The short answer is yes: sending marketing messages on WhatsApp is legal in India, provided the people you message have agreed to hear from you. The rules that govern this come from two directions, and getting both right is what keeps you compliant and keeps your number healthy.
Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, and the DPDP Rules notified in November 2025, the basis for using someone's personal data is their consent. For marketing that means the person must have agreed, freely and clearly, to receive your messages. A pre-ticked box or buried clause does not count. The consent has to be specific and informed, and the person must be able to withdraw it as easily as they gave it.
Separately from Indian law, Meta's WhatsApp Business policy requires opt-in before you message anyone. This is enforced through your number's quality rating: message people who did not ask for it, and blocks and reports push your rating down, which throttles how much you can send. So opt-in is both a legal duty and a practical one.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India governs spam over SMS and calls through its commercial communication framework, including the Do Not Disturb registry. WhatsApp is an over-the-top app rather than a telecom channel, so the SMS DLT system does not apply to it directly. But the spirit is the same: unsolicited commercial messaging is the thing regulators are trying to stop, on every channel.
Collect a clear opt-in and keep a record of it. Tell people what they are signing up for. Make opting out easy and honour it at once. Send messages people find useful, not just promotional. Do that and your WhatsApp marketing is on solid legal and platform footing in India.
If you can show, for any contact, when and how they agreed to hear from you, and you make leaving easy, you are doing the most important thing both the DPDP Rules and Meta's policy ask of you.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and your situation may differ, so check the current text of the law or speak to a qualified adviser before you act.
Running WhatsApp the right way? Start free, and if you get stuck, we are the only platform in India that answers you live on WhatsApp.
Start Free → Browse the docs