What is WhatsApp opt-in?
WhatsApp opt-in is the permission a customer gives a business to message them on WhatsApp, which Meta requires before any business-initiated template message may be sent.
What counts as valid permission.
Meta's requirement is that the customer clearly agreed to hear from your business on WhatsApp, and knew what they were agreeing to. Two things must be obvious at the moment of consent: that the messages will arrive on WhatsApp, and which business is sending them. A pre-ticked box buried in terms and conditions does not qualify. A checkbox next to plain wording, with your business name in it, does.
Where you collect it.
Opt-in can be collected anywhere, on any channel: a website form, a checkout page, a paper form at the counter, a reply in an existing WhatsApp thread, a QR code in-store, a phone call your team logs. What matters is the wording and the record, not the medium. Many Singapore SMEs collect it at the point of purchase, which is the moment a customer is most willing to say yes.
Records and opting out.
Keep proof: what was shown, when, and which number consented. If a customer complains or Meta reviews your account, that record is what you produce. You also have to honour opt-outs promptly, and give people an obvious way to stop. Under Singapore's PDPA, consent and withdrawal duties apply on top of Meta's rules, so treat the two as one process rather than two.
The Voltade take
We wire opt-in capture into the workflow rather than leaving it as an admin task, so the consent is recorded against the customer at the moment it is given. Clean permission is also the cheapest way to protect a quality rating: people rarely block messages they asked for.
Related pages
More from the glossary
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