#What is the 24-hour window on WhatsApp?
Every time a customer messages your business number, WhatsApp starts a 24-hour timer. Meta calls it the customer service window. If the same customer writes again before the timer ends, it starts again from 24 hours. Only the customer can open or extend it. Your own replies do not.
Here is a simple example. A customer writes at 10:00 on Monday. Your team can reply with text, photos, a PDF or a catalogue link until 10:00 on Tuesday. If she writes again at 09:00 on Tuesday, you now have until 09:00 on Wednesday.
Meta states the rule plainly in its send messages documentation (checked 26 Oct 2026):
When the window closes, you can only send pre-approved template messages.
This rule applies to the WhatsApp Business Platform, the official Cloud API that tools like Chirpoo use. It is the main reason a shared inbox needs to know the clock. The wider differences between the phone app and the API are covered in WhatsApp Business app vs API.
#What can you send inside the window?
Inside the window you can send whatever helps the customer. Text, images, documents, voice notes, buttons and product links are all allowed. You do not need Meta's approval for any of it, and you can write in the customer's language and tone.
For a small team, that means the window is your working time. A customer asks for a price, your coach or counter staff replies, the customer asks a follow-up, and the chat carries on at normal speed.
Three habits help:
- Reply while the window is open, because that is the cheap and simple path.
- Ask the customer a question at the end of your reply, so that a reply from them restarts the timer.
- Keep an eye on chats that are close to closing, especially for paying customers waiting on an answer.
In Chirpoo, the window appears on each chat as a timer next to the customer's name. Your team sees the time left before typing, so they do not write a long reply that WhatsApp will refuse.
#What can you send after the window closes?
After the window closes, you can send only a template. A template is a message with fixed wording and blanks for things like a name or an order number. You submit it to Meta, Meta reviews it, and once approved you can send it outside the window. Marketing templates go only to customers who opted in to marketing.
Templates carry a category. Utility templates cover things like an order update or an appointment reminder. Marketing templates cover offers and announcements. The category decides what Meta charges and which rules apply. The pricing guide and the post on utility versus marketing templates go through the costs.
Chirpoo helps with the awkward part, which is writing them. You describe the message in one line, Chirpoo drafts it to Meta's rules, and if Meta rejects it, Chirpoo redrafts it using Meta's own reasons. You can also activate templates from Meta's library in one click. Read more in the templates guide.
A template is not a way around consent. For marketing, the person must have opted in, and Chirpoo checks that before sending. The next post in this series, on opt-out and STOP, explains how.
#Why do replies in the window cost money from 1 Oct 2026?
From 1 Oct 2026, Meta charges for service messages after a free allowance. A service message is a normal reply that is not a template, sent inside the window. Meta gives every business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month, and it charges from the 1,001st. Per Meta's pricing page (checked 26 Oct 2026):
Each business phone number has one free tier of 1,000 delivered service messages per month. Meta charges as of the 1,001st service message per month, after the free tier has been used.
The free tier does not roll over. It resets every month for each number. Meta also says that if a business has no payment method on its messaging account, service messages are delivered within the free tier but not after it. So add a payment method in Meta's Billing Hub.
For most small teams, 1,000 replies a month per number is a lot of room. Chirpoo adds nothing on top of Meta's charges and never bills for messages. Meta bills you directly. The developer-level detail, with the India rates, is in the WhaBuzz post on the 24-hour window.
#How does Chirpoo show the window on every chat?
Chirpoo puts the window on the chat itself. You see how long is left, and you see when it has closed. Chirpoo enforces Meta's rule, so on a closed chat free text is refused and your team sends an approved template instead.
A few things follow from this:
- A new hire does not need to learn the rule, because the screen shows it.
- A manager scanning the inbox can see which chats are about to close.
- Assigning a chat to a person and snoozing it help a waiting customer stay visible. See running an inbox with a team.
Customers chirp, your team hears. The window just tells your team how long they have to answer in their own words.
Ad clicks have a special case. If a customer messages you through a click-to-WhatsApp ad, Meta's pricing page (checked 26 Oct 2026) says a free entry point window opens when you respond in time, and it "may remain open for up to 7 days". The click-to-WhatsApp guide explains it. Chirpoo also saves the ad's headline and link on the contact.
Start free for 14 days, sign in with an email code, connect your number and watch the window timer appear on your first chat. No card is needed.
Frequently asked questions about Chirpoo and this topic
How long is the WhatsApp 24-hour window?
It is 24 hours from the customer's latest message to your business number. If the customer writes again, the timer resets to 24 hours. Your own replies do not extend it. After it closes, you can send only an approved template until the customer messages again.
Can I reply after 24 hours without a template?
No. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta allows only pre-approved templates once the window has closed. In Chirpoo, free text on a closed chat is refused, so your team sends a template instead of guessing.
Does the window cost money?
Replies inside the window are free for the first 1,000 service messages per number each month. From the 1,001st, Meta charges its own rate, per its pricing page checked 26 Oct 2026. Chirpoo adds no charge per message. Chirpoo costs ₹999 a month, excluding 18% GST.
Does a Chirpoo reply reset the window?
No. Only a new message from the customer resets it, as Meta defines the window. Asking a clear question at the end of your reply is the practical way to encourage the customer to write back, which opens a fresh 24 hours.