Two ways to be on WhatsApp
Meta offers a business two different things, and they are often confused.
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A free app on a phone. | A connection for software. It has no app of its own: you use it through a product such as xconversions. |
| Made for | A small business answering customers one at a time. | A team, an AI agent and automation, all on one number. |
| Writing to a customer first | By hand, from the phone. | With templates that Meta approves in advance. |
| Cost of messages | Free. | Meta charges for delivered messages. See What WhatsApp charges. |
The Platform is what people mean by the official API: access that Meta itself gives, under Meta’s terms and with Meta’s rules built in. A tool that drives the phone app from outside is not that, and Meta’s terms prohibit unauthorised tools.
xconversions works on the Platform only.
The pieces, and what each one is
When you connect a number, Meta creates these for your business, or uses the ones you already have. You meet their names in Meta’s windows and all through this section.
| Name | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Business portfolio | Meta’s folder for everything your business has at Meta: Pages, ad accounts, WhatsApp. You manage it in Meta Business Suite. | Business verification and the messaging limit belong to the portfolio, not to one number. |
| WhatsApp Business Account | The account inside the portfolio that holds your number, your templates and the payment method Meta charges. Often shortened to WABA. | Templates and the bill sit here. xconversions works on this account with your permission. |
| Phone number | The number customers write to, registered on the Platform. | One number belongs to one workspace. Its status is on Channels. |
| Display name | The business name on the number’s WhatsApp profile. Meta reviews it. | See the display name. |
| Template | A message Meta approves in advance. | The only thing you can send outside the 24-hour window. |
| WhatsApp Manager | Meta’s own website for your account: numbers, quality, limits, templates, spending. | It shows what xconversions does not. Open WhatsApp Manager. |
Where xconversions fits
xconversions is a separate product, built on the official WhatsApp Business Platform. It is not part of Meta, and it replaces nothing in the list above.
You connect your number in Meta’s own window.
From Channels, xconversions opens Meta’s sign-up. You sign in with Facebook, choose or create the business portfolio and the account, and prove the number is yours. Meta then lets xconversions send and receive on that number.
Messages pass through Meta in both directions.
A customer’s message goes from WhatsApp to Meta to your Inbox. A reply from your team or your AI agent goes back the same way.
Meta’s rules apply to every message.
xconversions checks them before it sends: the 24-hour window, consent, the template’s status. When Meta refuses a message, xconversions shows the reason.
Meta decides, xconversions shows.
Template approval, quality, limits, verification and prices are Meta’s decisions. xconversions cannot change them or speed them up.
What stays yours
- The number. It is registered to your business at Meta, not to xconversions.
- The WhatsApp Business Account and the business portfolio. You can open them in WhatsApp Manager at any time, whatever happens in xconversions.
- Your templates. They live on your account at Meta.
- The bill for messages. Meta charges the payment method on your account directly. xconversions never sees the card and is not charged for what you send.
- Your customers’ consent. Asking for it, and keeping proof of it, is the business’s responsibility under Meta’s policy.
What you pay xconversions is separate: your plan, and what your AI agent uses. Plan & billing and AI usage show both.
If you disconnect a number on Channels, it leaves the workspace and your conversations stay. The number and the account remain yours at Meta.
The rules that come with it
| Rule | In one line | Read |
|---|---|---|
| 24-hour window | You can write freely only for 24 hours after a customer’s last message. | The 24-hour window |
| Templates | To write first you need a template Meta has approved. | Template categories and Meta’s review |
| Limits and quality | Meta caps how many people you can write to first, and rates how they react. | Messaging limits and quality rating |
| Verification | Proving the business is real raises the limits. | Business verification |
| Consent | A customer must agree before you write to them first. | Opt-in and opt-out |
| Charges | Meta bills you for each delivered message. | What WhatsApp charges |
Questions
Do I need the WhatsApp Business app to use xconversions?
No. A number on the Platform needs no app on a phone. If your number is already on the WhatsApp Business app, you can keep it there and share it: see Keeping the number on the WhatsApp Business app.
Can I use the same number in ordinary WhatsApp as well?
No. A number registered on the Platform cannot be used with the ordinary WhatsApp app. Ordinary calls and SMS on the line keep working.
Is xconversions made by Meta?
No. xconversions is an independent product built on Meta’s official WhatsApp Business Platform.
Does xconversions own my number or my templates?
No. They are on your account at Meta. xconversions works on them with the permission you gave when you connected the number.