How it works
On the WhatsApp Business Platform:
- A customer sends a message to the business. A 24-hour window opens.
- Each new message from the customer resets the window to a full 24 hours from that message.
- While the window is open, the business can reply with any normal message: text, photos, documents, voice notes.
- Once 24 hours pass with no new customer message, the window closes. To reach the customer again, the business must send an approved message template.
- If the customer replies to the template, a new window opens.
The window applies to the Platform. It doesn’t apply in the same way to the WhatsApp Business app on a phone. Meta also ties some pricing to these windows and has changed how it charges over time, so confirm current details with Meta or your provider.
Example
A homeowner messages a pool-service company at 6 PM Monday asking for a quote. The rep replies at 6:20 PM with questions; the homeowner answers at 7:05 PM. The window now runs until 7:05 PM Tuesday.
The rep sends the quote Tuesday at 11 AM, inside the window. The homeowner reads it but doesn’t reply. On Thursday, the rep wants to follow up. The window closed Tuesday evening, so the follow-up has to be an approved template, such as “Hi {{1}}, checking in on the pool-service quote we sent. Happy to answer questions.”
Why it matters for messaging teams
The window rewards fast responses and turns slow replies into extra friction. If your team takes a day to answer, you may already be outside the window when you finally reply. That makes response time targets and timers especially useful on WhatsApp.
Common mistakes
- Counting 24 hours from the business’s last message instead of the customer’s.
- Not having templates approved before you need them.
- Asking a question at the end of a long gap and then losing the thread because the window closed before the answer.
- Assuming SMS has the same rule. It doesn’t; SMS has its own consent and registration rules instead.
WhatsApp support in inChat is in development as a launch channel.