Glossary term
WhatsApp Business API
WhatsApp Business API is the common name for Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, which lets business software such as a CRM send and receive WhatsApp messages programmatically so a whole team can work one number instead of sharing a phone.
What is the WhatsApp Business API?
The WhatsApp Business API is the name most people use for Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform: a set of APIs that let a company's systems send and receive WhatsApp messages automatically, instead of an employee typing them into an app on a handset. There is no app to open. The platform is used through software connected to it, such as a CRM or a customer-service tool, either directly through Meta's Cloud API or through a business solution provider such as Twilio. It is tied to a business phone number (real or virtual), a business portfolio and a display name, and it comes with rules that everyday app users never meet: a 24-hour customer service window, pre-approved templates for anything sent outside it, per-message pricing, and a cap on how many people you can reach outside that window in any 24 hours.
The rules that govern the platform
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Customer service window | A 24-hour timer starts when a user messages or calls you and resets with each new message from them; while it is open you can reply with any message type |
| Approved templates | Outside the window only a pre-approved template can be sent, and template review can take up to 24 hours |
| Pricing | Since July 1, 2025, Meta charges per delivered template, by template category and the recipient's country code; non-template messages inside the window are free |
| Messaging limits | Set per business portfolio and shared by all its numbers: 250 unique users outside the window in a moving 24-hour period to start, rising through 2,000, 10,000 and 100,000 to unlimited |
| Opt-in | You may message only users who opted in to hear from you, and message quality is one of the conditions for your limit to scale up automatically |
Illustrative example: a training institute in Abu Dhabi answers course inquiries from the WhatsApp Business app on the receptionist's phone. Once enrollment season starts, four advisers pass one handset around, callbacks are forgotten, and nobody can see who promised a discount to whom. Moving to the platform through a CRM gives each inquiry an owner, files the chat on the student's record, and lets class reminders go out as approved templates from the same system.
In Naffes CRM
Naffes CRM does not connect to Meta's Cloud API directly. WhatsApp runs through your company's own Twilio account, and Twilio provides access to the WhatsApp Business Platform. Your WhatsApp Business sender is approved and managed in Twilio, then connected to Naffes so its conversations reach the Inbox and each customer's record.
Connect Twilio
Go to Settings > Integrations > Channels > Twilio and complete the 3-step wizard: credentials, phone number and application.
Register the WhatsApp number
On the WhatsApp number tab, add the number you bought and onboarded in the Twilio console, and pick the default sending number.
Wire the webhook and check readiness
The number screen shows setup progress and the webhook URL with a copy button, and can import messages Twilio received in the last 1, 3 or 7 days before the webhook was wired.
- A status on every message: queued, sent, delivered, read or failed, with a plain-language reason for common WhatsApp failures such as a closed 24-hour window or a recipient who is not on WhatsApp.
- Contacts create themselves: a message from an unknown number creates a contact with WhatsApp as its lead source, and a known number links to the existing contact.
- Full media: images, audio, video and documents up to 16 MB on WhatsApp; voice notes recorded in the browser are converted to a format WhatsApp accepts.
- Verified callbacks: inbound Twilio webhooks are accepted only with a valid Twilio signature.
What happens outside Naffes: there is no direct Cloud API connection or embedded signup in Naffes, and Naffes does not buy or provision numbers. The number is bought and its sender approved in Twilio first, then registered in Naffes. Twilio is the only supported WhatsApp and SMS provider.
Templates come next; see WhatsApp message template. For the full picture of WhatsApp in sales and support, see WhatsApp CRM.
Questions
Questions 2
Are messages on the platform free?
According to Meta's official pricing page, delivered templates are charged by category and recipient country, while non-template messages inside the customer service window are free, and so are utility templates sent while that window is open. Because Naffes sends through your own Twilio account, check Twilio's pricing too before planning a large campaign.
Do I need Meta's approval before using WhatsApp in Naffes?
Yes, but it happens outside Naffes: your WhatsApp Business sender is onboarded and approved in Twilio, and templates are approved before you import them. After that, the connection is made inside Naffes through the Twilio wizard and the WhatsApp number screen.
Sources
- Meta for Developers: About the WhatsApp Business PlatformAccessed
- Meta for Developers: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business PlatformAccessed
- Meta for Developers: Messaging limitsAccessed
- Meta for Developers: Service messages and the customer service windowAccessed
- Twilio Docs: WhatsApp Business Platform with TwilioAccessed