> ## 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.

# Getting started with WhatsApp on Cliqo

> What you need to run WhatsApp through Cliqo — and what remains yours: the account, the number, the templates and the card.

## What you will learn

How WhatsApp works inside Cliqo, what you need before you start, and the path to your first message.

## The model: the account is yours

Cliqo runs WhatsApp through the **official Meta API**, in the model where **everything stays in your name**:

* The WhatsApp Business account (WABA) lives in **your** Meta Business Manager — not Cliqo's.
* The **number is yours**, the display name is your brand's, and the **approved templates are yours**.
* The **credit card is registered directly with Meta**: you pay for conversations at Meta's official rates, with no intermediation and no Cliqo margin. The invoice comes from Meta.

That means two practical things: full cost transparency, and freedom — if you ever switch tools, you take the account, the number and the templates with you.

## What you need to have

* A **Meta Business Manager** for your company, with you as an administrator.
* A **phone number** dedicated to WhatsApp Business — one that is not in use in a regular WhatsApp app.
* **Business verification** with Meta (legal name and documents) — required to raise your sending limits.

The step-by-step is in [How to connect your number](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/conectar-seu-numero.md).

## The rules of the game (summary)

WhatsApp is a channel with its own rules, which Cliqo enforces for you:

* **Bulk messaging requires a Meta-approved template** — in the right category (marketing, utility or authentication). [Message templates](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/modelos-de-mensagem.md).
* **Marketing requires a registered opt-in**; utility tied to a customer's own order is the exception. [Opt-in and consent](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/opt-in.md).
* **When the customer replies, the 24-hour window opens** for free-form conversation — no template and no template cost.
* **Meta gives your number a rating** and a daily sending limit; blocks and reports drive the rating down. Cliqo monitors it and brakes on its own before the damage is done. [Number & quality](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/numero-e-qualidade.md).

## The path to your first message

1. [Connect your number](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/conectar-seu-numero.md)
2. Make sure the audience that will receive it has an [opt-in](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/opt-in.md)
3. [Create and get a template approved](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/modelos-de-mensagem.md)
4. [Send in bulk with waves and guards](https://docs.cliqo.io/en/whatsapp/enviar-em-massa.md)
5. Reply to the conversations that come back — in **Conversations**, in the side menu


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