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Guide · Choosing a channel · For the owner whose customers write on Facebook

WhatsApp or Messenger for customer conversations? How Meta's rules let a business reach customers on each

Messenger and WhatsApp both belong to Meta, both let a connected system answer customers, and since Meta added templates and marketing messages to Messenger they look more alike than they used to. The difference that remains is about who a business can reach, and how it addresses them. Meta's own pages set it out.

Published 5 October 2026

What the two share

On both, a customer who writes opens a window in which the business can reply with anything, promotions included: 24 hours for most messages, and up to 7 days on Messenger after a customer comes through an ad that opens Messenger. On both, the business can send order updates and reminders after that window from templates, and can send marketing messages to people who have agreed to receive them.

Messenger's ways to write after the window

Utility messages
Templates for order and account updates and appointment or event reminders, from Meta's library or written by the Page and approved within seconds. Meta says they must not contain marketing.
Marketing messages
Promotions to subscribers who have opted in. Meta offers them only through tech providers whose apps passed its review, for businesses in listed regions that include the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and not to people in the EU, Japan, South Korea, Australia or the UK. Meta charges the business for each message.
Message tags
Personally relevant updates for a set of approved uses, including a Human Agent tag that gives staff a separate 7-day window. Meta warns that using tags outside their approved uses may restrict the Page's sending.
One-time notifications
When a person asks to be told once, for example when an item is back in stock, the Page may send a single message. The permission can be used once and expires within a year.
Private replies
One message in reply to a comment or a visitor post on the Page, within 7 days of it.

Where WhatsApp differs

Every Messenger route above is addressed to the ID Meta gives a person in their conversation with the Page, which exists only once that person has interacted with it. On WhatsApp, a template is sent to the customer's phone number. A customer who gave their number at the counter, on a form or over the phone can therefore be sent an order update or an offer on WhatsApp without having written first, provided they have agreed to it. Meta's pricing page says templates are the only messages a business can send on WhatsApp outside the customer service window.

Getting that agreement is covered in the opt-in guide, and the Instagram side of the same question in the Instagram comparison.

Using each for what it is good at

  1. Answer where the customer wrote. A message to the Facebook Page is answered on Messenger, inside the window, as quickly as possible.
  2. Use WhatsApp for customers met elsewhere. Customers who came in through the shop, the phone or the website have a number, not a Messenger conversation. With their agreement, WhatsApp can reach them.
  3. Do not lean on tags for promotions. Message tags are for approved, personally relevant updates. Meta warns that misusing them may restrict the Page.

Questions

Can a business send promotions on Messenger?

Inside the 24-hour window, yes. Outside it, Meta offers marketing messages to subscribers who have opted in, sent through a tech provider, and sponsored messages.

Are Messenger marketing messages available in the UAE?

Meta lists the UAE and Saudi Arabia among the regions whose businesses tech providers can serve. Messages can go to people anywhere except the EU, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the UK.

Can we send an order update on Messenger after 24 hours?

Yes, as a utility message from an approved template. Meta says utility messages must not contain marketing.

Can we message a customer on Messenger who never wrote to our Page?

Messenger messages are addressed to the ID Meta gives a person in their conversation with the Page. A phone number taken at the counter is no use on Messenger; on WhatsApp it is the address, once the customer has agreed to be messaged.

Sources

More plain-language notes like this one are on the guides page.

Customers you met offline?

We set up a business's WhatsApp on a proper system, with a permission step so customers met at the counter or on the phone can be kept up to date. A short call is the easiest way to see whether it fits your business.

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