WhatsApp opt-in: the permission you need before you message customers
Updated October 20, 2026
A WhatsApp opt-in is a customer's permission for your business to message them on WhatsApp. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy says you may contact people only if they gave you their number and you received their opt-in, confirming they want messages from you. You must also honor every request to stop, whether it reaches you on WhatsApp or anywhere else.
In short
- Two conditions: they gave you their number, and they agreed to hear from you.
- You choose how to collect it and you are responsible for it meeting the law where you trade.
- Separate opt-ins by category are WhatsApp's best practice: agreeing to order updates isn't agreeing to offers.
- Stop means stop, on or off WhatsApp, and remove them from your list.
- In the US, offers by WhatsApp don't arrive anyway: Meta doesn't deliver marketing templates to +1 numbers, so WhatsApp sends order updates (utility, about US$0.0034 each) and offers go by email.
What WhatsApp's policy requires
From the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (last updated 23 September 2026):
| Requirement | What it means for a restaurant |
|---|---|
| The person gave you their number | They typed it at checkout, messaged you first, or handed it to staff |
| You received their opt-in | They agreed to get messages from you on WhatsApp |
| The opt-in confirms they want future messages or calls | Vague consent hidden in terms isn't enough |
| You choose the method and make sure it meets applicable law | Your local privacy and marketing laws still apply |
| Respect every request to block, stop or opt out | Including a request made by phone or in person |
| Best practice: opt-ins per message category, and clear opt-out instructions | Ask separately for offers |
Good and weak opt-ins: restaurant examples
| Situation | Opt-in for order updates? | Opt-in for offers? |
|---|---|---|
| Customer messages "Hi" to order | Yes, for this conversation and their order | No, not on its own |
| Checkbox at checkout: "Send my order updates on WhatsApp" | Yes | No |
| Separate unticked box: "Send me offers on WhatsApp, max 2 a month" | n/a | Yes |
| Customer taps a click-to-WhatsApp ad and chats | For that chat | No |
| Number copied from a delivery app's order slip | No | No |
| A list bought or shared by another business | No | No |
A worked wording for a table card: "Want our weekly specials on WhatsApp? Message JOIN to (555) 010-0199. Reply STOP any time." The customer starts the chat, knows what they'll get and how to leave. (Illustrative number.)
Why opt-in matters beyond the rules
- Your number's standing. Meta watches how people react to your messages. Blocks and reports from people who never agreed lower your quality and can limit how many people you can reach.
- Cost. Marketing templates are the most expensive category; sending them to uninterested people wastes money.
- The customer can still say no. WhatsApp may also limit how many marketing messages a person receives when they don't engage.
Opting out: STOP
A customer can leave at any time, by replying STOP, blocking you, or telling you in person. Once they do, stop marketing messages to them and remove them from your offers list.
How Menuthere handles opt-in and opt-out
- STOP is automatic. On the Pro plan (US$39 a month), a customer who replies with a whole-message keyword such as stop, unsubscribe, cancel, opt out or remove me goes on the Broadcast Blocklist. They never get a broadcast, comeback message, abandoned cart reminder or "We're open again" message. Replying start, subscribe or opt in takes them off it.
- Block numbers by hand. Add any number to the Blocklist, or to the Flows Block list so it gets no automatic reply at all.
- Order updates are separate. STOP is recorded against marketing messages; use the Flows block list if someone wants no automatic messages.
- Your customer list is yours. Customers who order or message you appear in your customer list (Lite and up), which you can export.
What it doesn't do: Menuthere doesn't add a marketing-consent checkbox to checkout. How you collect permission for offers, and recording it, is up to you. See opt-outs and the blocklist.
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Related terms
- WhatsApp marketing template: the messages that most need a clear opt-in.
- WhatsApp utility template: order updates about something the customer started.
- First-party data: the customer details you collect yourself.
FAQs
What is a WhatsApp opt-in?
It is a customer's permission for your business to message them on WhatsApp. Under WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy they must have given you their number and agreed to receive messages from you.
Does a customer who messages me first count as opted in?
They have started a conversation, so you can reply and handle their order. That isn't permission for future offers. WhatsApp recommends a separate opt-in for each type of message, such as offers.
How should a restaurant collect WhatsApp opt-in?
Ask plainly and separately for offers, for example with an unticked checkbox at checkout or a sign on the table asking customers to message a keyword to join. Say what they'll get and how to stop. You are responsible for making the method meet your local law.
What happens when a customer replies STOP?
You must stop sending them marketing messages and remove them from your list. On Menuthere, a STOP reply puts the number on the Broadcast blocklist automatically, so it never receives broadcasts or other marketing flows.
Sources (4)
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, last updated 23 Sep 2026 (contact only people who gave their number and opted in; opt-in confirming they wish to receive messages; business solely responsible for the opt-in method and applicable law; respect all requests on or off WhatsApp to block, discontinue or opt out; best practice: opt-ins per category and clear opt-out instructions): https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Per-user marketing template message limits (WhatsApp may limit marketing messages to users less likely to engage): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Marketing Messages API: Get started (no marketing messages to US users from 1 April 2025): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/marketing-messages/get-started (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Opt-outs and the blocklist, updated 6 Oct 2026 (STOP keywords, START keywords, two lists, which flows skip blocked numbers): https://menuthere.com/docs/whatsapp/opt-outs-and-the-blocklist (accessed 20 Oct 2026)