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Session message
A free-form WhatsApp message sent inside the 24-hour customer service window. It needs no template approval because the customer messaged first.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
Session messages are ordinary conversation: an agent types a reply and sends it. No pre-approved template, no per-template charge. This is the mode a support team spends most of its day in.
The moment the window closes, session messages stop being possible and re-engagement requires an approved template. Platforms that show a live window countdown in the inbox exist because that transition is otherwise invisible until a send fails.
Related terms
- Customer service window
- The 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages your business. Replies you send inside it are free-form rather than templates — free until 1 October 2026, and charged per message after that.
- Service conversation
- A WhatsApp conversation the customer starts, handled inside the 24-hour customer service window. Service replies are not charged per template message.
- Template message
- A pre-approved message format required to contact a customer outside the 24-hour customer service window. Meta categorises templates as Marketing, Utility or Authentication, and charges a different rate for each.
See Session message in a real workspace
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