Meta feature · Meta features
WhatsApp coexistence: use the Business app and the API on one number
What coexistence is, why it matters for small businesses, Meta's official documentation and video, and how to register a coexisting number in WA.Expert.
What is WhatsApp coexistence?
Coexistence lets a business keep using the WhatsApp Business app on its phone while also using the API on the same number.
- One-to-one chats are mirrored between the app and the API, and up to 6 months of chat history can be synced if sync starts within 24 hours of onboarding. source
- Messages sent from the Business app stay free; messages sent through the API are billed at API rates. source
- Group chats do not sync, broadcast lists become read-only, and disappearing and view-once messages are turned off. source
Watch
WA.Expert tutorial
Register a co-existing WhatsApp numberWatch on YouTube
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What businesses do with it on WhatsApp
- Keep chatting from the WhatsApp Business app on your phone
- Add automation, campaigns and a team inbox on the same number
- Move to the API without changing the number customers know
How to connect WhatsApp coexistence with WA.Expert
- In WA.Expert, start Add New Channel and connect with Facebook.
- When asked for the number, choose the one already on your WhatsApp Business app.
- Complete Meta's verification and finish the signup.
- Back in WA.Expert, create the channel and set the two-factor PIN.
Full walkthrough with screenshots: Register a co-existing WhatsApp number.
Questions
Will I lose my chat history?
No. Meta lets you sync up to 6 months of one-to-one chat history, as long as the sync starts within 24 hours of onboarding. Group chats do not sync.
Do messages from the app still cost nothing?
Yes. Messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app stay free. Messages sent through the API are billed at Meta's API rates.