CosmoCMO
Troubleshooting

WhatsApp: the 24-hour window and template messages

Updated

The short answer

WhatsApp only lets a business send free-form messages within 24 hours of your last message. Outside that window, Cosmo sends a short approved template instead: "Hi, Cosmo here with your update: ... Reply to this message to see details and approve." Reply with anything and the full message and card buttons follow.

Why it happens

WhatsApp has a rule called the customer service window. A business can send normal messages, buttons and images only within 24 hours of the person's last message. After that, it can only send templates that WhatsApp has approved in advance.

What Cosmo does

  • You wrote in the last 24 hours: full messages, with cards and 👍 Approve / Skip / ✏️ Edit buttons.
  • It's been longer: Cosmo sends the template "Hi, Cosmo here with your update: [summary] Reply to this message to see details and approve."

What to do

Reply with anything, even "hi". That opens a new 24-hour window, and you can see and approve cards as usual. Replying to Cosmo's morning brief each day keeps the window open.

On some setups each card also arrives as its own template with Approve and Not now buttons. Otherwise the cards are listed in the message, and replies like "👍" or "approve 2" still work. See How approvals work.

Still stuck?

Email roy@cosmocmo.com and tell us what you tried. We'll help.

Email support
FAQ

Questions

Why did I get a short message instead of my brief?

It had been more than 24 hours since your last WhatsApp message, so WhatsApp only allows a template. Reply to see the full brief.

Does Telegram have the same limit?

No. Telegram, iMessage and email don't have a 24-hour window.