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WhatsApp: Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions about WhatsApp messages in Customer.io.

How do I know the difference between SMS and WhatsApp deliveries?

We treat WhatsApp actions as SMS messages in almost every way. You can see the difference between SMS and WhatsApp messages using the to and from fields in the Delivery Logs. WhatsApp messages prefix these values with whatsapp:.

Otherwise, all of the reporting metrics that apply to SMS messages also apply to WhatsApp messages.

Does Customer.io know if a sender is WhatsApp-approved?

No. Unfortunately, we cannot identify WhatsApp senders separately from your SMS senders. You can only obtain this information from the WhatsApp Senders page in your Twilio console.

Because Customer.io can’t tell the difference between WhatsApp and standard SMS senders, you may want to note which platform your different sender identities support in Twilio, before you sync sender identities from Twilio to Customer.io.

Do you support Messaging Service SIDs?

No. You must provide a single sender ID when you send a message.

Why do I get a 21212 error?

This error means that your message’s From address uses a Messaging Service SID. We don’t support Messaging Service SIDs for WhatsApp messages today. You’ll need to provide a single sender ID when you send a message.

A Messaging Service SID is essentially a pool of senders that Twilio uses to load-balance messages. See Twilio’s documentation for more information about registering WhatsApp senders with Twilio.

Do you support conversational messaging?

Yes, but you’ll need to set up specialized campaigns to support it.

Conversational messaging are one-to-one, free-form messages between you and your customers. Per WhatsApp requirements, your audience must initiate the session by texting you first. When your audience begins a session, you can send free-form replies for up to 24 hours.

To detect the start of a session, you’ll need to set up a workflow in Twilio to handle the incoming message. The process would be similar to our unsubscribe keyword process.