WhatsApp opt-in: Policy requirements & collection strategies

Before you can start messaging customers on WhatsApp, you need one crucial thing: WhatsApp opt-in consent. Opt-in consent is your customer’s clear permission to receive messages from your business. It’s not only a legal requirement, but also key to building trust, avoiding spam, and keeping your brand compliant with privacy laws.

A simple opt-in on your website or checkout page works, as long as you clearly state that by opting in, users are agreeing to receive WhatsApp messages from your business. You must also name your business and make it easy for users to opt out/unsubscribe at any time. With Infobip’s Authentication and compliance essentials like verifying your WhatsApp Business account and setting up compliant templates for business‑initiated conversations, above board communication is easy. Let’s take it a step further and look at all things opt-in so your business follows proper procedures on all fronts.

What does opt-in mean? 

General vs channel‑specific opt‑ins

• General opt‑in is consent collected when a customer shares their phone number and agrees to receive messages from your business. Under WhatsApp’s updated approach, this can extend to WhatsApp if you clearly tell users they’re opting in to WhatsApp messages and name the business they’ll hear from.
• Channel‑specific opt‑in is consent collected for a particular channel (for example, a checkbox that says “Send me updates via WhatsApp”). Many teams still prefer this for clarity and contact data list integrity.

What to include in your consent language

When asking customers to opt in, your consent language should be clear, transparent, and easy to understand. Make sure it includes:

• State that users are opting in to WhatsApp messages.
• Name your business as the sender.
• Describe message types and frequency.
• Explain how to unsubscribe, and honor opt‑outs fast.

Example consent copy:

• “Yes, send me order updates and offers on WhatsApp from [Brand]. You can unsubscribe anytime by replying STOP.”
• Checkout checkbox: “Send my delivery updates via WhatsApp.”

Make opt‑ins easy with familiar entry points like QR codes, wa.me links, and Click to WhatsApp ads, then track engagement with advanced analytics and verified business profiles to build trust. Once you have collected consent from a user, your business can send promotional, transactional, and various types of messages to customers.  

Why are WhatsApp opt‑ins essential?

Collecting WhatsApp opt-ins ensures businesses remain compliant with regulations, as well as local laws around business messaging. It helps reduce the risk of spam messages reaching users and helps businesses build a more trustworthy relationship with their customers.   

Compliance

Businesses should only message people who have shared their phone number and given explicit consent to receive WhatsApp messages. Collect and store consent records, and honor opt‑out requests quickly. Messaging without consent risks account restrictions or bans and potential legal issues under privacy regulations.

Business benefits

Customers also have the option to block or report businesses they don’t want to receive notifications from by simply blocking, reporting, or unsubscribing from communication at any point.

Opt‑ins reduce spam complaints and increase trust. This leads to higher open rates, better engagement, and stronger conversions across transactional and promotional workflows. Clear consent also improves list quality and message relevance, which lowers unsubscribe rates over time.

Who needs to collect opt-ins for WhatsApp? 

All businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform or the WhatsApp Business App must collect consent before sending notifications or any business‑initiated messages. Consent is required whether you are a startup or a global enterprise, and whether you send a few alerts or run large campaigns.

Once consent is collected, you may send different types of notifications. For clarity and compliance, WhatsApp differentiates between two categories:

Transactional vs promotional messages

• Transactional messages: Order updates, delivery notifications, boarding passes, receipts, authentication codes. Send these only to customers who have opted in.
• Promotional messages: Offers, product launches, back‑in‑stock alerts, event invites. In approved countries, you may send proactive promotional messages only to customers who have opted in.

What’s new in WhatsApp opt-ins? (Policy update) 

Previously, businesses needed to collect a specific opt-in for WhatsApp to send messages on the platform. WhatsApp now accepts a general opt‑in as long as you clearly tell customers they are opting in to receive WhatsApp messages and name the business that will contact them. This simplifies consent collection across your website, checkout, and support flows.

To stay compliant, make sure your consent covers three points:

Honor opt‑outs quickly. Provide simple unsubscribe paths in messages and across your channels, and keep audit trails of who consented, when, and how. For business‑initiated conversations, consent is required and you must use pre‑approved templates in the correct category (marketing, utility, authentication).

It’s important to note that if a customer initiates a conversation through a Click to WhatsApp ad, it triggers a 72-hour messaging window during which all templated messages can be sent free of charge. In comparison, the standard 24-hour customer service window applies only to utility templates. This means that if a customer starts a chat with a bot, any utility message you send within that 24-hour session will not be billed.

Now, back to ensuring you get the most number of customers interested in your messages.

How and where to collect WhatsApp opt-ins?

Gathering WhatsApp opt-ins can be easy if you integrate them into your existing customer interactions. Below, we’ve outlined four easy and unobtrusive ways your business can collect customer opt-ins. 

Request customer opt-ins when they seek support  

The simplest way to ask a customer to opt-in is when they’ve already reached out to your customer support. Once their query is resolved, ask them to opt-in for updates and notifications. Be transparent about the type of messages they’ll receive and seek their confirmation. Set up agent handoff, chatbot flows, and real-time analytics to track opt-in rates and engagement across entry points.

Promote opt-ins on your website

No matter what industry you operate in, your website is a great channel to use to invite new and existing customers to gather opt-ins.

• Add opt-in invitations across high-traffic pages using pop-ups, banners, and chat widgets.
• Include clear checkboxes in contact forms and lead-gen pages. Example: “Send me updates via WhatsApp from [Brand].”
• Use floating chat buttons or a dedicated landing page to describe benefits and capture consent.
• Add QR codes that open a WhatsApp chat. Place them on your homepage, product pages, and help center.
• Combine entry points like QR codes and wa.me links with Click to WhatsApp ads. Unify performance reporting to optimize acquisition and opt-in.
• Ensure your pages are responsive across all devices to maintain a professional look and facilitate an easy data entry process for your customers.

Ask for an opt-in at checkout  or purchase touchpoints

Since customers can use WhatsApp to receive important notifications like order confirmations, boarding passes, and delivery notifications, they are more inclined to opt-in during the purchase process, increasing their opt-in rate.

• During checkout or in POS systems, offer to send order updates, delivery notifications, boarding passes, or receipts on WhatsApp.
• Use utility templates for business-initiated transactional notifications once consent is granted.
• Automate post-purchase journeys and measure conversions with advanced analytics.
• Personalize templates to boost engagement.

This is often the best option for retailers, airlines, and logistics companies since they can easily include a checkbox at various touchpoints where the customer would enter their phone number. For example, when they enter their billing or delivery information. 

In a physical setting, customers can opt-in by signing a document or form in a physical or digital form. Whether they’re using your service or purchasing a product, this approach combines personal interaction with consent collection. 

Offline and alternative methods

Leverage platforms your customers already use. Oftentimes, the best way to reach out to customers is over the channels you already use to communicate with them.

Additionally, try printing QR codes on receipts, invoices, loyalty cards, packaging, event badges, and ads to invite customers to opt in. Ask agents to mention your WhatsApp channel during calls or onboarding, add wa.me links to email signatures and printed materials.

You can also automate your opt-in collection process over Voice IVR. The process is simple: using automated voice messaging, ask your customers to give consent by pressing a specific key on their dial pad. As opt-in confirmation, send a “Thank You” message over WhatsApp. 

Lastly, if you operate in the banking industry, ATMs are an interesting communication channel. You can announce the opportunity to receive balance notifications over WhatsApp while inviting clients to opt-in by providing their phone number directly via the ATM. 

And don’t forget to track delivery, seen, click, and conversion metrics across campaigns, then A/B test variations to improve opt-in rates.

Best practices for building trust and reducing opt-outs

When optimizing your opt-in strategy, it’s important to address opt-outs. Customers must always have a clear and easy way to opt out of receiving business-initiated messages at any time.

What’s new in WhatsApp opt-outs?

WhatsApp now allows businesses to collect user preferences when sending Marketing Messages, which helps improve transparency and channel credibility. Opt-outs can be captured through a simple feedback form, and you can also track opt-in and opt-out events using the Subscriptions API. This API notifies you when customers stop or resume delivery of Marketing Templates, giving you more control and visibility over consent. With clear opt-outs in place, you can confidently focus on growing and retaining high-quality opt-ins.

How to build trust and maximize opt-ins?

A strong opt-in strategy is built on transparency, value, and respect for customer preferences. To increase opt-ins and keep subscribers engaged:

Compliance and quality standards

To maintain high trust, protect your sender reputation, and stay aligned with WhatsApp rules, follow these core compliance and quality guidelines:

• Only message people who have provided their phone number and explicit opt-in permission.
• Maintain a complete business profile with clear support contact information.
• For business-initiated conversations, use pre-approved templates and the correct category for each message: marketing, utility, or authentication.
• If using automation, provide a prompt path to a human agent.
• Respect opt-out requests immediately and avoid spam or deceptive practices.
  WhatsApp monitors quality signals and feedback. Accounts with excessive complaints or low ratings may be restricted.

The power of WhatsApp opt-ins 

By following best practices and ensuring clear, transparent opt-in processes, you’ll not only stay compliant with WhatsApp’s policies, but also build stronger customer relationships. Infobip makes it easy to register and verify your WhatsApp Business account, create compliant templates, and track engagement with advanced analytics.

With our tools, you can streamline your opt-in flows, monitor performance, and ensure you’re always providing a seamless, secure messaging experience.

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