Jitendra RauloWhatsApp has become the most used messaging tool for a millions of Indians since its launch in November 2009. An interesting fact here is that in the past year alone, around 1.2 billion users in India have used WhatsApp either to connect with families, getting information from groups or used for communication in daily worklife.
This attractive userbase of WhatsApp has not avoided the keen eyes of businessmen not only in India but all over the world. From marketing messages to providing support, businesses have acknowledged the amazing super power of WhatsApp and so utilizing this tool to further grow their businesses. If you are one of those businessmen who have yet to leverage this popular tool, then you should have a little bit idea of how this tool works but thorough knowledge of WhatsApp business policies so as not to stumble upon stones in future.
What is WhatsApp Business Messaging and Commerce Policy
WhatsApp Business Messaging and Commerce policy is a set of rules, regulations and best practices defined by parent company Meta. These rules are set in place so that whether it is the businesses or general customers, nobody has to be harmed in any way such as abusive language use or be bombarded with spam messages, and thus have any negative experiences with the platform.
In November 2023, over 71 lakh WhatsApp accounts in India were banned due to policy violations.
Businesses complying with WhatsApp Business policies adhere to take precautions to ensure their customers are not affected by excessive ads and irrelevant messages. In this way customers can have a meaningful conversation while safeguarding their privacy.
Businesses that use WhatsApp Business API to run ads, sell their products/services have to comply with policies so as not to have restrictions or bans imposed by the platform.
What are the Consequences of not Complying with WhatsApp Business Policy
There are several consequences depending upon the level of violation of WhatsApp business policies. The letdown here is that, unlike Facebook, if your account is banned then you have to start all over again to reestablish your business on the WhatsApp platform. This point should be noted by all business owners for its severity and impact on business.
More than 95 per cent of bans are due to the unauthorized use of automated or bulk messaging which are considered spam.
Let’s breakdown the level of violations and their relevant impact on businesses by WhatsApp business platform policy enforcement through the below table.
| Bans | Stages/Conditions |
| Warning | Initial policy violations |
| 1 or 3 days block | Initiating any conversations except service and adding phone numbers |
| 5 or 7 days block | Initiating any conversations and adding phone numbers |
| Account Lock | Initiating any conversations, can be removed by appeal |
| Permanent Disable | After multiple warnings and blocks |
| Immediate offboard | Causes severe harm to users |
| Limit/offboard | Receive excess negative feedback |
Note: All bans can be appealed within 90 days.
Worried about missing policy violation warnings?
Here is tip to never worry about any missed violations on any of your accounts. Meta recommends subscribing to account_update webhook to receive real-time notifications whenever a Business Account of yours has violated any of the policies. This will ensure that your business can make necessary modifications to avoid warnings or enforcement actions.
Not sure if your business products or services are allowed or not?
WhatsApp Business Messaging and Commerce policies clearly states that which products, messages and/or services are allowed on their platform and also which business should take some extra steps to register themselves to be allowed. We recommend going through this document before purchasing any WhatsApp Business Tools to ensure your business is eligible for the platform or not. For an overview, we have listed some of the products/services below.
Ineligible Products and Services
The below products/services are prohibited for sale using WhatsApp platform due to violations of the WhatsApp Business Policy. Relevant businesses are limited from using some specific WhatsApp business features for sales. But they can still use WhatsApp for normal business messaging to communicate with their customers.
- Pharmaceuticals: Prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and medical devices.
- Supplements: Ingestible products providing dietary or health benefits, excluding over-the-counter, prescription, and illegal drugs.
- Real, Virtual, or Fake Currency: Cash, cryptocurrency, game currency, and counterfeit currency.
- Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages and kits for producing alcohol.
- Weapons: Firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, and related items.
- Tobacco & Related Products
- Adult Products & Services
- Animals
- Gambling Services
- Products or Services that offer access to unauthorized/pirated Digital Media
- Dating Services
- Digital or Subscription-based Services
Other Pointers for Businesses
Even if your business does not sell prohibited products listed above, you still need to adhere to common ethical business practices. Some of the pointers are listed below:
- The business should share only correct information in messages and avoid incorrect/misleading/fraud/scams.
- Any business structure, product, services or message should never target or pressurize on a communities based on their caste, religion, race, language and others.
- No business should provide any products/services which are detrimental in nature to the society.
- A business should avoid any abusive or vulgar language to their customers or others.
- Without consent(opt-in) from customers, business should not interact with them. And if a user denies them permission, the business should avoid spamming tactics.
- Business should be careful not to violate or infringe any copyright, trademark or any other intellectual property rights.
Be up-to-date with WhatsApp Business Policy with iNextCRM
Please note that WhatsApp business API policy is being continuously updated and each business needs to keep up-to-date with latest changes to policies. Also some policies and prices differ depending upon geographical locations and the relevant laws. But you need not worry about that as you can partner up with iNextCRM – Best Business CRM with WhatsApp API and ChatGPT integrated.
We are always up-to-date with latest changes in WhatsApp Business Policy and helped many of our clients achieve their goals while complying with policies. With iNextCRM WhatsApp Business API, you can too connect with your customers and grow your business effectively.
