Meta limits the number of conversations you can initiate first within 24 hours from a WhatsApp Business API (WABA) phone number. Let's look at how these limits work, what counts as initiating a conversation with a customer, and how to change the limits.

What counts as initiating a conversation

Initiating a conversation = sending a WABA (WhatsApp Business API) template outside the customer service window.

Customer service window — is a 24-hour session that starts when a customer sends you an incoming message. If there have been no incoming messages from a contact in the last 24 hours, you do not have an open customer service window.

If you send a customer a WABA template and they do not reply, the customer service window will not open. If you send another template to this chat, Meta will count it as initiating two separate conversations, not one.

If a customer writes first and you reply to their incoming message within 24 hours, Meta will count the conversation as initiated by the customer, not by you. Therefore, such a conversation will not count towards your limits.

What are the conversation limits

As soon as you connect your first WABA channel, it has a limit of 250 conversations. Gradually, Meta will increase the limit and eventually remove the restrictions altogether.

There are several limit tiers:

• Tier 0: 250 conversations,
• Tier 1: 2,000 conversations,
• Tier 2: 10,000 conversations,
• Tier 3: 100,000 conversations,
• Tier 4: Unlimited.

If a customer writes to you first, you can reply with regular messages as much as you want — the limits only apply to conversations that you initiate.

For example, you've just connected WABA and are at Tier 0. If 100 people write to your sales rep within 24 hours, he will be able to reply to all of them, as incoming messages are not limited. The sales rep will also be able to send 250 templates outside service windows, i.e., initiate conversations with 250 customers. In total, the sales rep will communicate with 350 customers in 24 hours. A very productive sales rep.

How to check the limit tier for a number

There are two ways:

1. Check via the link in Meta Business Suite: WhatsApp Manager → Account management tools → Messaging limits.
2. Check in your Wazzup personal account: go to the "Channels" section → open the channel settings → find the tier in the "Current Facebook limit" section.

How to initiate conversations more often

First, verify your company and profile name. Sometimes Meta may also ask you to verify your identity. If this is required, a notification will appear in the WhatsApp Manager → "Overview" → "Limits" asking you to verify your identity.

After that, limits depend on the quantity and quality of conversations. If you initiate conversations frequently and customers do not complain about messages — Meta will allow you to send more templates.

To move from Tier 0 to Tier 1, you need to meet Meta's requirements:

• send at least 1,000 templates outside customer service windows within 30 days. That means initiating conversations daily with 33-34 contacts who haven't sent you an incoming message in the last 24 hours;
• send high-quality templates. That means WABA templates that contacts do not complain about.