WABA Policy Enforcement

This document summarizes key concepts and use cases related to the current WhatsApp Commerce and Product Policies.

Policies and platform rules may change at any time without prior notice. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please refer to WhatsApp’s official documentation.

How it Works

The WhatsApp Business account will get warned about the violated policy if Meta identifies activities against WhatsApp Policies. If it the warning is repeated and high-risk, such as adult content, sale of alcohol and tobacco, drugs, gambling, and Unsafe supplements, it may get message restrictions that gradually increase in duration, like:

• 1 or 3-day block on sending business-initiated messages, and adding additional phone numbers to the account

• 5 or 7-day block on sending business-initiated messages and responding to customer-initiated messages, and adding additional phone numbers to the account

• Eventually be permanently disabled from the WhatsApp Business Platform, if the business does not make changes after multiple warnings and feature limits

When there is evidence of a severe policy violation, such as child exploitation, terrorism, or the sale of illegal drugs, WhatsApp immediately disables the Business account from the Business Platform.

All violations can be appealed within 90 days of being received.

Receive violations warnings

In the API

You will receive webhook events for accounts violations and restrictions.

Use the account_update webhook to monitor notifications whenever a Business Account has violated a policy, and when applicable, messaging restriction type and duration. Thus, businesses can quickly adjust behavior to avoid additional warnings and/or enforcement actions.

In the 360 Client Hub

Violations will be shown in your Client Hub under your WABA. You will also receive Hub notifications whenever a warning is triggered.

Violation updates

• Summary of policy violated and link to the policy itself.

• Examples of which content is allowed or disallowed based on that policy.

• Whether there are any active restrictions on the account and what happens if the violation happens again.

• How to avoid future policy violations and links to helpful resources.

• How to appeal.

Notifications about violations are also:

• Surfaced in the Business Manager Notifications Center and as a banner in WhatsApp Manager.

• Sent as an email to all admins set in Business Manager.

• Sent as a webhook notification to those subscribed.

Enforcement Actions

An account can become restricted or disabled depending on the number and severity of issues. Specific restrictions can be viewed in Account Quality along with information on the next steps and requesting a review for a particular policy issue.

Restricted or disabled accounts can still appeal issues. If issues are reversed following the appeal, the account returns to its previous status.

Preventing Future Violations

• Read the Commerce and Business Policies and review this article that answers Frequently Asked Questions about these policies.

• Integrate with webhooks and receive real-time notifications. See how here.

• Adjust behavior on the platform quickly.

Compliance Checklist

• Catalog: Ensure that your attached catalog contains all necessary information without any prohibited items.

• Website: Verify that your website is operational and secured with SSL.

• Templates: Check if any templates used violate policies, as this could lead to your store account blocked.

• WhatsApp Page: Ensure your WhatsApp page has complete business information.

• Business Manager: Confirm that your Business Manager has a clear description of your business.

• Website Information: Verify that the provided website includes the full address and phone number, matching the details on the Business Manager.

Regulated Verticals

Historically, the use of WhatsApp Business Services for the buying, selling, promoting, or facilitating the exchange of some regulated or restricted goods and services has been prohibited, as outlined in WhatsApp Commerce or Business Policies. As of August 27, 2024, Meta has expanded the WhatsApp Business Platform to include certain regulated business verticals (“Verticals”).

This means that licensed and lawful businesses in specific regions of India, APAC, and LATAM* can now onboard the platform if they fall within the following verticals:

• Alcoholic Beverages

• Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medication (Prescription drugs and medical devices remain prohibited)

• Real-Money Gambling and Gaming (including Online Gambling & Gaming)

The WhatsApp Business Policy is globally applicable, with additional restrictions based on local laws. Businesses must refer to the Official Policy for the exact list of permitted countries for each vertical.

Important

• While businesses in these verticals can use the platform for marketing, any messaging related to buying, selling, or facilitating payments for goods/services in these verticals remains prohibited.

• Messaging related to these verticals through the WhatsApp Business App continues to be disallowed.

• Exceptions may apply under specific conditions, as detailed in Section 5: Further Guidance on Regulated Verticals.

Applying for Regulated Verticals

To message users to promote online gambling and gaming (a subset of real money gambling and gaming), businesses must:

1. Request Permission: Submit an application form to Meta Platforms, Inc. Note that permission will only be granted for messaging people in certain countries.

2. Provide Licensing Evidence: Provide evidence that the online gambling and gaming activities are appropriately licensed by a regulator, or otherwise established as lawful in the countries listed in the Policy Section 5 that the business wants to send messages to.

Please note that Meta has the authority to approve or deny access to Regulated Verticals. If you need assistance with your application, contact our Support Team.

Usage Restrictions

• Prohibited activities include buying, selling, or facilitating payments for goods/services within these verticals on WhatsApp.

• The use of Commerce Catalogs, Payments, or other commerce experiences related to these verticals is not allowed.

• Any messaging related to these verticals through the WhatsApp Business App is prohibited.

• Within Real Money Gambling and Gaming, if your country/region prohibits certain activities such as gambling, games of chance, and/ or any other related activities (i.e. India), then your use of business messaging should not include such prohibited activities and should only include those activities which are lawful.

Examples

Allowed Use Cases

Prohibited Use Cases

Alcohol: Businesses using WhatsApp to promote alcoholic products or brands, Grocery businesses using WhatsApp to promote alcoholic product. OTC Medication: Pharmacies or drugstores that also offer convenience and/or grocery items, Pharmacies or drugstores that also offer over-the-counter drugs Pharmacies or drug stores using WA commerce tools for convenience or grocery items, not over-the-counter drugs subject to the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy Real Money Gambling and Gaming: Online gambling and gaming businesses (requires permission from Meta), Physical, real money gambling and gaming activity or establishments, or State or government lotteries.

Direct transactions (sales) or commerce involving alcohol or OTC medication. Messaging about prescription drugs or recreational drugs. Online gambling and gaming businesses that have not been approved by Meta

For further details, including the list of allowed countries or regions, refer to the WhatsApp Commerce or Business Policies (Section 5).

Recommended content

Going forward you can also leard how to manage policy violations:

Managing WhatsApp Policy Violations