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Click to WhatsApp free window can now last up to 7 days: how to use it
When the window opens, what is free inside it and how to build the week's follow-up.
Since the week of September 21, 2026, the free window for conversations that start from a Click to WhatsApp ad can extend for up to 7 days. It used to be 72 hours. Within this window, no message sent by the business is charged, and each new message from the customer adds another 24 hours to the deadline. The rule only applies to businesses that serve customers through the official WhatsApp API.
Think of the lead who clicks the ad on Tuesday night, asks the price of the course and replies "I'll check with my husband". Under the old rule, the free conversation ended on Friday. If they came back on Saturday, the business paid for a message template to resume a conversation it had bought with media itself. With the window of up to 7 days, that Saturday fits within the deadline.
What did Meta change in the Click to WhatsApp window?
Meta informed official providers that the free entry point window, the technical name of the window opened by an ad, can now extend for up to 7 days. The change reaches click ads for WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram Direct at the same time.
Note the wording: "can extend for up to 7 days". The 7 days are the ceiling, and not every conversation will reach them. As of the publication of this text, Meta's public pricing page still described the 72-hour window. It is worth confirming the behavior in your own account before building a cadence that depends on the seventh day.
| Until 09/20/2026 | From the week of 09/21/2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum duration of the free window | 72 hours | 7 days |
| When it starts counting | On the business reply | Same |
| Effect of a new customer message | Opens a new 24 h service window | Adds 24 h to the free window |
| Cost of business messages in the window | Zero, in any category | Zero, in any category |
| Cost of the ad | Paid | Paid |
When does the free window start counting?
The window starts at the business reply, not at the click.
The customer clicks the ad and sends the first message. This opens the 24-hour service window, the same as in any conversation. If the business replies within those 24 hours, the reply is free and triggers the ad's free window. If nobody replies in time, the free window never opens. The business paid for the click and lost the week.
There is a detail few people read in Meta's documentation: the window only applies when the customer writes from the WhatsApp app on Android or iOS. Anyone who arrives through WhatsApp Web or the desktop app is left out.
The first thing to measure, then, is the response time in ad conversations. Campaigns that run at night and on weekends are where replies tend to be late, and that is where the window is lost without anyone noticing.
Are the free window and the 24-hour window the same thing?
No, and confusing the two is the most expensive mistake of this change.
The free window defines what you pay. The 24-hour service window defines what you can send. Under Meta's current rule, they run in parallel. As long as the customer has spoken to you in the last 24 hours, you send free-form messages, typed on the spot. When those 24 hours pass without a reply from the customer, only an approved template is delivered, but, within the ad's free window, that template is also free of charge.
In practice, it looks like this:
| Ad conversation status | What you can send | How much it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Customer spoke in the last 24 h | Free-form message or template | Zero |
| Customer gone for more than 24 h, free window open | Approved template only | Zero |
| Free window closed | Approved template only | Category rate |
Partners who received Meta's notice report that the diagrams of the new rule show follow-ups in any format throughout the 7 days. Until this appears in the technical documentation, treat the rule above as the one in force and keep approved templates ready for the third, fifth and sixth day.
Does the 7-day window apply to any WhatsApp conversation?
It only applies to conversations through the official API that started from a click ad (or from the call-to-action button of a Facebook Page). A lead who arrived through the bio link, the store QR code or by typing the number directly does not get the week. Anyone serving customers through the WhatsApp Business app on their phone, without the API, does not either.
This creates two types of conversation with different rules within the same operation. The agent needs to know where each lead came from to know how much time they have. A source tag in the CRM solves it.
What changes at your API provider?
Meta applies the window on its own, with no configuration by the advertiser. The risk is on the provider side. A platform that still calculates the window with the old limit shows "conversation expired" on the dashboard after 72 hours, the agent believes it and the business pays to reopen a conversation that was still free.
Before redesigning any cadence, ask your provider, in writing, whether the fixed 72-hour limit has already left the system and whether the deadline shown to the agent is recalculated with each new customer message. A vague answer is a sign that the update has not arrived yet.
How do you build the follow-up within the 7 days?
Those who gain the most from the extra week are those who sell something that takes a few days to decide: a course, an aesthetic procedure, consulting, a higher-value service. A sequence that respects both windows:
- Day 0. Reply in seconds, already with the qualification question that matters most.
- Day 1. Value or proposal, closing with a choice question: "would you rather I reserve the spot or send the payment terms?".
- Day 3. Follow-up on the doubt the customer raised, with concrete proof, such as a testimonial or an installment option. If they have not spoken in the last 24 hours, this goes as an approved template.
- Day 5 or 6. Invitation to close or schedule, with a date.
Four useful messages in seven days perform better than one a day. Being free does not protect the number: a customer who receives too many messages blocks and reports, and the number's quality drops with it. The step-by-step to build this cadence inside the CRM is in How to build an automatic follow-up for stalled leads on WhatsApp.
Why does the 7-day window matter more from October on?
On October 1, 2026, Meta starts charging for the business's free-form replies within the 24-hour window, the so-called service messages. The ad's free window remains exempt from this charge, according to Meta's documentation.
The math flips. An organic conversation starts to cost per reply, after a monthly free allowance. An ad conversation goes up to a week with no cost per message. To reactivate a cold lead, the Click to WhatsApp ad becomes, in many cases, the cheapest way in. The prices and the free allowance are in New WhatsApp billing in October 2026.
What to do this week
Start with the first response time in ad conversations, because without a reply within 24 hours none of the other changes matter. Then, confirm with the provider that the old deadline has left the system, tag the source of each conversation in the CRM and review the cadences that currently trigger a paid template between the third and seventh day. Finally, rewrite the follow-up messages so they end with a question: it is the customer's reply that pushes the window forward.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Click to WhatsApp free window last in 2026?
Since the week of September 21, 2026, it can extend for up to 7 days. It used to be 72 hours.
Does the free window start at the ad click?
No. It starts when the business replies to the customer's first message, and that reply must be sent within 24 hours.
Which messages are free within the window?
All messages sent by the business, in any category: marketing, utility, authentication and service.
Can I send free-form messages during the 7 days?
According to Meta's current documentation, a free-form message depends on the customer having spoken to you in the last 24 hours. Otherwise, send an approved template, which remains free within the window.
Does the 7-day window apply to the WhatsApp Business app?
No. It only applies to conversations through the official API started by a click ad.
What happens when the customer replies near the end of the window?
Each customer message adds another 24 hours to the free window. A reply on day 6 pushes the deadline to day 7.
Is the ad also free?
No. What is free are the messages exchanged within the window. The ad is still paid.
