Coexistence
Keep the WhatsApp Business app on your phone while your team works the same number in Risponse. Messages sync both ways, and up to 180 days of one-to-one chats come across at setup.
WhatsApp coexistence is Meta’s option to run one phone number on the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business API (Cloud API) at the same time. Messages are mirrored between the two, so the owner keeps chatting on the phone while a team answers the same customers from an inbox such as Risponse.
The old trade-off
Many owners answer customers in the Business app, with their recent chats right there. Asking them to give that up stalls the move.
Approved templates and higher volume come with the API, not the app. A team that needed them used to need a separate number.
Adding a new number only for the API splits conversations, and customers are not sure which number to message.
How the work splits
The owner keeps replying from the Business app. In Risponse, teammates pick up chats, leave private notes and reply, and each reply shows who sent it.
What you get
At setup, up to 180 days (about 6 months) of one-to-one chats sync, so the team starts with recent context.
Messages sent from the phone appear in Risponse, and replies sent from Risponse appear in the app, on the same number.
Messages sent from the Business app cost nothing extra. Meta bills only messages sent through the API, per delivered message.
The API side lets you send Meta-approved templates, so you can start chats from the number your customers already saved.
Meta fixes coexistence numbers at 20 messages per second. Plan big sends with that pace in mind.
Meta lets contacts that have a WhatsApp number sync along with your one-to-one chat history.
At a glance
Meta turns a few Business app features off once a number also runs on the API, and some app tools never reach the API. Plan for both before you switch.
| Area | With coexistence | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one chats | Sync both ways between the app and Risponse | Reply from either side |
| Chat history | Up to 180 days of one-to-one chats sync at setup | Keep the Business app open while it syncs |
| Groups | Keep working in the app, but do not sync, and the Groups API is not offered | Run groups on a number connected by QR code |
| Broadcast lists | Turned off in the app. Existing lists become read-only | Use approved templates for messages you start |
| Disappearing messages, view once and live location | Turned off for one-to-one chats | Send details as normal messages |
| Labels, quick replies, catalog, calls and Channels | Keep working in the app, but the API does not support them | Use labels and quick replies in Risponse, and the phone for the rest |
| Blue tick (OBA) | Not available | Use a full API number if you plan to apply |
| Sending speed | Fixed at 20 messages per second | Spread large sends over time |
| Cost | App messages free, API messages billed by Meta per delivered message | Check Meta’s rates for your customers’ countries |
| Phone activity | About 14 days without opening the app can disconnect the number | Open the Business app regularly |
Meta sets these rules and can change them. Read Meta’s coexistence guide before you switch a number.
Setup
The number must already be on the WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or later. Check Meta’s coexistence guide for any current limits on your number.
Connect the number for coexistence from your Risponse workspace, with the phone at hand, and leave the Business app open until the history sync finishes.
Invite teammates and share chats with labels. The owner can still answer customers on the phone.
FAQ
Still unsure? Email us and a person from our team will reply.
Yes, with coexistence. The number stays in the Business app on your phone and runs on the API in Risponse at the same time. Messages sync both ways, so you can reply from either side.
Yes, for one-to-one chats. Up to 180 days (about 6 months) of history syncs when you connect the number, and new messages keep syncing both ways after that. Group chats do not sync.
Messages you send from the Business app stay free. Messages sent through the API, including replies from Risponse, are billed by Meta per delivered message, by category and recipient country, and as of October 2026 the first 1,000 service replies per number each month are free. Your Risponse plan is separate.
Meta’s WhatsApp pricingMeta decides where and for which numbers coexistence is offered, and it can change this. Before you switch, check Meta’s coexistence guide for current limits and update the Business app to version 2.24.17 or later.
Meta’s coexistence guideMeta turns off broadcast lists, and existing lists become read-only. Disappearing messages, view once and live location are turned off for one-to-one chats. Labels, quick replies, the catalog, calls and Channels keep working in the app, but the API does not support them, so use labels and quick replies in Risponse.
Groups stay in the Business app on the phone, but they do not sync to Risponse, and Meta’s Groups API is not open to Business app numbers. The Official Business Account badge is not available either. If customer groups matter, run them on a number you connect with a QR code.
Group managementGuides