Meta Restricts WhatsApp Marketing to U.S. numbers; Zoho Desk Limits Bulk & Mass Actions for Marketing Templates
Meta has always limited WhatsApp marketing messages based on user engagement with previously sent templates. Businesses may have repeatedly seen the error message “USER_MARKETING_TEMPLATE_LIMIT” when messages failed to deliver. Learn more about the restriction from metaZoho Desk does not allow marketing templates to be sent in bulk or through mass actions, as this could lead to compliance violations and legal risks for both customers and BSPs.
Hello, everyone!
Starting April 1, 2025, Meta will pause all WhatsApp marketing messages sent to U.S. phone numbers (+1 country code). If you try to send a marketing message to a U.S. number, it will fail and show an error.
This change affects businesses that use WhatsApp to send promotional messages, discounts, or sales offers to customers in the U.S.
However, you can still send important messages like:
- Order confirmations
- Payment receipts
- Shipping updates
- One-time passwords (OTPs)
- Customer service replies within 24 hours
What's changing on April 1, 2025?
- No WhatsApp marketing messages can be sent to U.S. numbers. This affects any message classified as marketing under WhatsApp’s template system, including promotional offers, discounts, and outbound sales messages.
- Non-marketing messages (such as receipts, OTPs, and support replies) are still allowed.
- Businesses outside the U.S. can continue sending marketing messages to non-U.S. customers.
- U.S.-based businesses can still send marketing messages to non-U.S. numbers.
How this affects your business
If You Use a U.S.-registered WhatsApp Business Number
- You can send marketing, utility, and authentication template messages to international (non-U.S.) customers.
- You cannot send marketing messages to U.S. numbers.
- Customer-initiated conversations are still allowed worldwide.
Billing and payment impact
- Prepaid credits: If you prepaid for WhatsApp marketing messages, those credits cannot be used for U.S. numbers.
- Refund credits: If you have purchased credits for sending marketing templates, refunds for those credits can be issued.
- No charges for failed messages: If your marketing message fails due to this restriction, you will not be billed.
- Queued messages: If a message was scheduled before April 1 but fails after that date, refund policies may vary.
- Marketing conversations in the U.S.: No longer billable under WhatsApp’s conversation-based pricing.
How this affects Zoho Desk users
If you use Zoho Desk to manage WhatsApp conversations, this change will impact:
Inbox
- Marketing messages sent to U.S. numbers will not be delivered.
- Agents will see failed message notifications if they try sending marketing templates to U.S. customers.
Automation and workflows
- Any ticket-based automation that sends WhatsApp marketing messages should be updated to exclude U.S. recipients.
What Zoho Desk users need to do next
To comply with this new rule and avoid message failures, Zoho Desk users should:
- Update inbox workflows to remove WhatsApp marketing for U.S. numbers.
- Revise automation rules to prevent failed message attempts.
- Train agents on these changes so they do not send marketing messages to U.S. customers.
Adjusting your business workflows
- U.S. numbers will automatically be excluded from WhatsApp marketing messages.
- WhatsApp delivery rates will drop for U.S. numbers.
Can I still create WhatsApp marketing templates?
Yes, but you cannot use them for U.S. recipients.
What you need to know about creating templates
- Templates will remain approved in Meta’s system.
- Exclude U.S. numbers when sending marketing messages.
- Templates can still be used for non-U.S. customers.
Restrictions on Bulk and Mass Actions for Marketing Templates in Zoho Desk
- Users are not permitted to send marketing templates in bulk or through mass actions in Zoho Desk, as this may lead to compliance and legal risks for both the customers and the Business Service Provider (BSP). These restrictions are applicable across all Zoho data centers (DCs).
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What happens to existing WhatsApp marketing templates?
Pre-approved templates remain in Meta’s system. They can still be used for non-U.S. recipients but will not be deliverable to U.S. numbers.
Will businesses be charged for failed messages?
No, businesses will not be billed for failed WhatsApp marketing messages. If a message was queued before April 1, 2025, refund policies may vary.
Can businesses still send WhatsApp messages to U.S. customers?
Yes, non-marketing messages such as order confirmations, receipts, and OTPs are still allowed.
How can businesses continue engaging U.S. customers?
Encourage customer-initiated chats using Click-to-WhatsApp Ads. Use WhatsApp for transactional updates rather than promotions.
Will Meta lift this restriction in the future?
Meta has not provided a timeline for when WhatsApp marketing may resume in the U.S. Businesses should continue monitoring Meta’s announcements for any policy changes.
Unexpected billing charges for WhatsApp marketing messages to U.S. numbers
The message may have queued before April 1, 2025, and processed later.Can I use Zoho Desk to send bulk or mass marketing or promotional messages via WhatsApp?
Zoho Desk supports both utility and marketing templates for WhatsApp in real-time conversations through the IM inbox. However, bulk and mass actions for marketing templates are not supported in Zoho Desk. For running campaigns or promotional activities at scale, we strongly recommend using Zoho Marketing Automation to ensure compliance with WhatsApp's policies.
Best,
Prabin
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Raj R
Sticky Posts
Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences
Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynoteWhatsApp pricing changes: Pay per message starting July 1, 2025
Starting July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is shifting from conversation-based pricing to per-message billing. That means every business-initiated message you send will count. Not just the first one in a 24-hour window. Pricing updates on the WhatsApp Business PlatformLive Webinar - Work smarter with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace integration
Hello customers! Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace are coming together for a webinar on 14th May, 2024. Zoho Workplace is a suite of productivity apps for email, chat, docs, calls, and more at one single place. Zoho Desk is closely integrated with a few toolsApple iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates for Zoho Desk users
Hello Zoho Desk users! Apple recently announced the release of iOS 17 and iPad OS 17. These latest OS updates will help you stay productive and efficient, through interactive and seamless user experiences. Zoho Desk has incorporated the updates to helpZoho Desk Cheat Sheet For The Year-End
Check out these Zoho Desk best practices to end this year on a high and have a great one ahead! #1 Set Business (Holiday) Hours - If you have limited working hours, please make sure you restrict your business hours or set them as holidays for the coming days. Let your customers know when you will, and won't, be available. #2 Update the Annual Holiday List - Check the holidays for the new year and update the holiday schedule. Usually, holidays from the current year will be carried over for the next
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Adding multiple Attendee email addresses when adding a Zoho Calendar event in Zoho Flow
I am trying to integrate Notion and Zoho Calendar via Zoho Flow. However, the Attendee email address supported by Zoho Calendar - Create event only supports one email address, so I am having difficulty implementing automation to automatically registerGraceful Handling of Exceeded Option Limits
Hi Zoho SalesIQ team. I would like to submit a feature request to deal with a bug in salesIQ Current Behavior (Bug): When a dynamic list passed to the Single Select Option Card contains more than 20 options, the Zobot stops responding (freezes/hangs)System default SLA descriptions can't be modified
The system default SLAs have identical descriptions for all SLA levels, but their settings differ. However, I am facing an issue where I cannot modify these descriptions and save the changes. The content of the description box can be edited but the changesAdding non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription
Hey Need help with adding a non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription, trying to edit the address to my Singapore registered company. Won't let me change the country. Would appreciate the help. Regards, RishabhHow to create one ZohoCRM organisation out of a multi-organization?
Hi, we have a multi-org including two different Zoho CRM organizations for two companies using respectively EUR and USD as default currency. I was wondering if there is any easy way to merge the two organizations into just one, so that users may accessGray screen while signing documents
We are all getting a "gray" screen when trying to sign documents in Zoho sign. Anyone else having issues?Designing a practical Zoho setup for a small business: lessons from a real implementation
I recently finished setting up a Zoho-based operating system for a small but growing consumer beauty business (GlowAtHomeBeauty), and I wanted to share a practical takeaway for other founders and implementers. The business wasn’t failing because of lackLink Purchase Order to Deal
Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoicesProjects custom colors replaced by default orange
Since yesterday, projects uploaded to Zoho, to which I had assigned a custom color, have lost the customization and reverted to the default color (orange). Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you resolve it?Interview booked through Invite but no Notifications
We have a workflow that was developed through a developer/partner that was tested and worked. Today, we pushed a candidate through the process and invited them to an in-office interview. They were sent the booking link (as usual and as tested before successfully)WebDAV support
I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?Automatiser la gestion des SLA dans Zoho Desk avec Zoho Contracts
Les équipes du service client s’efforcent d’assurer un support rapide, régulier et fiable pour garantir la satisfaction de chaque client. Les accords de niveau de service (SLA) permettent de clarifier les engagements en définissant les termes et conditionsiOS App doesn't refresh for Document Creation
Hello Zoho team, I have created a workflow to be used on a mobile iOS device which starts in Zoho Creater and ends with a murge and store function that then opens the newly created document within the Zoho Writer app. This process is working great howeverUploading a signed template from Sign to Creator
Good day, Please help me on how to load a signed document back into Creator after the process has been completed in Sign. Below is the code that I am trying, pdfFile = response.toFile("SignedDocument_4901354000000372029.pdf"); info pdfFile; // AttachZoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration
I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regexAssistance needed: Activation of a domain
Hello Zoho Support, I purchased the .com domain "primesolva.com" via Zoho 6 days ago. The domain is still pending, and I cannot access the DNS panel to add the TXT verification for domain ownership. Please confirm the registration status and help me activateOperation not permitted
I am trying to add an email address to the list of user but I am getting error Operation not permittedRequest to Permanently Delete Email User (info@mehbobgulf.com ) from Old Organization
Please permanently delete the user email info@mehbobgulf.com It is still associated with my old Zoho organization. I cannot delete it because it shows ‘You cannot delete email. Zoho host’. I need to use this email in a new Zoho account.”Client host [89.36.170.5] blocked using Spamhaus
Hello please make make actions for delist ..... "Client host [89.36.170.5] blocked using Spamhaus"Suggestion: Option to Re-run a migration
As I'm going through a migration process, I like the IMAP migration tool, but it would be better if there were an option to re-run the same migration as configured. There's not even an option to copy/edit one that's already there. Just run if it hasn'tIssue with "Add Your Mobile Number"
Hello, I am trying to sign up for email service for a domain name, and I cannot finish the authentication. When I enter my mobile number, I receive the message "We’re unable to send OTP to this mobile number. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com". Izoho mail non vérifié
Bonjour, Il y'a un jour que j'ai acheté un domaine et toute les tentatives pour l'associé a mon compte shopify son vaine. j'ai essayé TXT sans suite après, j'ai essayer avec CNAME sans suite. j'aurais besoin de votre assistance pour associé mon mail.Unable to send message;Reason:553 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain
i have facing the issue "Unable to send message;Reason:553 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain" if i verify domain evertthing i did but still face the same error.ZohoMail is so close to being Perfect BUT
Why don’t you have HILIGHTING???!! I've been trying to find a substitute for Edison Mail but I want & need hilighting (preferably in more than just yellow)! Is this even on your To Do list? I’m so disappointed. 🙄Override Auto Number field?
We are preparing to migrate from Salesforce. In Salesforce, we auto-generate a unique number on our Opportunities (Potentials). If the Opportunity results in a contract, we use that unique number as the Contract number. There are some situations whereUsing a third party service provider want to move directly with Zoho
Hi good day I’m currently using Zoho but I’m using a third party service provider I want to move directly with you guys I’m using Zoho email and invoices and my domain please let me know if it’s possible to move away from the third party provider my emailRequest for Assistance Regarding Email Sending Issue (554 5.1.8 - Email Outgoing Blocked)
Dear Zoho Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request assistance with an issue we are currently facing regarding our Zoho Mail account. Our email account, admin@tuyensinhcanuoc.com, is encountering the following error whenZoho Mail API returns empty inbox (0 messages) but webmail shows 37 unread emails
Hello, I'm experiencing a discrepancy between Zoho Webmail and the Mail API (EU region). **Setup:** - Account: EU datacenter (mail.zoho.eu) - API: Self Client OAuth2 via api-console.zoho.eu - Scopes: ZohoMail.messages.READ, ZohoMail.messages.UPDATE, ZohoMail.folders.READ,Zoho Mail not working
Zoho Mail not workingShipStation and Zoho Inventory
Hello, I am looking to sync zoho inventory with shipstation ZOHO INVENTORY SHIP STATION Sales Order ==> create ORDERS INVOICE <== Shipments What exactly does BETA mean on the Shipstation connector? This is required for me to sign-on in the next month. Thanks in advance for your efforts550 5.4.6 Unusual sending activity detected. Please try after sometime
Hi, I am receiving this error message when trying to send my emails. The only reason I can think why this is happening is my previous two emails were bounced back to me due to a non working mailbox error. I have followed the online links for unblocking but it says there are no blocks on my account. How and when can I get my email working again to send emails? Thanks,E
We are trying to add our Zoho Form embed in our Elementor Page Builder. After adding Zoho Forms widget in elementor page builder it’s displaying in backend page builder but it’s giving 403 error while trying to save, as it’s not reflecting in front end.Formatting Problem | Export to Zoho Sheet View
When I export data to Zoho Sheet View, ID columns are automatically formatted as scientific notation. Reformatting them to text changes the actual ID values. For example, 6557000335603071 becomes 6557000335603070. I have attached screenshots showing thisConnecting Zoho Inventory to ShipStation
we are looking for someone to help connect via API shipStation with Zoho inventory. Any ideas? Thanks. Uricustom module import.
Is there a way to import data into a custom module? Thanks RudyHEIC File Type Viewer
Hi, It would be nice to be able to click on the images in the All Entries/Reports Tables which are HEIC the same as JPG, PNG, etc. so they open in a viewer from Zoho or the Attachment Service, today HEIC requires you to download each image and open itBuilding Toppings #4 - Setting up and using connections in Bigin toppings
When building a topping to extend Bigin's functionality and connect it with third-party applications, creating and handling connections is an important step. Connections provide a secure way for your topping to authenticate and communicate with otherNeed code format to specify default values
Can someone please direct me to the code syntax or the proper translation per the instructions circled below. These instructions don't seem correct.AI Interview Insights: Turn Recorded Interviews into Quick Transcripts & Summaries
Evaluating interviews shouldn’t require replaying long recordings or taking manual notes. With AI Interview Insights, you can now review complete transcripts and AI-generated summaries of your One-way (Recorded) interviews right inside Zoho Recruit. ThisFacing email delivery issues? Verify your domain's DNS records
Have you ever wondered why your legitimate emails are landing in the recipient’s spam folder? Or been surprised to see emails sent from your registered domain getting rejected by recipient email servers? Why does this happen? In most cases, this happensNext Page