Connect WhatsApp (Meta Cloud API)
This is the longest guide on the site, and there is no shortcut: WhatsApp goes through Meta, and Meta wants a business, an app and a verified number. Set aside a quiet 30–40 minutes. You keep ownership of the number and of the WhatsApp Business Account — we never hold them.
What you need
- A Meta Business account, verified or with verification in progress
- A phone number that is NOT registered in the regular WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app — if it is, delete that account first and wait a few minutes
- Access to that number to receive the confirmation code by SMS or voice call
- 30–40 minutes, plus 1–2 days for Meta to review your display name
Steps
- 1
Create a Meta app
Go to
developers.facebook.com→ "My Apps" → "Create App". Choose "Other" as the use case and "Business" as the app type, then attach the app to your Meta Business account. - 2
Add the WhatsApp product
On the app dashboard find "WhatsApp" and press "Set up". Meta creates a WhatsApp Business Account for you, or lets you select an existing one.
- 3
Add and verify your phone number
In "WhatsApp" → "API Setup" press "Add phone number". Enter the display name customers will see, your business category and the number, then confirm the code Meta sends by SMS or voice call.
The display name goes to review and usually takes 1–2 days. You can finish the whole setup and test with Meta’s temporary test number in the meantime.
- 4
Copy the Phone number ID and the WABA ID
Both are at the top of the "API Setup" page:
Phone number IDandWhatsApp Business Account ID. Keep them in a scratch note — you paste them in step 7. - 5
Copy the App ID and App secret
App dashboard → "App settings" → "Basic".
App IDis on the page; press "Show" next toApp secretand copy that too. - 6
Create a System User and a permanent token
Open
business.facebook.com→ "Business settings" → "Users" → "System users" → "Add". Give it a name and the Admin role. Then "Add assets": give it full control of both your app and your WhatsApp Business Account. Finally "Generate new token" — pick your app, tickwhatsapp_business_messagingandwhatsapp_business_management, and set the expiry to "Never".The token shown on the "API Setup" page is temporary and stops working after 24 hours. Only the System User token keeps your assistant online.
- 7
Paste everything into the panel
In the panel: "Channels" → "Add channel" → "WhatsApp". Paste the Phone number ID, the WABA ID, the App ID, the App secret and the permanent token. Everything is encrypted before it is stored.
- 8
Point the webhook at us
The panel shows a callback URL and a verify token on the same screen. Copy them into Meta → your app → "WhatsApp" → "Configuration" → "Webhooks" → "Edit", then press "Manage" and subscribe to the
messagesfield. - 9
Test from your own phone
Write to your WhatsApp business number from a personal phone and ask something the assistant should know. The reply should arrive within a few seconds and the conversation should appear in "Inbox".
WhatsApp only allows free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. Outside that window you need an approved message template — which is why there is no "message the customer first" button.
What happens next
Once the display name is approved, your number behaves like any other WhatsApp Business number: customers write to it and the assistant answers 24/7, in their language, from your knowledge base. Meta starts you on a low daily messaging limit and raises it automatically as you handle more quality conversations. Keep an eye on the quality rating in the Meta dashboard — being blocked by customers is the one thing that lowers it.
Other guides
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