the window closed, the recipient is not on WhatsApp, or Meta's marketing-message cap applied, the rep sees a plain-language reason rather than an error code.
- Automation can filter on it. A workflow triggered by a message received or sent can filter on whether the 24-hour window is open, so you can run one workflow that sends free text while it is open and another that sends an approved template once it has closed.
- Templates on the record too. Reps can read and answer the WhatsApp thread from a deal or contact page, with templates and attachments, without switching to the Inbox.
Watch the automatic follow-up: the automatic follow-up in Silence rules goes out after 48 hours of customer silence, when the window has almost always closed, so it needs a template. That template can currently be set only as a server setting with no UI, so with default settings the WhatsApp follow-up is usually skipped. A customer-portal link sent over WhatsApp is also free text, so it is delivered only while the window is open.
The practical lesson is that a fast first reply is the best protection against a closed window; see speed to lead, and use an omnichannel inbox so waiting chats are visible before time runs out.
Questions
Questions 2
Does the business's reply extend the 24-hour window?
No. The window resets only when the customer messages or calls again; your messages do not extend it. That is why the last message before it closes should invite a reply.
What happens if a rep sends free text after the window closes?
WhatsApp does not deliver it. In Naffes the composer shows that the window is closed and asks for a template first, and a message that fails for this reason shows the cause in its delivery status.