01Unofficial automation
Unofficial automation drives an ordinary WhatsApp account with software. Some tools script WhatsApp Web in a browser. Others reuse a scraped session or pose as a phone. They are cheap and quick to set up, and they work until WhatsApp notices.
WhatsApp's Terms of Service prohibit bulk messaging, auto-messaging and auto-dialing. They also prohibit unofficial clients or automation used to harm WhatsApp or its users.
02The risk to your number
WhatsApp says it may restrict or ban an account that breaks its terms. For a business that uses a service against its policies, it says it may limit or remove access to WhatsApp Business. The enforcement language is in the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, and Meta explains restricted accounts in its help centre.
For a brokerage, a ban cuts the line buyers use to reach you. You print the number on listings, hoardings and business cards, and reprinting is slow and expensive.
03The official route
The WhatsApp Business Platform is Meta's own route for companies. A business account registers a number, and software sends and receives messages through Meta's Cloud API. Two Meta rules shape how automation behaves on it.
The 24-hour window. A 24-hour customer service window opens when a customer messages you. Inside it you can send free-form replies, and each new customer message resets the timer. Meta describes this under service messages.
Templates outside the window. After the window closes, only a template message can reach the customer, and a template must have the status APPROVED before you can send it. See Meta's template fundamentals.
Both rules suit a qualification flow. The buyer writes first, so the window is open for the whole conversation. A follow-up after the window closes needs wording that Meta has already approved.
04Three questions for a vendor
- Which Meta account is my number registered in, and can you show it to me? On the official route the number sits in a Meta business account. A vendor on the official route can name the account and show you the number inside it.
- How do you message a buyer after the 24-hour window closes? The official answer names approved templates. If the vendor has none, ask how messages leave the window.
- What happens to my number if WhatsApp flags it? Expect a straight answer about the policy and the risk. A vendor who promises it cannot happen is guessing.
05Kadensio's route and its costs
Kadensio runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform. It never drives WhatsApp Web and never uses a scraped session. We tested the route end to end on live numbers through the production Meta API, in Arabic and English.
The official route has costs, and you should know them before you start:
- You register your number on the Platform. If your buyers know a number that runs on the ordinary WhatsApp Business app today, moving it is the first job in setup.
- Meta charges for some messages. Kadensio passes those charges through at cost with no markup, as the Terms of Service set out.
- Templates need Meta's approval before use, so you settle the wording of any message sent outside the window before launch.
Test the official route yourself
The live number runs on the Business Platform. Message it as a buyer would, then get early access for your brokerage. Related: how fast brokerages reply to leads.