Changelog

Currently Supported Versions

Release Notes

November 12th, 2024 release

We are releasing 2 new Flow JSON versions, alongside some exciting tooling improvements:

New Flow JSON version - 6.1 [early release]

This version will be fully available to all users in January, make sure you understand the implications of using an early release version before building Flows with it.

CalendarPicker component

New component that allows users to select a single date or a range of dates from a more user-friendly full calendar view making it easier to navigate dates and visualize date availability.

New Flow JSON version - 6.0

String values in component properties can't be empty. Previously values such as “”, “ “, “\n”, “\t”, “\n” were accepted; from version 6.0 these are no longer valid.

Maximum image size for list components (Checkbox Group, Radio Buttons Group, Dropdown) is reduced from 300KB to 100KB.

If on-select-action is present on the component level, it will be triggered when the new screen is rendered, whether via cache or back-and-forth navigation.

This new version is fully available now, and introduces the following new features:

Nested Expressions and string concatenation in component properties

Boolean expressions and string concatenation can now be used in component properties. Expressions can combine static and dynamic data.

New update_data action

A new action has been added to support dynamic updates of the current screen based on user interactions. This action can be used to update elements on the same screen in response to user inputs, handle dynamic data relationships, promote reusable templates, and more.

New on-unselect-action property

A new property has been added to several components that works similarly to the existing on-select-action but will allow changes made by the update_data operation in the on-select-action to be reverted.

OptIn and EmbeddedLink can now open external links

A new action open_url can be used in on-click-action to open external links in Flows from EmbeddedLink and OptIn components. These external links will open in the device's default browser.

Developer tooling improvements

We are introducing a new page within the Builder, and improvements to the API and onboarding through the UI:

Business insights

Statistics on how consumers interact with your Flows can now be found on the builder on published Flows. These metrics help track Flow performance and reveal usage trends, including the count of user interactions with Flows.

Published Flows can now be edited

All new Flows can be edited by updating their metadata or Flow JSON via API, even after they have been published. This enables changes to be made directly within the same Flow, allowing messages to be sent with the updated content using the same Flow ID, eliminating the need to recreate the Flow.

Simplified Flows onboarding

All businesses can now start creating and building Flows. To send and publish a Flow, business verification and high message quality are still required.

October 8th, 2024 release

We are adding some tooling improvements to both the API and Flows Builder.

Flows can be referenced by name using the API

Flow messages can be sent using the Flow's name instead of its ID, which is useful when you have clones of the same Flow in multiple WhatsApp Business Accounts with different Flow IDs.

You can also create a message template with a Flow using the Flow's name.

Flow JSON can be used when creating Message Templates through the API

It is now possible to provide Flow JSON as part of the request payload when creating Message Templates with a Flow attached, so you don't need to create and publish a Flow as a previous step.

Endpoint setup on Flows builder has a dedicated section

Flows with endpoint can be configured on a dedicated tab at the bottom of the Flows builder. Other endpoint-related features can also be found there, such as snippets and links to the documentation.

September 16th, 2024 release

New Flow JSON version - 5.1

We are introducing a new Flow JSON version which contains a new component and several enhancements.

RichText component

You can use this component to render text with rich formatting options. The following markdown syntax is supported:

TextBody and TextCaption can use markdown

A new property "markdown" can be used with both components, which allows to use a subset of the RichText capabilities.

Flow termination message has a new look

SMBs are now able to view the responses received for Flows completion and download them in CSV format. Consumers will soon also be able to view the information submitted when completing the Flow.

In Flow JSON, certain fields can now be marked as "sensitive" so that data for those fields is not visible as part of the response details displayed to the user.

Developer tooling improvements

We are making it easier to preview Flows and integrate into existing websites.

Web preview now can be used in interactive mode and inside an iframe

The preview URL can be configured with new parameters to make it interactive and show a debug panel. It works with Flows with and without an endpoint.

It can also be embedded as an iframe, so it can be integrated into an existing website.

Flows data endpoint improvements

We have increased the payload limit of the Flows data endpoint to 10MB, allowing for the transmission of multiple images to screens using list (RadioButtonsGroup, CheckboxGroup, Dropdown) and RichText components.

August 13th, 2024 release

New Flow JSON version - 5.0

We are introducing a new Flow JSON version which contains several enhancements. This is the recommended version to use if you are creating a new Flow.

Upgrading Flows to version 5.0 from 4.0: Version 5.0 introduces a backwards incompatible change:

• All DatePicker components now receive and set dates in "YYYY-MM-DD" format, which makes the values unrelated to time zones (more details).

No additional changes are required to port a Flow from version 4.0 to 5.0, which will unlock your access to the following new functionality:

Images and colors are now available in Pickers

Added support for displaying images and colors in list components (RadioButtonsGroup, CheckboxGroup, Dropdown).

Media upload components: Increased limit for the number of media files sent as part of the response message

It is now possible to have up to 10 media files sent as part of the response message, with the combined size of all files up to 100MB.

Developer tooling improvements

We are introducing a few improvements to help developers onboard and debug Flows with endpoint.

New health status endpoint for Flow Graph API

It is now possible to query flow health status using new health_status field and get status of Flow health and other related entities like WABA, Business which are involved in message sending (more details).

New templates and development guides

We've added new refined templates in Flows Builder with dedicated development guides and endpoint templates ready to use.

You can find them under the Flow creation screen on WhatsApp Manager, or following the links below:

Pre-Approved Loan

Health Insurance

Personalised offer

Purchased Intent

Improved error details for Flows with endpoint

More detailed errors when using an endpoint are displayed on draft mode on mobile, and on the Builder in WhatsApp Manager to help with debugging.

July 9th, 2024 release

Endpoint health check debugger

• You can now check the status of the endpoint of your Flow with this new health check validator, which allows easy troubleshooting of any issues with encryption or health check requests.
• You can find it on the endpoint setup modal within the Flows Builder in WhatsApp Manager.

Actions debugger

• A new panel is added to the existing Flows Builder in WhatsApp Manager, which allows viewing the data exchanged between the Flow and the Flow's endpoint and the data passed between screens when navigating.
• You can find it at the bottom of the editor within the Flows Builder in WhatsApp Manager.

June 11th, 2024 release

New Flow JSON version - 4.0

We are introducing a new Flow JSON version which contains several enhancements (described in detail below). You can now create new Flows with this version to leverage the new functionality.

Upgrading Flows to version 4.0 from 3.1: Version 4.0 introduces two minor backwards incompatible changes, which means you may need to make some tweaks after cloning an existing version 3.1 Flow. Specifically:

All CheckboxGroup and RadioButtonsGroup components now require a label property (previously optional)

The name property for all input and selection components cannot be empty. Previously values such as “”, “ “, “\n”, “\t”, “\n” were accepted; with version 4.0 these are no longer valid.

No additional changes are required to port your version 3.1 Flow to version 4.0, which will unlock your access to the following new functionality:

[Component] Image and Document upload

New PhotoPicker and DocumentPicker components. These components allow users to share images and documents, respectively, within a Flow, leveraging the existing and familiar WhatsApp UX.

[Component] Group components label improvements

The CheckboxGroup and RadioButtonsGroup components now support a higher character limit for the label property, and additionally support a new description property, which can be used to provide more information to users about the selection options.

[Comoponents] Conditional Component Rendering

You can now show/hide components, based on user input or Business data, without the need to trigger a data_exchange to your Flows Endpoint, by leveraging the If and Switch Components within the Flow JSON.

[Flow JSON Capabilities] Global Dynamic Data Access

You can now reference Form and dynamic data from any screen in the Flow JSON using global accessor syntax. This means you no longer need to explicitly propagate data from screen-to-screen.

[Flow JSON Capabilities] Optional Form

The use of the Form component is now optional. This means that you can access user-entered data without the need to wrap your components inside a Form component.

Developer Tooling Improvements

We are introducing several improvements to help developers onboard and use Flows.

[Developer Tools] Improved Flows Preview in the WhatsApp Manager Builder, and in Developer Docs

Better/snappier preview loading and saving performance.

Ability to simulate iOS and dark theme modes.

Mobile-like bottom sheet experience within the Flows Builder editor, which displays Flow JSON error(s).

[Developer Tools] Update Application linked to a Flow through the Flows API

Added an optional application ID parameter to the Update Flow API request.

[Developer Tools] Send-Time validation of the screen name in "navigate" action

Added validation of the screen parameter in the message payload at Flow message send time if the action is navigate: invalid screens (i.e. screens that are no defined in the Flow JSON, or screens which cannot act as a first screen) will be rejected, and an API error will be returned.

Improved Flows experience for users

We are releasing several improvements to the UX of Flows. These changes are not tied to a Flow JSON version; that is, they will apply to any Flows being actively sent.

Progress Indicator

We have introduced a new feature to visually inform users about how much progress is left to complete the Flow. This is applicable for any Flows with more than one screen.

Text Truncation improvements

Optimized the character limit strategy for components to maximize the amount of content displayed based on device resolution.

Stopping WhatsApp Flows Support on Android OS 5.x.x

As announced in May, we have now stopped support for Flows on Android devices running OS 5.x.x and older. This means that Flow messages sent to users on such devices will not be delivered, and you will receive a webhook containing a “Message Undeliverable” error. For more details on this error, please refer to the error codes documentation.

May 2024 release

Deprecating data_channel_uri

• v18.0 / Forward: New field endpoint_uri will be returned.

• v17.0 / Backwards: Old field data_channel_uri will be returned.

Stopping WhatsApp Flows Support on Android OS 5.x.x

• Starting June 11th, 2024, WhatsApp Flows will only be supported on Android OS 6.0 and newer versions. This means that businesses will no longer be able to send Flow messages to users with Android OS 5.x.x devices and will receive a webhook containing a “Message Undeliverable” error when trying to do so. For more details on error, please refer to the error codes.
• Additionally, starting from July 9th, 2024, users on Android OS 5.x.x devices will no longer be able to interact with any existing Flow messages.

April 2024 release

Support the Optin component in the Flows UI builder

• Extend the support of the opt-in component in the Message Templates in Flows UI editor to allow users to add and modify an additional "Read More" screen.
• This feature enables you to display additional information (e.g., terms and conditions) on a separate screen instead of cluttering the main Flow screen. This would improve the user experience and simplifying the Flow creation process.

March 2024 release

Flows template gallery

• Adds a new screen for creating flow. The users can now interact with the template before using it for creating a flow.

Exposing "UpdatedAt" field

• New field “UpdatedAt” exposed for the GraphAPI endpoints.
• The field is updated for every flow when name, status, flow json, etc. changes.
• The field is returned with the GraphAPI endpoint and used on the WA Manager -> Flows page.

BugFix- "form_name" will be removed from business paylaod

• Bug fix for Android implementation where 'form_name' was unintentionally included in payload. If businesses are using this, then they may need to modify server implementations for a more sustainable setup.

February 2024 release

Details page

• Introduce a new details page that provides a clear overview of Flow endpoint performance, with data on availability, latency, requests, and errors.
• This page is available for published Flows with endpoint from the Flows Builder in WhatsApp Manager.

Monitoring API

• Introduce a new GraphAPI field in WA Flow object named “metric” which allows businesses retrieving a set of endpoint related metrics.

Send Flow via WhatsApp Manager

• Introduce a new feature in the Flows Builder that allows Flows to be sent directly via WhatsApp Manager. The functionality works only with phone numbers registered to Cloud API.

New flow template: appointment booking template

• Add a new flow JSON template “Book an Appointment” which can be used when creating a flow in Builder. The flow template can be found here.
• Add an endpoint example in NodeJS that works with the “Book an Appointment” flow JSON end to end. The endpoint code is available on Github and Glitch.
• Enhance the endpoint example on Github and Glitch to include app secret validation, endpoint error codes, script to create public/private keys, and other improvements.

Endpoint public key setup validation during sending flow messages via OnPrem

• On-Premises API may reject sending messages with flows connected to endpoints with error code 2068 if required setup is not complete, for example, public key is not uploaded or is invalid.

January 2024 release

Introduces support for Flow JSON version 3.1

• Adds optional property ‘success’ for terminal screens to indicate whether terminating on that screen results in a successful flow completion.

• A new field 'endpoint_uri' has been introduced and should be used instead of deprecated 'data_channel_uri'.

API changes

• Make parameter name optional for Update Flow API request.

December 2023 release

Adds an end-to-end example for an endpoint server in Node.js that can be edited online on Glitch. The source code is also available on Github.

Introduces support for Flow JSON version 3.0

• Removes the “data_channel_uri” property from Flow JSON
• Introduces ability to specify Flow endpoint via API or WhatsApp Manager.

WhatsApp Manager changes

• Adds additional filtering options (by ID and status) on the listing page of Flows
• Adds support for deleting and deprecating Flows
• Adds the ability to clone Flows

Flows in Message Templates

• Adds support for attaching images when creating and attaching Forms in Message Templates
• Adds new custom form starter template when creating and attaching Forms in Message Templates

API changes

• Introduces new webhook sent at the flow creation.
• Deprecates the data_channel_uri field in the Get Flow API request and replaces it with the endpoint_uri field.

October 2023 release

Initial release of the WhatsApp Flows.

Introduces support for Flow JSON version 2.1

Introduces support for Data Api version 3.0