WhatsApp opt-in: requirements, wording and how to collect it

A WhatsApp opt-in is a person's permission for your business to message them on WhatsApp. Meta requires it before you send anything they didn't start: the opt-in must clearly say the person is agreeing to messages from your business, name your business, and meet local law. Without it, you shouldn't message that number.

Opt-in is also the single biggest factor in whether WhatsApp marketing works. People who asked to hear from you read your messages, reply and buy. People who didn't block and report you, and that drags down your number for everyone else. This guide covers the rules, sample wording, where to collect opt-ins, how to record them and how to handle people who want to leave. It's part of our guide to choosing a WhatsApp marketing platform.

What are the WhatsApp opt-in requirements?

Meta's opt-in guidance sets three requirements. They are short, and each one matters.

1. 1"Businesses must clearly state that a person is opting in to receive communication from the business."
2. 2"Businesses must clearly state the business's name that a person is opting in to receive messages from."
3. 3"Businesses must comply with applicable law."

The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy adds the underlying rule: you may only contact someone who has given you their number and "opt-in permission from the recipient confirming that they wish to receive subsequent messages or calls from you". It also says you must respect every request to stop, "either on or off WhatsApp", including removing that person from your contact list.

Meta is flexible about how you collect the opt-in. Its guidance lists SMS, websites, phone systems using interactive voice response, and in-person or paper forms, as long as the method meets the requirements and local law (Meta). What it is not flexible about is the substance: the person has to know they are agreeing to WhatsApp messages, from you.

What Meta recommends beyond the minimum

Meeting the three requirements keeps you inside the rules. Meta's best practices help keep your quality rating healthy. Its guidance says businesses should:

• Set clear expectations by category. Get an opt-in that covers the different kinds of messages you'll send (for example order updates, offers and recommendations), or a separate opt-in for each.
• Give clear opt-out instructions. "Provide clear instructions for how people can opt out of receiving specific categories of messages, and honor these requests."
• Communicate the value. Tell people why these messages are worth receiving.
• Monitor quality when you add a new opt-in method. A new source of subscribers can bring in people who are less engaged. Watch your quality rating after you launch one.

The quality point is practical, not theoretical. When people block or report your messages, your number's quality rating falls, and quality decides whether Meta lets your messaging limit grow (Meta Business Help Center). A clear opt-in is the cheapest protection you have.

WhatsApp opt-in wording examples you can copy

Good opt-in wording answers four questions in one or two sentences: who is messaging, on which channel, about what, and how to stop. Adjust these to your business and your market, and check them against the law where your customers live.

All of the businesses above are made up. Notice what each line does: it names the business, says WhatsApp, describes what's coming and, where it fits, how often. None hides the WhatsApp part in the terms and conditions.

How to collect WhatsApp opt-ins

The best opt-ins happen where people are already interested in you. A few places that work for most businesses:

Should I use a WhatsApp QR code or a click-to-chat link?

A click-to-chat link or QR code that opens a chat with your number is useful for conversations, but opening a chat is not the same as agreeing to receive marketing. It starts a 24-hour window for replies, and that's all. A QR code that points to an opt-in page, where the person reads what they are signing up for and submits their number, gives you a clear, recorded permission you can rely on later.

Can I import my existing customer list?

Only the people on it who have already agreed to WhatsApp messages from you. If your list came from email sign-ups or purchases, you don't have WhatsApp consent yet. Send those customers an invitation on the channel you already have permission for (an email, for example) that links to your WhatsApp opt-in page, and let them choose.

Why per-category consent is worth the effort

Someone who happily accepts delivery updates may not want weekly promotions. When you ask for both in one sentence, you risk two bad outcomes: people who wanted updates decline because they fear spam, and people who wanted updates block you when the offers start.

Splitting consent by category solves both. It also lines up with how WhatsApp itself thinks about messages: Meta sorts templates into marketing, utility and authentication, charges differently for each, and doesn't deliver marketing templates to US numbers at all (Meta). If you know who agreed to what, you can send order updates to everyone who wanted them and promotions only to people who asked.

In Buddy, the practical way to do this is with tags. Tag subscribers by what they signed up for (for example offers, order-updates, events) and send each WhatsNew to Contacts with a tag. Our guide to WhatsApp message templates explains which category each kind of message falls into.

How to keep a WhatsApp consent record

If a customer, a regulator or Meta ever asks why you messaged someone, you should be able to answer in seconds. UK GDPR and the EU GDPR put that burden on you: under Article 7, where processing is based on consent, "the controller shall be able to demonstrate that the data subject has consented". A useful consent record holds:

• Who: the person's name and WhatsApp number, in international format.
• When: the date and time they opted in.
• Where: the source, such as your opt-in page, a website form, a QR code at an event or an import.
• What they saw: the wording on the form at the time, so you can show what they agreed to.
• What they chose: which categories of message, if you ask separately.
• Changes: every opt-out, and the date it happened.

Buddy records who, when and where automatically: each opt-in is saved with its date and source, and every opt-out is logged as a consent event. The Consent page shows total contacts, how many are opted in, how many have opted out (and are suppressed automatically) and a feed of recent consent activity. Keep a copy of your form wording alongside it, especially when you change it.

How to handle WhatsApp opt-outs and STOP replies

Meta requires you to honour every request to stop, wherever it's made (policy). In practice, people use a handful of ways to leave, and you need to catch all of them:

• They reply STOP (or "unsubscribe", or "opt out") to one of your messages.
• They turn off marketing messages from your business inside WhatsApp.
• They block you. You can't message them anyway, but your quality rating notices.
• They ask somewhere else, by email, on the phone, in your shop or in a DM. These count too.

In Buddy, a reply of just STOP, unsubscribe, opt out or optout unsubscribes the contact straight away, suppresses them from future sends and logs a consent event. When someone turns off marketing messages from your business in WhatsApp and Meta reports it, Buddy updates their status too. Requests that arrive off WhatsApp need a person: find the contact in Audience and remove or update them the same day.

Put the way out in your messages, not just your opt-in form. A footer such as "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" costs nothing and turns a potential block into a quiet exit, which is far better for your quality rating.

WhatsApp opt-in and GDPR: what valid consent means

If you market to people in the UK or the EU, WhatsApp consent has to meet GDPR's standard. The UK Information Commissioner's Office explains that valid consent must be freely given, specific, informed and an unambiguous indication of the person's wishes, given by a clear affirmative act (ICO). The ICO also says consent requires a positive opt-in: pre-ticked boxes, silence or inactivity don't count.

Other markets have their own rules, from Brazil's LGPD to India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act to US federal and state marketing laws. The principles above are a strong baseline almost everywhere, but they aren't legal advice. If you're unsure, check with a lawyer who knows your market.

Collecting WhatsApp opt-ins with Buddy

Buddy's Grow tools are built around everything above.

1. 1Your hosted opt-in page. Every workspace gets a subscribe page at usebuddy.app/yourname. It names you, tells people they'll receive your updates on WhatsApp and that they can unsubscribe any time. People enter their name and WhatsApp number, and the opt-in is saved with its date and source.
2. 2A QR code and link. Grow gives you a QR code and a copyable link for your bio, website, WhatsApp Status, packaging, menus and event badges. Wherever you share it, say in your own words what people will get and how often.
3. 3A website form (beta). Buddy Embed adds a small opt-in form to any site with one line of code, including a consent checkbox the person must tick. Our guide to a WhatsApp opt-in widget for your website shows how.
4. 4Imports for people who already agreed. Paste numbers or upload a CSV of contacts who have given you WhatsApp permission elsewhere.
5. 5The Subscribers API (early access). Add opted-in people from your own systems. See our WhatsApp Business API integration guide.

A fuller business profile on the hosted opt-in page arrives with Buddy 1.0 on 12 October 2026.

Send a welcome message, the right way

The moment after someone subscribes is when they're most interested. Buddy's "When someone subscribes" automation can send a welcome straight away. One detail matters: a person who opted in on a web page hasn't messaged you, so there is no open 24-hour window, and outside the window "you can only send pre-approved template messages" (Meta). Build your welcome as an approved template. Our WhatsApp auto-reply guide walks through it.

Frequently asked questions