# The WhatsApp 24-hour window explained

> When a customer messages your WhatsApp Business number, you can reply freely with Service-category messages for the next 24 hours; from 1 October 2026 Meta bills service replies per message after a free tier of 1,000 service messages per business phone number per month. After the 24-hour window closes, you must use a pre-approved template (a Marketing, Utility or Authentication message, billed per delivered message) to re-initiate.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/answers/whatsapp-24-hour-window
- Language: en
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-10
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

## Why does it exist?

Meta uses the 24-hour window to enforce a permission-based model: businesses can only initiate contact via approved templates; ongoing conversation is the user's privilege. This protects users from spam and forces businesses to be useful.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does replying reset the WhatsApp 24-hour window?

No. Only a new message from the customer opens or restarts the window. Your replies, however many, do not extend it: 24 hours after the customer's last message the window closes, and you need an approved template to write to them again.

### Can I send promotional content inside the 24-hour window?

Inside the window you can reply with free-form messages, including product information or an offer that relates to the conversation. Outside the window, promotional content needs an approved Marketing template and the customer's opt-in to receive marketing from you.

### How are WhatsApp templates approved?

Templates are submitted to Meta through your Business Solution Provider with a category — Marketing, Utility or Authentication — and Meta usually reviews them within 24 hours. BroadNet submits and tracks templates for its customers and helps fix the usual rejection causes, such as the wrong category or unclear placeholders.

### Are messages inside the 24-hour window free?

Not all of them. From 1 October 2026 Meta bills service replies inside the window per message after a free tier of 1,000 service messages per business phone number per month, and utility templates from the first message. Marketing and authentication templates are billed per delivered message.

## Related

- [All answers](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [Glossary](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [What are the WhatsApp message categories?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/whatsapp-message-categories)
- [What are the WhatsApp opt-in rules?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/whatsapp-opt-in-rules)
- [What are WhatsApp Flows?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-whatsapp-flows)
- [What is conversation pricing for WhatsApp?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-conversation-pricing-whatsapp)
- [What is WhatsApp Business API?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-whatsapp-business-api)
- [What is a WhatsApp BSP?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-whatsapp-bsp)
- [WhatsApp Business API](https://www.broadnet.me/products/whatsapp-business-api)
- [24-hour window calculator](https://www.broadnet.me/tools/whatsapp-window-calculator)