It's one of the first questions businesses ask before connecting their WhatsApp number to an outside system, and it's the right question to ask. The short answer: Whapiz connects to WhatsApp through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API), the official interface Meta provides for businesses. Not through WhatsApp Web, not through a browser extension, and not through an unofficial connector.
Below we explain what "official" means in practice, who owns the number and the account, how templates and Meta's charges work, and what we do not claim.
What is the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)?
Meta offers businesses two ways to use WhatsApp. The first is the WhatsApp Business app, installed on a phone. The second is the WhatsApp Business Platform, which most people call the "WhatsApp API" or the "WhatsApp Business API". The platform has no screen of its own: it is an interface that software connects to in order to send and receive messages on a business's behalf.
Today the platform runs in Meta's cloud, which is why it is called the Cloud API. An earlier version that providers installed on their own servers (the On-Premises API) was retired by Meta in 2025, so the Cloud API is now the main way to connect.
Whapiz is a CRM that connects to this platform. You connect your business WhatsApp number, and your whole team answers from it inside Whapiz, with a shared inbox, tags, templates, a bot and AI.
What "official" means in practice
- You connect in Meta's own window. On the Connections screen in Whapiz you click "Connect with Meta". A secure Meta window opens, where you choose your WhatsApp Business account and approve the connection. Your Meta password is never shared with us.
- Messages travel through Meta's servers. No phone has to stay on and no browser tab has to stay open for the system to work. Agents work from a computer or from the mobile app.
- Meta's rules apply. WhatsApp's business policies, the 24-hour window, approved templates for business-initiated messages, a quality rating and messaging limits. That can sound restrictive, but these are exactly the rules that keep your number stable over time.
So what is an "unofficial" connection?
Some tools work differently. They run a regular WhatsApp account through WhatsApp Web or through unofficial code libraries, imitating a person sitting at the screen. That can look cheap and quick to set up, but it comes at a cost:
- WhatsApp's terms do not allow automated or bulk messaging through the regular app, so numbers used this way are exposed to restrictions and bans.
- The connection depends on an account linked to a specific phone. When that link breaks, the service stops.
- There are no approved templates and no quality rating you can monitor.
Whapiz does not offer that kind of connection. New numbers connect only through Meta's platform.
Who owns the number and the WhatsApp Business API account?
Your business does. The WhatsApp Business Account (sometimes called a WABA) sits in your own Meta business portfolio, and the number is registered to it. Whapiz receives permission to work with the account, the permission you approved in Meta's window, but the account does not become ours.
In practice, that means:
- The name customers see (the display name), the account settings and your payment method for Meta are managed by you, in your Meta business account.
- You can remove the permission you granted through your Meta business settings, and the account stays yours.
- The number is not tied to any employee's phone. When someone leaves, the conversations stay with the business, because they live in the business's system.
Templates, the 24-hour window and Meta's pricing
On Meta's platform there are two main kinds of messages:
- Replies inside the service window. When a customer writes to you, a 24-hour window opens from their latest message. Inside it you can reply freely, with text, images, documents and voice notes, and Meta does not charge for these messages.
- Business-initiated template messages. To contact a customer outside the window, for a reminder, an update or a campaign, you send a Meta-approved template written in advance. Meta charges for templates according to its official rate card, by template category (Marketing, Utility or Authentication) and by the recipient's country.
A few more details worth knowing. Since July 2025 Meta charges per message, rather than per "conversation" as it did before. A Utility template sent while the service window is open is not charged. And the prices themselves are set and updated by Meta, separately from your Whapiz subscription. Before a large campaign, check Meta's current rates.
In Whapiz you create templates in your WhatsApp Business account at Meta, and once they are approved you import them by clicking "Sync from Meta" (Settings → Templates). If an agent tries to send a free-form message after the window has closed, Whapiz explains that a template is needed, instead of letting the message fail silently.
What Whapiz does not claim
The word "official" describes Meta's platform and the way we connect to it, not a special status for Whapiz. Whapiz is an independent product. We do not present ourselves as a Meta partner, we do not use partner badges, and we do not claim any special or exclusive relationship with Meta. Meta runs its own partner programs, and a vendor that shows such a badge should also appear in Meta's partner directory, where you can check.
WhatsApp and Meta are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. The names are used here only to describe the connection.
5 questions to ask any WhatsApp API vendor
- Does the connection go through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API), or through WhatsApp Web?
- Which Meta business portfolio holds the WhatsApp Business account: yours or the vendor's?
- Does the system depend on a phone or a browser that must stay connected?
- Are business-initiated messages sent as approved templates, and how is Meta paid?
- What happens to the number and the history if you decide to switch systems?
Want to see how it works for your business?
You can open a Whapiz trial account and connect your number yourself. The guide to connecting your WhatsApp number explains what to prepare, and the guide to WhatsApp templates explains how approved templates work.
Frequently asked questions
Is Whapiz an official Meta partner?
Whapiz does not present itself as a Meta partner and does not use partner badges. What we say is precise: Whapiz connects to WhatsApp through Meta's official platform for businesses, the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API).
Do I need to keep a phone connected for the system to work?
No. Messages travel through Meta's cloud, and agents work in the browser or in the Whapiz app. No phone needs to stay on.
Who pays Meta for messages?
Meta's template charges follow Meta's rate card and are managed in your business's WhatsApp Business account at Meta, separately from your Whapiz subscription. Replies inside the 24-hour window are not charged by Meta.