WhatsApp

Send messages to WhatsApp users through Sendivent.

Setup

Connect a WhatsApp Business account to enable WhatsApp notifications.

1. Go to Meta for Developers and create (or select) an app
2. Add the WhatsApp product to your app
3. In Meta Business Suite → Business Settings → System Users, create a System User with whatsapp_business_messaging permission
4. Generate an access token for the System User (this is a long-lived token that does not expire)
5. In the WhatsApp → API Setup page, copy your Phone Number ID
6. In Meta Business Suite, copy your WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID)
7. In App Dashboard → Settings → Basic, copy your App Secret
8. Go to Channels → WhatsApp in your Sendivent dashboard
9. Paste the access token, phone number ID, business account ID, and app secret

Sendivent verifies the token by calling the WhatsApp Cloud API. If verification fails, check that your System User has the correct permissions and the phone number ID is correct.

Identifiers

WhatsApp uses the same phone number field as SMS. A contact with a phone number can receive both SMS and WhatsApp messages — no need to store the number twice.

Type	Format	Example
Phone number	E.164	+14155551234

Phone numbers are stored in E.164 format with the + prefix, same as SMS.

24-hour messaging window

WhatsApp enforces a 24-hour messaging window for free-form text messages:

• Within 24 hours of the customer's last message: you can send any text message
• Outside the window: sends will fail with error 131047

If you need to message users who haven't contacted you recently, WhatsApp requires pre-approved message templates (not yet supported in Sendivent — coming soon).

For transactional notifications (order confirmations, shipping updates), ensure your users have an active conversation with your WhatsApp Business number.

Message format

WhatsApp messages are plain text with a maximum length of 4,096 characters.

WhatsApp does not support markdown or rich formatting in text messages. Links are automatically detected and made clickable.

Troubleshooting

24-hour window expired (131047)

The customer hasn't messaged your business number in the last 24 hours. The user must send a message to your WhatsApp Business number to reopen the window.

Message undeliverable (131026)

The recipient's phone number is invalid, not registered on WhatsApp, or has blocked your business account. Sendivent automatically suppresses this number to prevent repeated failures.

Invalid phone number (131009)

The phone number format is incorrect. Use E.164 format without the + prefix (e.g., 14155551234 not +14155551234 or 415-555-1234).

Rate limited (130429)

WhatsApp allows up to 80 messages per second per phone number. Sendivent automatically retries rate-limited messages after a short delay.

Invalid access token (190)

Your System User access token is invalid or has been revoked. Generate a new token in Meta Business Suite under System Users.

See also

• Routing — Force WhatsApp vs auto-routing
• Deliveries — Statuses and failure reasons
• Templates — Dynamic content with Handlebars