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Glossary

WhatsApp Business API

Also called: WhatsApp Business Platform · WhatsApp Cloud API · WhatsApp API

The WhatsApp Business API is Meta’s official interface that lets businesses send and receive WhatsApp messages through software, such as a shared inbox, instead of a single phone.

Meta calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform, and most businesses use the Cloud API hosted by Meta. Unlike the WhatsApp Business app on a phone, the API lets many people answer one number from a shared tool.

A business may reply freely within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, the customer service window. Outside that window, or to start a conversation, it must send a pre-approved message template, and Meta charges for most templates.

Connecting is usually done through Embedded Signup, a Meta sign-in window that links the business account and number without copying IDs or tokens.

How Risti does it

Risti connects WhatsApp through the official API by Meta. You need a Meta business account and a number; the one-click set-up takes about 10 minutes, and Advanced: connect manually accepts a Phone number ID and a permanent system-user access token instead. Steps: Connect WhatsApp.

Replies within 24 hours of the customer’s last message are free. Files go up to 16 MB and messages up to 4,096 characters; voice messages, reactions and formatting work. Sent replies can’t be edited or deleted, and you can’t message people who never wrote. Risti does not send template messages from the inbox.