WhatsApp Opt-In

WhatsApp has an opt-in concept for controlling spamming in the channel. Sinch Contact Pro follows this policy and provides tools to control opt-in in your contact center system. The WhatsApp opt-in concept can be divided into two different type of opt-ins:

  • 24-hour temporary opt-in

    A customer sends a message to the Sinch Contact Pro system that opens temporary 24 hour time window for the contact center agent and customer to communicate. The 24-hour window is calculated from the last customer message. For example, if the customer sends at 9:00 a.m. a message Hello, could you help with my camera and then continues at 9:05 a.m.: It doesn’t recognize memory card, the 24-hour window is calculated from the message sent at 9.05 a.m.

  • Permanent opt-in

    You can also collect a permanent opt-in from your customers. The opt-in can be collected via various channels, and for information on how to collect them, see Facebook documentation. The permanent opt-in allows you to send templates approved by Facebook outside the 24-hour window.

Example Scenarios

  1. A customer sends a WhatsApp to

    Sinch Contact Pro on Friday and an agent receives the conversation on Monday morning.

    The 24 hour opt-in window has already been closed. If this customer has not opted in to receive messages from your business, the agent has an option of a fallback to SMS or phone channel. This requires that SMS and phone channel are configured in the system. If this customer has opted in to receive messages from you over WhatsApp, the agent can use WhatsApp templates configured in the Sinch Contact Pro system. The first message from the agent outside the 24-hour window should be a template.

  2. A customer has not sent a message to you nor has opted in

    You are not able to reach the customer over WhatsApp.

  3. A customer has sent a message to you but it is older than 24 hours and no opt-in permission has been given.

    You must try to reach the customer using other methods than WhatsApp messages.

How to Control Opt-Ins

Customers' opt-in status is stored in the Consent database. You can access it in System Configurator > System Tools > Consent. You need the Data Protection Officer (DPO) role to access them.

You can also control the opt-in status via a RESTful Interface: For example, if the opt-in is received in a CRM system, the status should be synchronized with Sinch Contact Pro .