Reply in the WhatsApp Inbox, and the 24-hour rule
Read incoming WhatsApp messages and reply in your own words — but only inside the 24 hours after the customer writes to you.
Open this screen in the app ↗The Inbox holds every WhatsApp conversation your number is part of, and lets you type a normal reply. Whether the reply box works is decided by one rule of Meta's.
The rule, in one paragraph
When a person sends a message to your WhatsApp number, Meta opens a 24-hour window for that person. Inside those 24 hours you can write anything you like, in your own words. Once 24 hours pass with no new message from them, you may only send an approved template. Every fresh message from them opens a new 24-hour window, counted from their most recent message. The window belongs to each person separately.
Look at: The coloured banner above the two columns
A banner above the conversation shows the state. Green means the window is open and a free-form reply can be sent. Amber means it is shut: the reply box is switched off and shows "Waiting for this customer to message first…", and a Send approved template button appears next to the banner.
- Open WhatsApp in the left menu and click Inbox.
- Click a name in the Conversation queue on the left to open that chat.
- Check the banner colour before you write anything.
- Type your reply in the box at the bottom of the chat and press Enter, or click Reply.
- Click Send approved template instead if the banner is amber — it takes you to the Campaigns screen.
- Conversation queue — Every WhatsApp contact with recent traffic, newest first, showing their phone number and last message.
- Reply box — Free-form text. Enter sends it; Shift and Enter together start a new line. It is switched off when the window is shut or WhatsApp is not connected.
- Send approved template — Appears only when the window is shut. Opens the Campaigns screen so you can start the conversation with approved wording.
The green number badge on a conversation is a count of what that person has sent you, not an unread count. It does not go down after you read the conversation.
Even if the reply box looks available, the send is checked a second time when it leaves your workspace. If the window closed in the meantime, the reply is refused and you are told to ask the customer to message first, or send an approved Meta template.
The Inbox is built from the 120 most recent WhatsApp messages in your workspace. On a busy number, older conversations drop off the list even though nothing was deleted.
New messages appear when the screen loads. If you have been sitting on the page a while, move to another screen and back, or refresh the page.
Words that change a contact's opt-in
If someone sends nothing but stop, unsubscribe, opt out or opt-out, they are marked as opted out of WhatsApp. If they send nothing but start, yes or subscribe, they are marked as opted in. The word has to be the whole message; "please stop sending these" does not count.
If no conversation ever appears here, incoming messages are not reaching your workspace. Open WhatsApp > Settings and check the Webhook tile — it must read verified. Until it does, people can message your number and you will never see it.
Look at: Reply button