# Opt In

### Overview

Businesses are required to obtain opt-in permission before initiating conversations with people on WhatsApp.

Opt-in confirms that a person agrees to receive communications from a specific business. Collecting valid opt-in is the responsibility of the business and must comply with applicable laws and WhatsApp policies.

A business may contact a person on WhatsApp only if:

* The person has provided a mobile phone number, and
* The business has received permission confirming the person wishes to receive messages or calls from that business.

Business-initiated conversations must use approved Message Templates that comply with WhatsApp policies and applicable regulations.

### Opt-In Requirements

Businesses must follow the below requirements when obtaining opt-in:

* Businesses must clearly state that a person is opting in to receive communication from the business
* Businesses must clearly state the business’s name that a person is opting in to receive messages from
* Businesses must comply with applicable law

### Opt-in methods

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:

* **SMS** – Users confirm consent through a text-based interaction.
* **Website forms** – Opt-in collected via online signup or checkout flows.
* **Phone or IVR flows** – Consent provided during a call or automated voice interaction.
* **In-person or paper forms** – Physical documents signed by customers.
* **Messaging channels** – Opt-in gathered through existing customer communication channels.
* In a **WhatsApp Thread** during the first customer-initiated conversation

### Opt-in best practices

Businesses should continue to optimize for the user experience while obtaining opt-in. For example:

* Users should expect the messages they receive. Businesses can set this expectation by:
  * Obtaining an opt-in that encompasses the different categories of messages that a business will send (ex: order updates, relevant offers, product recommendations, etc.).
  * Obtaining separate opt-in by specific message category. This mitigates the risk that users will block a business because they receive unsolicited messages.
  * Provide clear instructions for how people can opt out of receiving specific categories of messages, and honor these requests.
  * Ensure opt-in and opt-out flows are clear and intuitive for users.
* Businesses should clearly communicate the value of receiving this information.
* Businesses should monitor quality rating, especially when rolling out new opt-in methods.

### Maintaining high quality

Driving high-quality chat threads between people and businesses is still a top priority. People can share feedback with WhatsApp or choose to stop receiving marketing messages from individual businesses. People can also block or report a business. Meta 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.

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