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Send an outbound WhatsApp Web message

post/send-whatsapp-web-message-outbound
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Send an outbound WhatsApp Web message to a phone number. The message is added to the conversation with that number, which is created if it does not exist yet, and a lead is created for the number if there is none. When the recipient replies, their message is threaded into the same conversation.

An identical request (same chatbot, recipient, text, files and format) within 5 minutes of an accepted one is rejected with a 409 and not sent again.


🚨 CRITICAL: WhatsApp Web Ban Prevention Guide

IMPORTANT: This endpoint uses the unofficial WhatsApp Web protocol. Account bans are common and permanent. Follow these guidelines carefully to avoid losing your WhatsApp number.

⚠️ Terms of Service Warning

Using WhatsApp Web for bulk messaging or automation violates WhatsApp's Terms of Service.

  • Risk of permanent account ban with no appeal process
  • You could lose your personal WhatsApp number forever
  • WhatsApp does not officially support automation on personal accounts
  • For compliant messaging, follow the "Sending WhatsApp template messages" guide to send template messages via make.com or n8n using the WhatsApp Business API. When users reply, our workflow AI action can be configured to fetch the conversation context and use AI to respond automatically.

Use this endpoint at your own risk. These guidelines help reduce ban risk but do not guarantee safety.


📊 Daily Limits by Account Age

Account AgeMax NEW Contacts/DayTotal Messages/Day
First 10 days20 contacts40-50 messages
New (2-6 months)100-150 contacts100-200 messages
Established (6-12 mo)200-300 contacts200-300 messages
Mature (2+ years)Up to 500 contacts400-500 messages

Note: These are community-reported estimates, not official WhatsApp limits. Actual limits may vary by region, account history, and WhatsApp's detection algorithms.

Conservative recommendation: Max 200 new contacts/day regardless of account age.


🌍 Additional Risk Factors

Regional Variations
  • India & Brazil: Significantly stricter enforcement due to high spam rates
  • Ban thresholds may be lower in these regions
  • Consider even more conservative limits if sending from/to these countries
Multi-Session Limitations
  • WhatsApp Web supports 4-5 concurrent linked devices maximum
  • Connecting too many sessions simultaneously can trigger security flags
  • Avoid frequent session connects/disconnects
  • May need to re-authenticate after WhatsApp app updates

⚠️ Critical Ban Triggers (Avoid These!)

Instant Ban Scenarios:
  1. Spam Reports: 5-10 spam reports = permanent ban
    • 10% spam rate (10 blocks out of 100 contacts) = high ban risk
  2. Cold Messaging: Sending without opt-in consent = guaranteed ban
  3. Speed Violations:
    • Sending identical messages to 100+ contacts in <1 hour
    • No delays between messages (instant sending)
  4. Low Engagement: Consistently low response/reply rates may flag account as spam
  5. New Account Abuse: New account sending 100+ messages on day 1

🎯 Recommended Implementation Strategies

Note: No strategy guarantees ban prevention. WhatsApp's detection algorithms are proprietary and can change without notice. These are community best practices.

Conservative Approach (Safest - Recommended for New Accounts)

Limits:

  • Max 50 NEW contacts per day (first month)
  • Max 100 total messages per day
  • 45-60 second delay between messages (randomized)
  • Recommended: Send during business hours (9 AM - 6 PM) for better engagement

Batch Strategy:

  • 20 contacts per batch
  • 15-minute cooldown between batches
  • Stop immediately if response rate drops below 40%

Warm-up Schedule (First 30 Days):

  • Days 1-10: Max 20 NEW contacts/day
  • Days 11-20: Max 50 NEW contacts/day
  • Days 21-30: Max 100 NEW contacts/day
  • After 30 days: Max 150-200 NEW contacts/day
Standard Approach (After 1-2 Months)

Limits:

  • Max 150 NEW contacts per day
  • Max 200 total messages per day
  • 30-50 second delay between messages (randomized)

Batch Strategy:

  • 30 contacts per batch
  • 10-minute cooldown between batches
  • Stop if response rate drops below 45%
Aggressive Approach (Mature Accounts Only - 2+ Years)

Limits:

  • Max 300 NEW contacts per day
  • Max 400 total messages per day
  • 20-40 second delay between messages (randomized)

Batch Strategy:

  • 50 contacts per batch
  • 10-minute cooldown between batches
  • Stop if response rate drops below 50%

⚠️ Warning: Even mature accounts can be banned. Use with caution.


✅ Success Checklist

Before sending messages, ensure:

  • Messages are personalized (not identical mass messages)
  • Account has completed warm-up period (if new)
  • Consider sending during business hours (9 AM - 6 PM) for better engagement
  • Rate limiting is implemented and tested
  • Response rate monitoring is active
  • Daily quotas are tracked per account
  • Batch processing with cooldowns is configured

🛑 Failure Indicators - Stop Immediately If:

  • Response rate drops below 30%
  • You receive 2-3 spam reports
  • Messages fail to deliver
  • You receive a warning message from this API
  • Contacts start blocking you

Recovery: If you see these signs, stop all outbound messaging for 24-48 hours and review your strategy.


🏢 For Business/High-Volume Use

If you need to send:

  • More than 200 messages per day
  • Marketing or promotional content
  • Business-critical communications

Use a workflow automation platform with WhatsApp Business API integration instead. Follow the "Sending WhatsApp template messages" guide to send messages via make.com or n8n with our provided access token. When the user replies, you can use our workflow AI action, triggered on the first user message, to fetch the conversation context and respond automatically with AI.

The unofficial WhatsApp Web protocol is not suitable for business operations and carries high ban risk.


Audio messages: To send audio messages, make sure your plan includes audio messages and enable audio in Settings → Chat Interface.

Request body

Sending 3 of 5 fields
Required
chatbotIdstring
The unique identifier of the chatbot.
phonestring
Recipient phone number in E.164 format, with or without the leading '+' (for example 14155550123).
messagestring
The message text to send. It must not be empty.

Only these fields are sent (application/json).

Try it · POST /send-whatsapp-web-message-outbound
curl 'https://api.chat-data.com/api/v2/send-whatsapp-web-message-outbound' \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHAT_DATA_API_KEY" \  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \  -d '{  "chatbotId": "6650f1c2a9e4b83d2c7a1f05",  "phone": "14155550123",  "message": "Hi Jane, your order #10482 has shipped. Reply here if you have any questions."}'
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Responses

Message sent successfully.

Content type: application/json

FieldDescription
statusstringOne of: success.
conversationIdstringThe conversation ID, formed as <bot phone number>:<recipient phone number>.
leadUUIDstringThe UUID of the lead associated with the recipient. For WhatsApp Web leads it is the recipient's phone number, digits only.
actualFormatstringThe format in which the message was actually sent. When audio is requested but unavailable (disabled or generation failed), this is 'text' to indicate that the fallback occurred.

Example

{  "status": "success",  "conversationId": "14155550100:14155550123",  "leadUUID": "14155550123",  "actualFormat": "text"}

Last updated October 14, 2026