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Delivery status
The lifecycle state of a sent WhatsApp message — sent, delivered, read or failed — reported back by webhook against the message's unique ID.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
Sent means WhatsApp accepted the message. Delivered means it reached the recipient's device. Read means they opened it. Failed carries an error code explaining why it did not arrive — an invalid number, a closed window, or a policy or billing problem on the account.
Per-message delivery visibility is one of the concrete advantages WhatsApp has over SMS for transactional messaging. A failed OTP is visible immediately with a reason attached, rather than disappearing silently.
Related terms
- Message ID (wamid)
- The unique identifier WhatsApp assigns to every message. It begins with 'wamid.' and is how delivery receipts, read receipts and replies are matched back to the original message.
- Read receipt
- The signal that a recipient has opened your WhatsApp message. It is reported to the business through a status webhook, subject to the recipient's own privacy settings.
- Webhook
- An HTTP callback Meta sends to your platform whenever something happens on your WhatsApp number — an inbound message, a delivery status change, or a template approval decision.
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