Guide
The WhatsApp 24-hour rule: which message can you send, and when?
The customer service window, template messages and pricing on one page. Keep the decision table at the end open on a second screen while you build your flow.
Source: Meta's official developer documentation • Linked at the bottom of the page
The short answer
When a person messages you on WhatsApp, a 24-hour customer service window opens. While it is open you can reply in any form — free text, images, documents, messages with buttons — and those messages are not charged. If the person writes again, the counter resets. Once the window closes you may only send pre-approved template messages.
Instagram and Messenger have a 24-hour standard messaging window too. The difference is in how you get out of it. On WhatsApp the way out is a template message; on Instagram it is one of the tags Meta permits — the best known being the human agent tag, which allows a person-written reply for up to 7 days.
When does the window open and close?
Per Meta's Cloud API documentation, the event that opens the window is the user messaging you or calling you. So:
- You sent a template message and the user did not answer → the window does not open.
- The user typed a single word → the window opens and runs for 24 hours.
- The user wrote again at hour 23 → the counter resets and a fresh 24 hours begins.
- 24 hours passed with no message from the user → the window closes.
Conversations started from ads (Click to WhatsApp Ads) follow the same rule, because the user taps and sends the first message.
The three mistakes people make when building flows
- A wait longer than the window. If your flow has “wait 24 hours, then remind”, the reminder will most likely fall outside the window and never be delivered. Keep waits under 23 hours, or make the reminder a template message.
- Not adding waits up. A single step can look short while consecutive waits accumulate. Count from the person's last message, not from the previous step.
- Silently losing the message that fell outside. A good tool does not just skip the message, it records why. If you cannot see an “outside window” reason anywhere in your panel, the messages you think you are sending may never leave.
The timeline of the window
Four moments: when the counter starts, when it resets, what happens when it closes.
01
00:00 — The user writes
A customer sends you a message or calls you. That moment is the only event that opens the customer service window. A template message you send does not open it.
02
00:00 – 24:00 — The free zone
Text, images, video, documents, buttons and lists are all available, and none of them are charged. Your entire automation flow should run inside this stretch.
03
Every new message resets it
If the user writes a single word at hour 23, the counter starts over and you get a fresh 24 hours. This is why interactive flows rarely run out of window.
04
After 24:00 — Templates only
The window closes. Only pre-approved template messages can be sent, and they are charged. If the user replies, the window opens again.
Decision table: three questions decide what you send
Question 1: Did the person write to you in the last 24 hours? Question 2: Is your message a notification or a promotion? Question 3: Is a human writing it, or an automation?
| Situation | What you can send | Charge | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window open · free reply | Text, image, video, document, buttons, list | Free | The comfortable case: run your flow here |
| Window open · notification template | Utility template | Free | Per Meta's pricing doc, utility templates inside an open window are not charged |
| Window open · promotion | Free text is enough | Free | No marketing template needed — consent obligations still apply |
| Window closed · order/booking notice | Utility template | Charged | An approved template is required; variables get filled in |
| Window closed · campaign announcement | Marketing template | Charged | Do not send without a consent record |
| Window closed · verification code | Authentication template | Charged | Separate category, separate approval |
| Window closed · free text | Cannot be sent | — | There is no path other than a template |
| Instagram · window closed · human reply | Human agent tag (up to 7 days) | Free | Policy requires a person to write it; it cannot be automated |
The short way to read the table: inside the window you are free; outside it you speak only through an approved template. Pricing mostly follows the same line — WhatsApp has been charged per message since 1 July 2025, and the charge starts with template categories.
Five steps to a compliant flow
The order matters: leaving templates until last keeps the whole flow from stalling while approval is pending.
01
Decide who starts the conversation
Is the trigger something the user did (a message, a comment, an ad tap) or something that happened on your side (an order shipped)? The first case has an open window; the second needs a template. Flows written without making this distinction usually have to be rebuilt.
02
Keep the in-window part in one piece
Fit the greeting, the question collection, the options and the answer into the first 24 hours. Because the window resets every time the user writes, interactive flows usually fit comfortably.
03
Measure waits from the person's last message
Do not send after a cumulative wait beyond 23 hours. If you genuinely need longer, convert that step into a template message and mark it as a separate branch in the flow.
04
Prepare templates for what falls outside
Submit the template under the right category (utility / marketing / authentication), fill the variable fields with sample values, and if it is rejected, simplify the wording and resubmit. Approval takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
05
Watch the out-of-window reasons
After publishing, look at how many messages were skipped as “outside the window”. A high count means the timing is wrong; a flow that looks finished while a message never went out means you should check your connections.
Instagram and WhatsApp: where the window rules differ
Both run on 24 hours. The ways out of the window are not the same.
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24-hour window opened by the user's message | Yes | Yes |
| Counter resets when the user writes again | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-approved template messages outside the window | Yes | No |
| Up to 7 days outside the window with the human agent tag | No | Yes |
| Promotional content inside the window | Yes | Yes |
| Per-message charging | Yes | No |
| Private reply to a comment (no window required) | No | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
How do I reach a customer after the window closes?
On WhatsApp the only route is a pre-approved template message. Pick the category that matches the purpose: “utility” for order, booking and delivery notices, “marketing” for campaign announcements, “authentication” for login codes. Once the template is delivered and the user replies, a new 24-hour window opens.
Are template messages charged?
Meta moved to per-message pricing on 1 July 2025. Non-template messages sent inside an open window are free, and per the same document utility templates inside an open window are free as well. Marketing, utility and authentication templates sent outside the window are charged; current unit prices are listed by country on Meta's pricing page.
Can I use a wait step longer than 24 hours?
You can, but a free-text message after that wait will not be delivered. You have two options: shorten the wait so the message lands inside the window, or convert the step after the wait into a template message. In practice the healthiest pattern is to build long-wait reminders as a separate branch of the flow that only uses templates.
Can I attach the human agent tag to an automation on Instagram?
No. Meta's Messenger Platform and Instagram Messaging policy defines the tag for cases where an issue cannot be resolved inside the standard window and the reply is written by a person. Using it on automated sends is a policy violation and puts your account's messaging access at risk.
Is a private reply to a comment subject to the window?
On Instagram the first private message arising from a post or Reel comment is delivered as a private reply and no messaging window is required. In exchange it is limited to once per comment, and once the user answers, the normal 24-hour window begins.
What happens if the customer writes to us while the window is closed?
The user writing always reopens the window. That is why content which invites people to message you — stories, posts, ads, email — is a more sustainable method in the long run than pushing marketing templates.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Please check the source itself when you quote a number; these institutions update their data every year.
- TurkStat (TÜİK) — Household Information Technologies Usage Survey, 2026 (published 5 August 2026). data.tuik.gov.tr
- Harvard Business Review — “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads”, James B. Oldroyd and Kristina McElheran, March 2011. hbr.org
- Meta — WhatsApp Cloud API, send messages guide (customer service window). developers.facebook.com
- Meta — WhatsApp Business Platform pricing (per-message pricing, effective 1 July 2025). developers.facebook.com
- Meta — Messenger Platform and Instagram Messaging policy (standard messaging window, human agent tag). developers.facebook.com
- Meta — Instagram Platform overview. developers.facebook.com
The figures were last checked in September 2026. If you notice a number has changed at its source, tell us and we will fix it.
Let the panel keep track of the window for you
The flow editor warns you about waits over 23 hours before you publish, and writes the reason into the log when a message falls outside the window.