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Authentication template
A WhatsApp template category reserved for one-time passcodes and login verification. Content is tightly constrained — the message carries the code and nothing promotional.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
Authentication templates follow a fixed shape: a one-time code, an optional expiry note, and a copy-code or one-tap autofill button. Meta constrains the wording deliberately, because OTP delivery is a channel fraudsters actively try to abuse.
For businesses replacing SMS OTP with WhatsApp, the practical draws are delivery visibility — you can see delivered and read status, which SMS does not reliably give — and the autofill button, which removes the copy-paste step customers most often abandon on.
Related terms
- Message category (Marketing, Utility, Authentication, Service)
- The four buckets Meta sorts WhatsApp conversations into. Marketing, Utility and Authentication are template messages and each carries its own rate; Service messages are free-form replies inside the 24-hour window, free until 1 October 2026 and charged per message after that.
- Template buttons
- Tappable actions attached to a WhatsApp template. They come in two families: quick replies that send a preset response, and call-to-action buttons that open a URL or dial a number.
- Utility template
- A WhatsApp template category for transactional updates tied to a specific order, account or appointment — confirmations, shipping updates, reminders. Rates are lower than marketing.
See Authentication template in a real workspace
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