[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":242},["ShallowReactive",2],{"pseo:categories:channels":3,"pseo:features:index":86},{"endpoint_count":4,"feature_count":5,"features":6,"intro":58,"name":59,"order":5,"related":60,"seo":70,"slug":84,"tier":85,"url":78},13,3,[7,28,43],{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"cloud_api_status":10,"endpoint_count":11,"name":12,"short_verdict":13,"slug":14,"summary":15,"tutorials":16,"url":26,"vs_url":27},"ga","medium","forbidden",4,"Create Channel","No. Channels are absent from the official API.","create-channel","Create and manage a WhatsApp Channel.",[17,20,23],{"title":18,"url":19},"Python","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcreate-channel\u002Fpython\u002F",{"title":21,"url":22},"Node.js","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcreate-channel\u002Fnodejs\u002F",{"title":24,"url":25},"PHP","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcreate-channel\u002Fphp\u002F","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcreate-channel\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fcreate-channel\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"cloud_api_status":10,"endpoint_count":29,"name":30,"short_verdict":31,"slug":32,"summary":33,"tutorials":34,"url":41,"vs_url":42},5,"Post to Channel","No. You cannot publish to a Channel officially.","post-to-channel","Publish text and media to a WhatsApp Channel.",[35,37,39],{"title":18,"url":36},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fpost-to-channel\u002Fpython\u002F",{"title":21,"url":38},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fpost-to-channel\u002Fnodejs\u002F",{"title":24,"url":40},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fpost-to-channel\u002Fphp\u002F","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fpost-to-channel\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fpost-to-channel\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"cloud_api_status":10,"endpoint_count":11,"name":45,"short_verdict":46,"slug":47,"summary":48,"tutorials":49,"url":56,"vs_url":57},"low","Follow Channels","No. The official API cannot follow or read a Channel.","follow-channels","Find, follow and read WhatsApp Channels.",[50,52,54],{"title":18,"url":51},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Ffollow-channels\u002Fpython\u002F",{"title":21,"url":53},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Ffollow-channels\u002Fnodejs\u002F",{"title":24,"url":55},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Ffollow-channels\u002Fphp\u002F","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Ffollow-channels\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Ffollow-channels\u002F","WhatsApp Channels — newsletters in the protocol's own vocabulary — are one-to-many broadcasts that nobody can reply to, which makes them the right home for release notes, match results, price lists and service alerts. Wapito lets a linked number create a channel, publish text and media to it, read back what has already been posted, look up a channel from its invite code and follow other people's channels so your bot can react to what they publish. None of this exists in Meta's Cloud API, so a channel workflow is one of the clearest reasons teams pick an unofficial API.","Channels",{"hub":61,"matrix":62,"siblings":63},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002F",[64,67],{"title":65,"url":66},"Groups","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroups\u002F",{"title":68,"url":69},"Contacts","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcontacts\u002F",{"breadcrumb":71,"canonical":79,"description":80,"h1":81,"lastmod":82,"title":83},[72,75,77],{"name":73,"url":74},"Home","\u002F",{"name":76,"url":61},"WhatsApp API",{"name":59,"url":78},"\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fchannels\u002F","https:\u002F\u002Fwapito.com\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fchannels\u002F","WhatsApp Channels — newsletters in the protocol's own vocabulary — are one-to-many broadcasts that nobody can reply to, which makes them the right home for…","WhatsApp Channels API","2026-09-15","WhatsApp Channels API — 13 Endpoints | Wapito","channels","t1a",{"facts":87,"rows":111,"seo":231,"tier":241,"url":62},[88,93,99,105],{"checked":82,"claim":89,"key":90,"quote":91,"source_url":92},"Meta's Cloud API reference documents no endpoints for creating or administering WhatsApp groups. There is no way to create a group, list one, add or remove participants, manage admins, or read an invite link, and no documented way to obtain a group id in the first place.","groups_unsupported","Paraphrase (not a verbatim quote), read from the Cloud API reference index on the checked date: the reference covers sending messages to WhatsApp users and managing message templates; no group node or edge appears in it. The messages reference does list a group recipient type, but no endpoint returns or creates a group id, so the value cannot be obtained.","https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.facebook.com\u002Fdocs\u002Fwhatsapp\u002Fcloud-api\u002Freference",{"checked":82,"claim":94,"cost_label":95,"key":96,"quote":97,"source_url":98},"A business may send free-form messages only inside a 24-hour customer service window that the user opens by messaging or calling. Once the window closes, only pre-approved template messages may be sent.","Writing to someone first","template_and_24h_window","\"When a WhatsApp user messages you or calls you, a 24-hour timer called a customer service window starts.\" and \"When the window closes, you can only send pre-approved template messages.\" (both verbatim)","https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.facebook.com\u002Fdocs\u002Fwhatsapp\u002Fcloud-api\u002Fguides\u002Fsend-messages",{"checked":82,"claim":100,"cost_label":101,"key":102,"quote":103,"source_url":104},"Meta charges for the WhatsApp Business Platform per message rather than per conversation. The earlier per-conversation model was replaced on 1 July 2025, so any comparison written before that date is out of date; free entry point windows remain an exception.","Every message you send","per_message_pricing","\"Effective July 1, 2025, Meta charges on a per-message basis\" (verbatim). The same page describes Free Entry Point windows, which stay open for 72 hours and carry no charge for messages sent while open.","https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.facebook.com\u002Fdocs\u002Fwhatsapp\u002Fpricing",{"checked":82,"claim":106,"cost_label":107,"key":108,"quote":109,"source_url":110},"Apps that need advanced access to Meta's permissions may have to complete Business Verification, a process in which Meta collects information to verify the business entity. It is a real onboarding step with a real elapsed time, and it has no equivalent when you link a number you already own.","Getting onto the platform","business_verification","\"As of February 1, 2023, if your app requires advanced level access to permissions, you might need to complete Business Verification.\" and \"Business Verification is a process that allows us to gather information about you and your Business so we can verify your identity as a business entity.\" (both verbatim)","https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.facebook.com\u002Fdocs\u002Fdevelopment\u002Frelease\u002Fbusiness-verification",[112,120,126,132,138,145,151,157,163,171,177,183,184,185,186,193,201,207,214,222],{"availability":8,"ban_risk":113,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":115,"short_verdict":116,"slug":117,"url":118,"vs_url":119},"high","groups","Create Group","No. The official API cannot create a WhatsApp group.","create-group","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcreate-group\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fcreate-group\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":113,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":121,"short_verdict":122,"slug":123,"url":124,"vs_url":125},"Group Participants","No. The official API cannot add or remove group members.","group-participants","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-participants\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-participants\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":127,"short_verdict":128,"slug":129,"url":130,"vs_url":131},"Group Admins","No. There are no group roles in the official API.","group-admins","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-admins\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-admins\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":11,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":133,"short_verdict":134,"slug":135,"url":136,"vs_url":137},"Group Invite Link","No. Invite links are not part of the official API.","group-invite-link","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-invite-link\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-invite-link\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":139,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":140,"short_verdict":141,"slug":142,"url":143,"vs_url":144},2,"Group Settings","No. The official API cannot configure a group.","group-settings","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-settings\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-settings\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":11,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":146,"short_verdict":147,"slug":148,"url":149,"vs_url":150},"Group Join Requests","No. Join requests do not exist in the official API.","group-join-requests","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-join-requests\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-join-requests\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":152,"short_verdict":153,"slug":154,"url":155,"vs_url":156},"Group Info","No. The official API cannot see a group at all.","group-info","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-info\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-info\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":44,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":158,"short_verdict":159,"slug":160,"url":161,"vs_url":162},"Leave Group","No. The official API has no group to leave.","leave-group","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fleave-group\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fleave-group\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":164,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":165,"name":166,"short_verdict":167,"slug":168,"url":169,"vs_url":170},11,"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.facebook.com\u002Fdocs\u002Fwhatsapp\u002Fcloud-api\u002Freference\u002Fmessages","Send Group Message","No. The official API cannot post into a group.","send-group-message","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fsend-group-message\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fsend-group-message\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":44,"endpoint_count":11,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":172,"short_verdict":173,"slug":174,"url":175,"vs_url":176},"Group Icon","No. There is no group, so there is no group icon.","group-icon","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-icon\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-icon\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":114,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":44,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":178,"short_verdict":179,"slug":180,"url":181,"vs_url":182},"Group Events","No. The official API has no group events.","group-events","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fgroup-events\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fgroup-events\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"category":84,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":11,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":12,"short_verdict":13,"slug":14,"url":26,"vs_url":27},{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"category":84,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":29,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":30,"short_verdict":31,"slug":32,"url":41,"vs_url":42},{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":84,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":11,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":45,"short_verdict":46,"slug":47,"url":56,"vs_url":57},{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"category":187,"cloud_api_status":10,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":11,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":188,"short_verdict":189,"slug":190,"url":191,"vs_url":192},"status","Post Status","No. Status does not exist in the official API.","post-status","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fpost-status\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fpost-status\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":113,"category":194,"cloud_api_status":195,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":139,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":196,"short_verdict":197,"slug":198,"url":199,"vs_url":200},"contacts","restricted","Check Number","Not really. There is no official validation endpoint.","check-number","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fcheck-number\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fcheck-number\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":44,"category":194,"cloud_api_status":195,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":139,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":165,"name":202,"short_verdict":203,"slug":204,"url":205,"vs_url":206},"LID to Phone","Not applicable. The official API never shows you a LID.","lid-to-phone","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Flid-to-phone\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Flid-to-phone\u002F",{"availability":208,"ban_risk":44,"category":194,"cloud_api_status":195,"demand":9,"endpoint_count":5,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":92,"name":209,"short_verdict":210,"slug":211,"url":212,"vs_url":213},"beta","Profile Picture","Partly. You can set yours, not read theirs.","profile-picture","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fprofile-picture\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fprofile-picture\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"category":215,"cloud_api_status":195,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":216,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":98,"name":217,"short_verdict":218,"slug":219,"url":220,"vs_url":221},"messaging",12,"Send Without Template","Only inside a 24-hour window opened by the customer.","send-message-without-template","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fsend-message-without-template\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fsend-message-without-template\u002F",{"availability":8,"ban_risk":9,"category":223,"cloud_api_status":195,"demand":113,"endpoint_count":224,"meta_checked":82,"meta_doc_url":225,"name":226,"short_verdict":227,"slug":228,"url":229,"vs_url":230},"account",7,"https:\u002F\u002Fdevelopers.facebook.com\u002Fdocs\u002Fwhatsapp\u002Fcloud-api\u002Freference\u002Fphone-numbers","Connect a Number","No. Meta registers the number and takes it off the app.","connect-number-qr-pairing","\u002Fwhatsapp-api\u002Fconnect-number-qr-pairing\u002F","\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002Fconnect-number-qr-pairing\u002F",{"breadcrumb":232,"canonical":236,"description":237,"h1":238,"lastmod":239,"title":240},[233,234],{"name":73,"url":74},{"name":235,"url":62},"vs Cloud API","https:\u002F\u002Fwapito.com\u002Fvs-cloud-api\u002F","A sourced, per-feature matrix of what Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API cannot do. 20 features compared against Meta's documentation.","WhatsApp Cloud API vs Wapito, feature by feature","2026-09-17","WhatsApp Cloud API Limits: What Meta Cannot Do | Wapito","t4",1790464898663]