Bring Your Own WhatsApp Sender

A WhatsApp Sender is a phone number associated with a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA).

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Twilio Verify sends all WhatsApp messages via WhatsApp Senders managed and owned by customers. As a result, end-users receive improved Authentication Template messages from your own brand that feature a Copy Code button and are pre-defined by Meta:

Old Behavior	New Behavior
WhatsApp Sender Name: Verify Message body: "legacy" authentication template	WhatsApp Sender Name: Customer Brand or Phone Number Message body: Authentication template with Copy Code button
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PSD2 templates, such as "Use 123456 to approve your ACME transaction of $1.00 to John Doe" are no longer supported (this is a rare use case).

A business that does not meet Meta's commerce policy, such as cryptocurrency businesses, will not be able to create a WhatsApp Sender, and as a result won't be able to continue sending WhatsApp messages via Twilio Verify.

Meta requires businesses to use their own Sender to safeguard its ecosystem as WhatsApp API traffic grows. These requirements apply to all providers of WhatsApp messaging, not just Twilio Verify. Specifically, OTPs must be delivered by Authentication Templates, and a business must send from its own WABA to comply with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy.

Besides complying with Meta policy, there are two benefits to your end-users. First, Authentication Templates contain a Copy Code button so your users can easily copy and paste the OTP into your app. Second, your OTP messages come from your own brand instead of a generic "Verify", creating a branded and consistent end-user experience with other WhatsApp messages you send.

Complete the steps below to bring your own WhatsApp Sender to Verify WhatsApp:

Estimated time: Creating a WhatsApp Sender should take you about 1 hour. Meta's business verification process, however, may take an average of 1-2 weeks.

1. Login to Twilio Console for the account used for Verify WhatsApp.

2. Check if you already have an existing WhatsApp Sender by navigating to Messaging>Senders>WhatsApp Senders.

   1. A WhatsApp Sender is a special phone number associated with a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) that is enabled to send WhatsApp messages.
   2. If you are ok with using existing WhatsApp Sender/s for sending OTP messages, skip the next step. It's best practice to send OTP messages from a different WhatsApp Sender than marketing messages that recipients may block.

3. Create your own WABA and associate a phone number by following the steps in self-sign up with WhatsApp.

   1. If you are unable to create your own WhatsApp Sender due to a Meta commerce policy violation, switch to an alternative messaging channel like Verify SMS.

4. Create or use an existing Messaging Service to assign your newly created Sender.

5. Provide Twilio the Messaging Service SID, which starts with the letters "MG", that you want Verify WhatsApp to use by selecting it. Navigate to your Verify Service Configuration > Select the Verify Service > Go to the WhatsApp tab.

6. Review how Authentication Templates are created and how to manage the Messaging Limits for your WhatsApp Senders.

   1. You are responsible for maintaining the quality rating and messaging limits for your WhatsApp Senders.

7. If you want to send PSD2 messages or any other message that does not fit the Authentication Template format, switch to Twilio's Programmable Messaging API.

Any errors with your Verify WhatsApp set up such as those related to exceeding Sender Messaging limits error code: 63018 or missing Verify Messaging Services error code: 63008 will be exposed to you directly via API error responses.