Company news
Buddy is now a Meta Tech Provider. Here's what that means for you.
Meta has verified our business, reviewed our app, and approved Buddy as a Tech Provider on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Here is what that status is, what it took to earn it, and what it changes for every business that uses Buddy.
The Buddy Team · · 4 min read
Company news
Meta Tech Provider
This week Meta approved Buddy as a Tech Provider on the WhatsApp Business Platform. It is the approval Buddy was built around from day one, and it removes the last external step between Buddy and every business that wants to use it.
Announcements like this can be vague, so this post is specific: what a Tech Provider is, what Meta checked before approving us, what changes for you, and what we are shipping next.
What a Meta Tech Provider is
Businesses reach customers on WhatsApp at scale through the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta's official Cloud API. Most businesses don't build on that API directly. They use software built on it, and Meta has a formal programme for the companies that build that software.
Tech Providers offer a full range of WhatsApp Business Platform services to other businesses, either by providing these services on their own, or by partnering with a Solution Partner.
In practice, a Tech Provider is a company Meta has approved to onboard other businesses onto WhatsApp through its own product, and to send messages and manage WhatsApp accounts on their behalf, with their permission.
What it took
Meta doesn't hand this status out on request. Before approving Buddy, it checked three things.
- 1Business verification. Meta verified Creovine Ltd, the company behind Buddy, as a real, legally registered business.
- 2App Review. Meta reviewed Buddy against its developer policies. For every permission we asked for, we submitted a written use case and a screen recording of Buddy using it: sending messages and receiving replies, and creating and submitting message templates.
- 3Advanced Access to two permissions. Meta approved
whatsapp_business_messaging, which lets Buddy send and receive messages for the businesses that connect it, andwhatsapp_business_management, which lets Buddy manage their WhatsApp Business accounts and message templates.
Meta's own guide sets these as the requirements: a verified business, an approved app, and Advanced Access to both WhatsApp permissions. Until all three are in place, an app can't onboard businesses it doesn't own.
What changes for businesses using Buddy
Connect your own number in minutes
Click Connect WhatsApp in Buddy and Meta's own signup window opens. Choose or create your WhatsApp Business account and number, approve access, and you're live. No forms to email and no waiting on us.
You own everything
Your WhatsApp Business account, your phone number, your display name and your templates stay in your own Meta business portfolio. You can see them in WhatsApp Manager, and you can disconnect Buddy at any time.
You pay Meta directly for messages
As a Tech Provider, Buddy doesn't resell WhatsApp message fees. You add your own payment method to your WhatsApp Business account and Meta bills you at Meta's published rates. Buddy charges only for Buddy.
Official infrastructure, end to end
Every message goes through Meta's Cloud API on a number you own, with templates Meta has approved. No shared numbers, no scraped contacts, no unofficial automation that puts your account at risk.
It also means the things that need Meta work in Buddy today, not someday: Meta-approved templates, delivery and read receipts, replies landing in your Buddy inbox, and opt-outs honoured the moment someone replies STOP. If you're new to Buddy, our complete guide to Buddy walks through every feature.
What it doesn't mean
Precision matters here, because WhatsApp is a channel people trust. Tech Provider is an approval to build on Meta's platform. It isn't an endorsement of Buddy by Meta, and it isn't membership of the Meta Business Partner programme.
That programme is our next milestone. Meta upgrades Tech Providers to Tech Partners once they show real traction: at least 10 active business customers, an average of 2,500 messages a day, and a phone-number quality rating of 90% or better. We'll earn that the only way it can be earned, with businesses getting real results on Buddy.
What happens next
With Meta's approval in place, nothing external stands between Buddy and launch. On Monday 12 October 2026 we launch publicly with three things:
- Buddy App, generally available: collect subscribers with consent, send WhatsNews campaigns, reply from one inbox, automate follow-ups and measure what happens after every send.
- Buddy API, in public beta: add contacts, send approved templates and receive delivery webhooks from your own product.
- Buddy Embed, in beta: put a Buddy opt-in form on your own website with one line of code.
Buddy Connect follows in the weeks after launch, with integrations for Selar, Paystack, Shopify and Zapier/Make, so buyers and signups flow into Buddy with consent attached.
To everyone who tested early builds, sent feedback and asked when they could start: thank you. The wait is nearly over.