Businesses are required to obtain opt-in before messaging people on WhatsApp. Before messaging people on WhatsApp, businesses are required to obtain opt-in permission, which can be general and not specifically for WhatsApp (as per policy update here) as long as businesses comply with all local laws. Businesses may contact people on WhatsApp if: (a) they have given their mobile phone number; and (b) businesses have received opt-in permission from the recipient confirming that they wish to receive subsequent messages or calls from a particular business.
Businesses must follow the below requirements when obtaining opt-in:
It is up to businesses to determine the method of opt-in, that they have obtained opt-in in a manner that complies with laws applicable to their communications, and that they have otherwise provided notices and obtained permissions that are required under applicable law.
As long as the opt-in method meets the above requirements, it will be policy compliant. The following are examples of supported opt-in methods:
Businesses should continue to optimize for the user experience while obtaining opt-in. For example:
Driving high quality conversations between people and businesses is still a top priority. People can share feedback with WhatsApp or stop receiving messages on WhatsApp from a particular business sending offers and announcements. People can also block or report a business. Our systems will rate limit businesses if the business's quality is low for a sustained period of time. We may also reactively evaluate user feedback to flag policy violations and develop additional types of enforcement over time.