Glossary
WhatsApp API and automation glossary: 40 terms explained
These are the terms you run into when you integrate or automate WhatsApp, each with a short, correct definition: instance, webhook, template, 24 hour window, BSP, QR code, warm-up and more. Use the index, jump straight to a term and follow the links to the full guide.
ZapZap API team · Published on
Core concepts
Instance
- A WhatsApp number connected to an API, with its own session, ID, credentials and webhook. Each active number is one instance, and each one has its own session.What is a WhatsApp instance
QR code
- A code you scan with your phone to pair a number with the instance, just like logging in to WhatsApp Web. If the connection drops, you may need to scan it again.Quick start
Session
- The active connection between the number and the server after pairing. While the session is open the instance sends and receives messages; when it drops, the status becomes disconnected.
Unofficial API
- A service that exposes a WhatsApp Web session through an API, without going through Meta's platform. It is more flexible and faster to start, but it is not an approved channel and the number can be restricted.Honest guide to the unofficial API
Virtual number
- A phone number without a dedicated physical SIM, usually provided by a telephony service. It can receive WhatsApp's verification code, but it is worth understanding how the number was obtained before relying on it.Virtual number for WhatsApp
Group
- A conversation with several participants. Through the API you can read group events and send messages to it.Group modules
Self-hosted
- A model where you install and run the software on your own server, like WAHA or Evolution API. You control the environment and take on updates, backups and uptime.ZapZap vs WAHA
Delivery status
- The state of a sent message: sent, delivered or read. The API reports these changes as events, so you can track what reached the recipient.
Meta's official API
Official API (WhatsApp Business Platform)
- Meta's platform for businesses. It requires business verification, uses approved templates to start conversations and, according to Meta's documentation, has been billed per delivered template message since July 1, 2025.WhatsApp Business API
Cloud API
- The version of the official API hosted by Meta itself and accessed over HTTP. It can be used directly or through a partner (BSP).
BSP (solution provider)
- Business Solution Provider: a Meta partner company that gives access to and support for the official API, usually charging its own fee on top of Meta's price.ZapZap vs 360dialog
Template (message template)
- A message pre-approved by Meta, required for a business to start a conversation or write outside the 24 hour window on the official API. It can have variables, such as name and date.
Template categories
- Meta's classification of templates: marketing, utility and authentication. The category affects the usage rules and the price per message on the official API.
24 hour window
- A period that starts when the customer sends a message. Inside it, the business can reply with free text on the official API; outside it, only an approved template can be sent.
Business verification
- Meta's process for confirming a company's identity, required to use the official API at scale. It takes time and asks for documents, which the unofficial route does not require.
Interactive message (buttons and lists)
- A message with reply buttons or a list of options. It makes the customer's choice easier and organizes support, and availability varies by API type.Buttons and lists on WhatsApp
Risk and sending best practices
Warm-up
- Gradual, natural use of a new number before putting it at volume, so its history looks like a person's. It lowers the risk of restriction but does not remove it.SIM warm-up
Ban (block)
- A restriction WhatsApp applies to a number, temporary or permanent. WhatsApp's Terms prohibit bulk and automated messaging, and no vendor can guarantee it will not happen.Anti-ban
Opt-in
- A person's prior consent to receive messages from the business. Recording when and how it was given is good practice and protects you.
Opt-out
- The exit: the way a person asks to stop receiving messages. Making it easy and honoring the request reduces reports and legal problems.
LGPD
- Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Law 13,709/2018), which regulates the processing of personal data. Consent is one of the legal bases, and the law provides others.Bulk messaging and the LGPD
Bulk messaging
- Sending the same message, or variations of it, to many contacts. It is the riskiest practice for a number and the one that most requires consent, varied text and a controlled pace.Bulk messaging
Broadcast list
- A WhatsApp app feature for sending one message to several contacts, who receive it as an individual chat. It only reaches people who saved your number in their contacts.
Follow-up
- A message after a first contact, to pick the conversation back up. It works best with a respectful interval, real value and an easy way out.How to follow up
Integration and development
Webhook
- A URL in your system that receives a notice (an HTTP request) whenever something happens, such as an incoming message. It saves you from polling the API over and over.Webhooks
Event
- A notice the API sends when something changes: message received, delivery status change, instance connected or disconnected. It arrives at your webhook.
Endpoint
- The address of an API operation, such as the one that sends text. Each endpoint has a defined HTTP method, parameters and response.API reference
REST API
- An API style where you make HTTP requests (GET, POST and others) to addresses and get JSON responses. It is the format most WhatsApp APIs use.
Payload
- The data body of a request or an event, usually JSON. When sending a message, it carries the number and the text.Send a message
API key and secret
- A pair of credentials that identifies your account on each request. The secret must stay on your server only, never in browser or app code.Authentication
E.164 format (country code)
- The international number standard: country code followed by area code and number, digits only and at most 15 in total. In Brazil, 55 + area code + number, like 5511999999999.
Rate limit
- A cap on API calls in an interval. When you exceed it, the server usually answers with code 429, and the right move is to wait and retry more slowly.
Idempotency
- The property of repeating the same operation without a duplicated effect. It matters so the same message is not sent twice when a request is repeated after a network failure.
HTTP status code
- The number in a response that tells the result of the call: 2xx is success, 4xx is an error on the caller's side (like 401, unauthorized) and 5xx is a server error.
Automation and sales
Chatbot
- A program that answers messages automatically, by rules or by AI. It works best when it knows how to hand the conversation to a person at the right time.WhatsApp chatbot with AI
AI agent
- A chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to understand context and answer in natural language, following instructions you define, such as tone of voice and limits.Automatic replies with AI
Flow
- The sequence of steps in an automation: trigger, conditions and actions, such as waiting, asking and sending media. In visual tools it is built by dragging blocks.Flow Builder
Sales funnel
- The stages a contact goes through until buying, such as new, in conversation, proposal and closed. On WhatsApp, each conversation is organized in the stage it is in.Sales funnel on WhatsApp
CRM
- A system that stores contacts, history and sales opportunities. Integrated with WhatsApp, it logs conversations and triggers messages from funnel stages.CRM integrations
No-code automation
- A tool that connects systems without programming, such as n8n, Make and Zapier. It receives the WhatsApp event by webhook and triggers actions in spreadsheets, CRMs and other apps.n8n integration
Frequently asked questions
What is a WhatsApp instance?
It is a WhatsApp number connected to an API, with its own session, ID, credentials and webhook. Each active number is one instance.
What is the difference between the official and unofficial API?
The official one is Meta's platform, with business verification, approved templates and per-message billing. The unofficial one connects your number through a WhatsApp Web session, accepts free text and is not approved, so the number can be restricted.
What is a webhook for?
For your system to get a notice the moment something happens, like an incoming message, without polling the API over and over.
What is the 24 hour window?
It is the period, counted from the customer's message, in which the business can reply with free text on the official API. Outside it, only an approved template.
Ready to put the terms into practice?
Create the account, verify your phone and get the welcome credit, with no deposit (one per phone, subject to the current campaign). Connect an instance by QR code and run your first send today.