WhatsApp 24-Hour Customer Care Messaging Window

constraint.whatsapp-24h-messaging-window ↗

Within 24 hours of the most recent inbound message from a user, WhatsApp Business API permits free-form outbound service messages (text, images, interactive buttons, carousels). Outside this window, only pre-approved message templates may be sent — including all marketing re-engagement messages. Marketing templates additionally require explicit consumer opt-in consent separate from the 24-hour window. This platform-enforced policy (not a regulation) materially constrains CDP activation planning for win-back, abandoned-cart, and lapse-reactivation use cases, which by definition target users who are not currently active. CDP practitioners must build and pre-approve template libraries before activating these use cases over WhatsApp, adding compliance lead time compared to email or SMS.