Messaging windows define when you’re allowed to send messages to contacts across different platforms. These rules are set by Meta and other messaging providers to protect users from spam and ensure relevant, timely communication. Knowing how these windows work helps you stay compliant while keeping your audience engaged.
| ⚠️ Important: In Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, sending automated messages outside the 24-hour window is not allowed under Meta’s messaging policy. |
24-Hour Window
For Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, a 24-hour messaging window opens after a contact’s last interaction with your bot or page. During this time, you can freely send both regular and automated messages.
What is the 24-hour rule?
The 24-hour rule is a policy enforced by Meta to prevent businesses from sending unsolicited or spammy messages to users. After 24 hours have passed since a contact’s last interaction with your business, you are no longer allowed to send them promotional or non-essential messages, unless they fall under specific conditions.
Why does the 24-hour rule exist?
The primary reason behind the 24-hour rule is to protect users from spam. By enforcing this rule, Meta aims to create a better user experience where people are not bombarded with excessive promotional messages. This policy helps businesses maintain good relationships with their audience.
In practice, when businesses respect the 24-hour rule, it increases the likelihood that their messages will be opened, read, and engaged with by users. In essence, it's about quality over quantity: fewer, more relevant messages are more likely to build trust and encourage interaction.
What happens if you ignore the 24-hour rule?
Ignoring the 24-hour messaging rule can result in warnings or restrictions from Meta for Messenger and Instagram communications. Potential consequences include:
- Warnings in Meta Business Suite Inbox: Meta notifies you of the specific policy violation.
- Restrictions on sending messages: Certain policy violations may temporarily prevent sending messages from Messenger or Instagram.
- Unpublishing of your Facebook Page: If your page is unpublished, you will receive a notification on Facebook and via email. Review the status of your page in Page Status.
- Disabling of your Instagram account: If your Instagram profile is disabled, you will receive a notification in the Instagram app.
💡 For detailed guidance, see Meta’s official documentation: Troubleshoot restrictions for business messaging on Facebook and Instagram.
How does Manychat protect you?
Manychat helps ensure that you stay compliant with the 24-hour rule. If a subscriber falls outside the 24-hour window and you have messages scheduled for them, Manychat will automatically prevent those messages from being sent. This automated protection helps you avoid violating Meta’s policies without having to manually track every subscriber's time window.
Post-24-Hour Windows
Messenger & Instagram: After the initial 24 hours, a 7-day messaging window begins. Within this period, you can continue to send manual messages via Live Chat, but automations will no longer be delivered.
WhatsApp: WhatsApp does not offer a 7-day window. Once 24 hours have passed since the last user interaction, you must use Message Templates to contact the user again. However, if you’re connected via Coexistence, you can still reach out to the user at any time through the WhatsApp Business app. The 24-hour window limitation applies only to API-based messaging, not to direct messages sent from the app.
Beyond 7 Days
Messenger & Instagram: After the 7-day window closes, you can still send messages using Message Tags or Messenger Lists (where applicable).
Telegram: There are no messaging limitations on Telegram — you can send both regular and automated messages at any time.
| You can learn more about how to reach your contacts beyond the 24-hour and 7-day messaging windows in this article: How to send messages outside the 24-hour and 7-day windows in Messenger and Instagram. |