WhatsApp messaging window in Live Chat
Conversation status, the 24-hour window, and the 72-hour Ad Window
In every WhatsApp conversation, Live Chat shows a status above the message composer. It tells you what you can send at that moment — a free-form reply or an approved template only — and whether charges may apply.
The two windows
WhatsApp controls what a business can send through time windows. Two of them appear in Live Chat, and they run in parallel:
- 24-hour customer service window — opened by each customer message. While it is open you can reply freely, but WhatsApp may charge for the service message.
- 72-hour Ad Window — granted when the customer arrives through an eligible Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button. During those 72 hours, WhatsApp charges nothing for the conversation.
The full rule
WhatsApp waives the charge for customers who arrived through a path the business already paid for — the ad. In Meta's documentation the rule appears as Free Entry Point, or FEP. The states, the flow conditions and what is still charged are in 72h Ad Window (FEP).
The 72-hour window is not automatic
It only starts counting after the business replies within the first 24 hours. If nobody replies in that time, the customer loses the waiver — even having come from an eligible ad.
Status in Live Chat
Status
What happened
What you can send
Service messages charged · [time remaining]
The customer sent a message within the past 24 hours.
A free-form reply, but WhatsApp service-message charges may apply.
Ad Window · messages free · [time remaining] · Free-form allowed for [time remaining]
The customer came from an eligible ad or button, and the 72-hour window is active.
Everything at no charge. Free-form replies remain available only while the 24-hour window is open.
Template only · Ad Window · [time remaining]
The 24-hour customer service window closed, but the 72-hour window is still active.
Templates only, at no charge. Free-form replies are not available.
Eligible for the Ad Window · Reply within [time remaining]
The customer came from an eligible ad or button, but the 72-hour window has not been activated yet.
Reply within 24 hours to activate the 72 free hours.
Template Required
The customer service window and any Ad Window have ended.
An approved WhatsApp template only — or wait for the customer to send a new message.
Timing rules that matter
- A customer message opens the 24-hour customer service window.
- Each new customer message restarts those 24 hours.
- A business reply does not extend the 24-hour window.
- An eligible Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call to action can create the 72-hour Ad Window, as long as the business replies within 24 hours.
- The 72-hour window stays free until it ends, regardless of what happens to the 24-hour one.
- If the 24-hour window closes before the 72 hours end, templates remain available but free-form replies do not.
Conditions in the flow builder
Flows can check the following WhatsApp conditions:
- 🟡 72h Window (FEP) Activation Pending — the customer is eligible; reply within 24 hours to activate the 72 free hours.
- ✅ 72h Window (FEP) Active — the customer is inside the free window.
- ✅ 72h Window (FEP) Active/Pending — the customer is eligible or already has the window active. Negating this one is the only way to identify who is outside.
Combine these conditions with Has interacted in last 24h to pick the right sending method in the flow. The chaining that separates the three states is in 72h Ad Window (FEP).
Audience and Live Chat filters
The same conditions are available when filtering bot users and Live Chat conversations. This helps identify:
- customers who need a reply to activate the free window;
- customers already inside the 72 free hours;
- customers with the Ad Window pending or active.