WhatsApp with your own Meta credentials: full guide

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This guide explains, step by step, how to connect your WhatsApp number to MuseRelay with your own Meta credentials (BYOK mode, “bring your own key”): what you need, what each Meta piece is, how to create it, what limits a new account has, what it costs and how to solve the most common problems.

Guided connection is coming soon

We are preparing the guided connection: Meta’s official signup built into the panel, where you log in with Facebook, choose your business and your number, and the app, the token and the webhook are set up for you. In the meantime, and whenever you prefer to control your own Meta app, this is how to connect.

What connecting with your own credentials means

With BYOK, the WhatsApp connection goes through a Meta app that belongs to you. You create it, give it access to your WhatsApp account and give MuseRelay four values: the Phone Number ID, the Business Account ID (WABA), a permanent access token and the App Secret. Then you set up in your app the address (webhook) where Meta will send the messages.

You control access: you can revoke it at any time from Meta.
Meta bills you for messages that have a cost, with your payment method.
No App Review needed: Meta states that a developer who only accesses their own business data does not need App Review or advanced access for the WhatsApp permissions. That is why the app and the assets must belong to your business.

More in Meta’s documentation: Permissions and App Review.

Before you start: five checks

Which account you will log in with. Use your real Facebook profile (or a managed Meta account) and check it has no restrictions.
Whether your business already has a business portfolio in Meta and you have full control of it. Creating another one without need leaves your assets scattered.
Where your number is now: free, on personal WhatsApp, on the WhatsApp Business app, or already connected to another API or provider (see Your number).
Whether you want to keep using the number in the phone app. That changes the path.
Which payment method the WhatsApp account will have and what kind of messages you will send, so you know the real limits and costs.

The Meta pieces and what each one is for

Piece	What it is for
Facebook account or managed Meta account	Identifies the person who logs in and manages the assets.
Business portfolio (formerly “Business Manager”)	Groups your business assets and permissions inside Meta. The system user and the payment method are created here.
Developer registration	Lets that person use Meta for Developers and create apps. It is free.
Meta app	The technical integration that uses the WhatsApp API. With BYOK it is yours.
WhatsApp account and Messaging account	They organise the number, the templates and billing (see the box below).
Phone number	The number your business uses to serve its customers.

New in Meta: two kinds of WhatsApp account

Meta is splitting the old “WhatsApp Business account” in two: the WhatsApp account (WAAC), which holds the number and represents your business, and the Messaging account, which holds the templates and billing. The WABA ID you already had now identifies the Messaging account: the value does not change, and it is what the Business Account ID (WABA) field asks for. If you see both names in Meta, don’t worry: the connection works the same way.

More in Meta’s documentation: WhatsApp accounts and Messaging accounts.

Do I need a company? Can a sole trader do it?

WhatsApp Business Platform is for business use (businesses, professionals, organisations), not for automating a personal WhatsApp. But you do not need to incorporate a company to create the portfolio and get started:

The business portfolio is an administrative container inside Meta. To create it, Meta asks for the real public name of the business, the admin’s details and a business email, confirmed by email. Creating it does not incorporate a company or verify it.
Company: use its details and documents.
Sole trader or self-employed: represent your real activity; if you later verify the business, you will provide the documents Meta accepts for your activity and country.
Private individual with no business activity: being able to create a portfolio does not make it a business. The platform is meant for business purposes.

If you want to verify the business, Meta asks for consistent details (legal name, address, phone, website) and, when its records are not enough, official documents: registrations or licences, official tax documents or other proof. A utility bill can work for the address or phone, but it is not enough to prove the legal name. Accepted documents depend on the country.

More in Meta’s documentation: Create a business portfolio · Verify your business.

“Verified” can mean different things

Verification or approval	What it means
Number code by SMS or call	Proves you control that phone. Always required.
Business verification (portfolio)	Meta checks the business and its representative’s link to it. Optional to get started.
Display name approval	Meta accepts the business name shown on WhatsApp.
Admin identity confirmation	Confirms the person; Meta may ask for it as an extra step.
Official Business Account (OBA)	A badge on the number, with its own application and review. It requires a verified business, two-step verification on the number and an approved display name, among other criteria.
Meta Verified	A paid subscription with its own requirements and benefits (Meta Verified). It is not the same as verifying the business and does not change messaging limits.

Verifying the business does not automatically give you a badge. That is why “it isn’t verified” means nothing until you say which verification is missing.

More in Meta’s documentation: Display names · Official Business Accounts (OBA).

What you can do without verifying the business

You can start without verifying: register the number, receive messages, reply to people who write to you and send a limited number of messages started by your business. These are the starting capabilities:

Capability	At the start	How it grows
Messages outside the customer service window	250 unique recipients per rolling 24 hours, shared by all numbers in the portfolio.	Up to 2,000 through any of the paths below; then 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited depending on quality and volume.
Receiving messages and replying within the window	They do not use that quota.	Still subject to quality, technical rules and billing.
Registered numbers	2 per WhatsApp account hierarchy.	Rises automatically to 20 when you verify the business or reach the 2,000 limit.
Stored templates	250 per Messaging account.	Up to 6,000 with a verified business and at least one number with an approved display name.
Official account (OBA)	Not available.	Requires a verified business and passing its review.

The 250 recipients and the 250 templates are different limits: one is how many people you can message first; the other, how many message templates you can store.

More in Meta’s documentation: Messaging limits · Business phone numbers.

The 24-hour window: what uses the quota

According to Meta, the limit counts the unique recipients your messages are delivered to outside a customer service window, in a rolling 24-hour period.

Situation	Does it use the quota?
A customer writes to you.	No.
Your team or your AI assistant replies within 24 hours of the customer’s last message.	No.
You write to someone who has no open window.	Yes, with an approved template.
You pick up a conversation whose last customer message was several days ago.	Yes, with an approved template.

The window opens or renews with every customer message; a message from your business does not extend it. Example: if a customer writes on Monday at 10:00, you can reply without a template until Tuesday at 10:00. If they write again on Monday at 18:00, the window ends on Tuesday at 18:00.

For a support service that answers customers who write on their own, the starting quota does not mean “you can only serve 250 people a day”.

How to go from 250 to 2,000

Meta offers three paths:

Verify the business.
Verification through an authorised Meta partner, where applicable.
Deliver 2,000 messages outside customer service windows to unique recipients within 30 days, using good-quality templates.

Meta reviews quality and can approve or deny the increase. Some Meta help pages still mention other figures (for example, 1,000 conversations); the current technical documentation uses 250 and 2,000. The real limit is always the one you see in WhatsApp Manager, together with your number’s quality rating.

More in Meta’s documentation: Partner-led business verification.

Your number: four different cases

Adding a phone to your Facebook profile does not enable the WhatsApp API. What matters is linking the number to your WhatsApp account in Meta and registering it for the API.

A. New or free number

The simplest case. You need to be able to receive the code by SMS or call. Meta distinguishes between adding the number, verifying you control it and registering it for the API: seeing it on a Meta screen does not mean registration is finished.

B. Number you use on personal WhatsApp

It cannot be used on personal WhatsApp and on the API at the same time. Before deleting or unlinking anything, identify which app and which account use the number, save what you need and follow the switch procedure Meta indicates.

C. Number you use on the WhatsApp Business app

Keeping the WhatsApp Business phone app and the API on the same number (what Meta calls Coexistence) needs a specific signup, different from connecting with your own credentials, and it will be available with the guided connection. With BYOK, the number is managed from MuseRelay; the usual approach is a number dedicated to customer service. This is not the same as personal WhatsApp.

D. Number already connected to another API or provider

Check in Meta which account it belongs to and what permissions you have. In the new account model, the number stays in its WhatsApp account and another provider is added by sharing that account; templates and billing are not moved automatically between Messaging accounts. If you connect several platforms at once, decide which one receives and answers each conversation.

More in Meta’s documentation: WhatsApp Business app users (Coexistence) · Register a phone number.

Step by step

Meta’s menu names change often and may vary by language. If a button is not exactly where described, look for the same concept on the screen.

1. Log in with your Facebook account

Use your real profile; you do not need another Facebook account to connect WhatsApp. If your account is very new, Meta may prevent you from creating a business account and recommend waiting a few hours. It may also block the process because of insufficient permissions or account restrictions: in that case, resolve the specific requirement Meta shows.

Turn on two-factor authentication on your Facebook account: Meta may ask for it to manage the portfolio.

More in Meta’s documentation: Embedded Signup errors.

2. Register as a developer

Go to developers.facebook.com with that account and complete the developer registration (accept the terms and confirm your details). It is free and done only once.

More in Meta’s documentation: Register as a developer.

3. Choose or create the business portfolio

If your business already has a portfolio, use it. If not, create it at business.facebook.com with your business’s real public name, your details and a business email (confirm it from the email Meta sends you). You can also create it during the next step.

More in Meta’s documentation: Create a business portfolio.

4. Create the Meta app

In Meta for Developers, click My Apps → Create app.
Choose the use case to connect with customers through WhatsApp (or the Business app type, depending on what Meta shows you).
Select your business portfolio (or create a new one) and finish the wizard.

More in Meta’s documentation: Create an app.

5. Add and register your number

In the app, open WhatsApp → API Setup.
Meta offers you a test number: it is for testing, but it can only message a few recipients you add by hand. Do not connect it to serve customers.
Click Add phone number, fill in the display name (your business name, following Meta’s guidelines) and the category, enter your number and verify the code by SMS or call.
Check in WhatsApp Manager → Phone numbers that the number shows as connected. If it stays pending registration, finish registering it from Meta’s screens (it may ask for a two-step verification PIN: keep it safe; Meta is gradually phasing it out for eligible numbers).

More in Meta’s documentation: Business phone numbers · Register a phone number · Two-step verification for the number · Display names.

6. Copy the Phone Number ID and the Business Account ID (WABA)

In WhatsApp → API Setup, select your number (not the test one) and copy:

Phone Number ID: this is not your phone number, but an identifier of about 15 or 16 digits that Meta assigns to your number.
WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID): the identifier of your WhatsApp Business account (today, of the Messaging account).

7. Create a system user and generate the permanent token

The temporary token shown on the API Setup screen expires within hours and will not keep the channel working. You need a system user token:

In business.facebook.com → Settings → Users → System users, click Add, give it a name (for example “WhatsApp API”) and the Admin role.
Click Assign assets: under Apps, your app with full control; under WhatsApp accounts, your account with full control.
Click Generate token, choose your app, set expiry to Never and tick the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions.
Copy the token right away: Meta shows it only once. Do not send it by email or chat; paste it straight into the panel.

More in Meta’s documentation: Add system users · Permissions and App Review.

8. Copy the App Secret

In Meta for Developers → your app → App settings → Basic → App secret → Show. MuseRelay uses it to check that every incoming message really comes from Meta: without it, messages are rejected.

9. Add a payment method

In WhatsApp Manager (or in your portfolio’s payment settings), add a payment method to your WhatsApp account. Without it, messages that have a cost may stop being delivered (see What it costs).

10. Create the channel in MuseRelay

In the panel, go to Channels → Create channel and choose WhatsApp.
Fill in the phone number with country code (for example +34666123456), the Phone Number ID, the Business Account ID (WABA), the Access Token and the App Secret.
Click Save. The Webhook configuration card appears with the Webhook URL and the Verify Token, each with its copy button.

Credentials are stored encrypted and never shown in full in the panel.

11. Set up the webhook in your Meta app

In your app, open WhatsApp → Configuration (in apps created with the WhatsApp use case: Use cases → Customize → Configuration).
Under Webhook, click Edit, paste the Webhook URL as the callback URL and the Verify Token as the verify token, then click Verify and save.
Under Webhook fields, subscribe to the messages field.
Publish the app (Live mode). Meta warns that some webhooks are not sent while the app is in development mode. To publish it, Meta will ask for some details in Settings → Basic, such as your privacy policy URL.

More in Meta’s documentation: Webhooks · App modes (development and live).

12. Test the connection

On the channel page, click Test connection → Run test. You will see whether it works or the exact reason if not.
From another phone, write to your WhatsApp number. The message should appear in the inbox.
Reply from the inbox (or let your assistant reply) and check it arrives.

If the message does not reach the inbox, follow the Common problems table.

If someone else sets it up for you

If a technician or your provider sets it up for you, do it inside your own portfolio: add them as an admin (Settings → Users → People), let them create the app, the system user and the token in your portfolio and, when they finish, reduce or remove their access. The app, the number and the payment method must belong to your business. Give them your authorisation in writing: by setting it up they accept Meta’s terms on behalf of your business.

What it costs

There are two separate costs: Meta’s charges for messages, which Meta bills directly to your WhatsApp account with your payment method, and the price of your plan in MuseRelay. With your own credentials, MuseRelay does not charge or add any per-message markup.

Since 1 October 2026, according to Meta:

Messages the customer sends you have no cost.
Each number has 1,000 free service messages per month (replies within the customer service window). From the 1,001st that month, Meta charges them at its rate.
Utility templates sent within the window are also charged, except for Meta’s exceptions (for example, conversations started from ads that open a WhatsApp chat).
Messages outside the window (templates) are charged by category and the recipient’s country.
Without a payment method, messages that have a cost may stop being delivered.

“Replying within the window does not use the 250 quota” and “replying is free” are different things: the first does not imply the second. See Meta’s current pricing.

More in Meta’s documentation: Pricing.

Rules that always apply

Correct business details and a person authorised to manage it.
Enough permissions on the assets (app and WhatsApp account).
Control of the number and a valid registration.
Consent to contact each recipient and respect for opt-outs.
Approved templates to write outside the window.
Compliance with WhatsApp policies on allowed activities and content.
Privacy information and a support contact.
If you automate replies, WhatsApp requires a clear way to reach a person (human support in the chat, phone, email or web form). In MuseRelay you can set up the handoff to a person on each channel.

More in Meta’s documentation: Getting opt-in · Templates · Authentication templates · WhatsApp Business policies.

Common problems and how to fix them

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
The panel does not accept the Phone Number ID.	You entered your phone number.	Copy the 15–16 digit identifier from WhatsApp → API Setup, with your number selected.
The channel worked and a few hours later shows Disconnected (error 190).	You used the temporary token or a normal user token, which expire.	Generate a system user token with “Never” expiry (step 7) and update it on the channel page.
Permission error (codes 10 or 200).	The token lacks `whatsapp_business_messaging` and `whatsapp_business_management`, or the system user does not have the app or the WhatsApp account assigned.	Check the asset assignment with full control and generate a new token with both permissions.
Parameter error (code 100) when testing.	Phone Number ID or WABA ID from another account, from the test number, or with an extra character.	Copy both identifiers again with your number selected.
Meta does not verify the webhook.	URL or token copied with spaces or incomplete, or the channel is not saved yet.	Save the channel first and copy the Webhook URL and Verify Token with their copy buttons.
The webhook verifies, but messages do not reach the inbox.	The `messages` field subscription is missing, the app is still in development mode, or the app is not subscribed to your WhatsApp account.	Subscribe to `messages`, publish the app and check the app’s subscription to the account (see below).
Messages stop arriving after changing the app settings.	You reset the App Secret in Meta.	Copy the new App Secret and update it on the channel page.
You receive but cannot send; the channel shows Payment pending (error 131042).	The WhatsApp account has no valid payment method.	Add or fix the payment method in WhatsApp Manager.
“Recipient phone number not in allowed list” (error 131030).	You connected Meta’s test number.	Add and connect your real number (step 5).
You cannot reply to a customer (error 131047).	More than 24 hours have passed since their last message.	Send an approved template; when the customer replies, a new window opens.
“Phone number not registered” (error 133010).	The number was added but its API registration was not finished.	Finish the registration in Meta and check it shows as connected.
Account locked or restricted (errors 131031 or 368).	Meta has restricted the account, for example for breaching its policies.	Read the notice in WhatsApp Manager and follow Meta’s process.
You cannot create the portfolio or the app with a new account.	Facebook account too new or restricted.	Wait a few hours and try again; if it persists, resolve the requirement Meta shows.
You cannot message more people first.	You reached the outside-window recipient limit (250 at the start).	See How to go from 250 to 2,000. Replying to people who write to you keeps working.

More in Meta’s documentation: WhatsApp error codes.

Check that the app is subscribed to your WhatsApp account

Open the Graph API Explorer in Meta for Developers (Tools → Graph API Explorer), choose your app and paste the system user token.
Make a GET request to <WABA_ID>/subscribed_apps. If your app appears in the response, it is subscribed.
If it does not, make a POST request to <WABA_ID>/subscribed_apps. The response should be {"success": true}.

Own credentials versus guided connection

When the guided connection is available, this is what will change:

Step or requirement	Own credentials (BYOK)	Guided connection
Log in with an authorised Facebook or Meta account	Yes.	Yes.
Business portfolio	Yes.	Yes; chosen or created during signup.
Real business details	Yes.	Yes.
Register as a developer	Yes.	No.
Create and configure the Meta app	Yes, your own.	No: the provider’s app is used.
Access token	You generate and paste it.	Obtained when you authorise access.
App Secret	Your app’s.	Not needed.
Copy identifiers	Yes.	No: Meta returns them at the end.
Set up the webhook	Yes.	No.
Verify control of the number	Yes.	Yes, within signup.
Comply with WhatsApp policies	Yes.	Yes.
Payment method for messages that have a cost	Yes.	Yes.

What the platform does behind the “Connect” button

With the guided connection, when you finish Meta’s screens, the platform completes the technical part for you: it exchanges the code Meta returns for an access token, subscribes its app to your account’s events, registers the number for the API when needed and checks it can send and receive. You still identify your business, choose the right assets, grant the permissions and verify the number. You add the payment method to your WhatsApp account yourself, unless the provider is a Solution Partner that shares its credit line: “guided” does not mean the provider pays Meta for you.

In both modes your business keeps its identity and its number, and remains subject to WhatsApp’s requirements, capabilities and policies.

More in Meta’s documentation: Embedded Signup.

Final checklist

The number shows as connected in WhatsApp Manager (and it is not the test number).
The token belongs to a system user, with “Never” expiry and both WhatsApp permissions.
The system user has the app and the WhatsApp account assigned with full control.
The App Secret in the panel is the app’s current one.
The webhook is verified and subscribed to messages, and the app is published.
The WhatsApp account has a payment method.
The channel’s connection test passes and a test message goes in and out.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to create another Facebook account?

No. Use your real account. What you also need is the developer registration, the business portfolio and the app.

Do I need Meta’s App Review?

No, if the app only accesses your own business data. That is why you should not use another company’s app or share your app with other businesses.

Can I start without verifying my business?

Yes. You can connect the number, receive and reply. Verification expands capabilities: messaging more people first, more templates and the official account (OBA).

Can I keep using the number on my phone?

With your own credentials, the number is managed from MuseRelay. Keeping the WhatsApp Business phone app as well will be available with the guided connection.

Can I switch to the guided connection later?

Yes. The number still belongs to your business. See Meta channels: connection, expiry and alerts.

What if I started with a guided connection and want to switch to my own credentials?

You can: using a guided connection does not make the number the provider’s property. You will need access to the WhatsApp account that holds the number, a suitable Messaging account (create one or get access), your app and a token with permissions, the payment method, the webhook and the templates you use. Templates and billing are not moved automatically between Messaging accounts. If you keep several platforms connected at once, decide which one receives and answers each conversation.

Where do I set up templates, reminders and channel options?

In WhatsApp: connect your number and set it up.

Official Meta documentation

Getting started and creating the app

Portfolio, system users and verification

Accounts and numbers

Limits, pricing and templates

Webhooks and errors

Guided connection

Policies and terms

Information checked against Meta’s documentation as of 28 October 2026. Meta often changes its screens and terms: if anything differs, what Meta says applies.

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