"Why can I not just start a conversation myself?" A fair question, and the answer is not in Boomer but in Meta's rules for the official WhatsApp Business Platform. Once you see how it works, it turns out to be quite workable.
The core: you cannot message someone first, just like that
On the official platform you may not send a contact a free-form message first. That is how Meta protects people from unsolicited messages and spam. If you want to make contact first, that is possible only through a pre-approved template.
This applies to every company using the official platform, not just to Boomer. It is not a setting we can switch on or off.
The 24-hour window
The moment a contact messages you, a 24-hour service window opens. Inside that window you can chat freely: ordinary messages, no template needed.
- Someone messages you → the 24-hour window opens → you reply freely, as often as you like.
- Nothing happens for 24 hours → the window closes → a new message can only go out as a template.
Does the contact send something again after that? Then the window simply reopens.
So how you do start a conversation
Simple enough in practice:
- You open a new conversation with an approved template (an invitation, a shift request or a reminder, for example).
- The contact replies.
- From that moment the window is open and you carry on freely.
Templates may sound limiting, but they are your strongest tool for reach at scale: you reach hundreds or thousands of workers personally in one go, entirely within the rules. See WhatsApp template examples for inspiration.
Why this is actually good news
This system is exactly what makes the official platform ban-proof. Because you work through approved templates, you automatically stay within Meta's rules and avoid the risk a private number or a group chat does run. You trade a little bit of "just send a quick free-form message" for a channel that keeps working, even with thousands of workers.
Want to know which templates suit the way you work? Get in touch and we will think along.