> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cliqo.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Opt-in and consent for WhatsApp

> When you can send, the utility exception, and why proof of the opt-in is worth as much as the opt-in itself.

On WhatsApp, sending without permission isn't just a legal issue — it's an immediate operational risk: people who receive without having asked **block you**, and blocks drive down your [number's rating](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/numero-e-qualidade.md), which limits or pauses your sending. This article defines when you can send, and how Cliqo records the proof.

## The rule: marketing requires opt-in

A **marketing** message (promotion, news, coupon, cart recovery) requires that the contact has **authorized receiving WhatsApp from your brand** — an authorization on record, with date and source. Meta puts the burden of proof on the sender: *an opt-in you cannot prove is an opt-in you do not have.*

Where an opt-in is born in Cliqo:

* **Store pop-up** — the WhatsApp checkbox is separate from the email one, unchecked by default.
* **Form inside an email** — a WhatsApp field with explicit consent.
* **Manual signup** with the box checked.
* **Import** — only with your explicit declaration that the list has WhatsApp opt-in, and the bar here is high: declare only what you can prove ([understand why](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/gestao-de-dados/entenda-consentimento.md)).

## The exception: utility

**Utility** messages tied to the customer's own order — purchase confirmation, delivery status, payment notice — are the recognized exception: the number came from the purchase itself and the message is what the customer expects to receive. Two conditions, always: the template's category is **utility** (not marketing in disguise), and opt-outs are honored.

In Cliqo, this exception applies to **automations**: a utility step doesn't require a marketing opt-in, only that the contact hasn't revoked. **Campaigns** (bulk sends) require an opt-in from every recipient, whatever the template's category.

Start there, by the way: utility has a block rate close to zero, builds the number's reputation, and prepares the base for opted-in marketing.

## SAIR is always honored

In any message, if the customer replies **SAIR** (Portuguese for "leave" — i.e. unsubscribe; or variations like "parar", "stop", "cancelar", "cancele", "descadastrar" — the engine recognizes them, with or without punctuation, accents or emoji), the opt-in is revoked **on the spot** and they receive no more marketing. The reply has to be just the word: "não quero sair" ("I don't want to leave") unsubscribes no one. When you create a marketing template without the opt-out instruction, the screen warns you and offers to insert it with one click; and in the campaign's Review step, the checklist flags a template that doesn't say how to opt out.

A WhatsApp opt-out does **not** remove the contact from email: the channels have independent consents.

## What Cliqo checks for you

Before every bulk send, the audience goes through the eligibility funnel: only contacts with a **valid number + active opt-in + no block** receive. The campaign's **Audience** step shows how many were left out and why, and the check before dispatch recounts — you never send "in the dark". And if negative signals rise during the dispatch, the [safety guards](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/enviar-em-massa.md) pause it on their own.

## Related articles

* [Understand consent and opt-in (email vs WhatsApp)](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/gestao-de-dados/entenda-consentimento.md)
* [How to send a bulk message](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/enviar-em-massa.md)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.