WhatsApp Business: should you move to the official version?
As long as you answer messages yourself, the free app is enough. The day someone else answers for you, or software gets involved, the choice becomes serious: your number is at stake.
Published in September 2026
Three ways to use WhatsApp in business
The free WhatsApp Business app on a phone. It gives you a business profile, a catalogue, quick replies and labels. One phone, one person at a time.
Unofficial bots, sold monthly, driving the app through an intermediate server. They promise bulk sending and cost little.
Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, connected to the company's own account. Several people answer from the same number, messages are billed per conversation, and access can be withdrawn at any time.
Why unofficial bots end badly
They work by imitating a phone. Meta detects that behaviour, and the penalty does not hit the software: it hits the number. A suspended number takes the conversation history with it, along with the customers who used to write to it.
The arithmetic is simple. The bot costs a few thousand francs a month; the number a whole neighbourhood knows has no replacement price. We have seen shops start again from nothing for having saved on this line.
When the official version is worth it
Three signals, and one is enough.
- Two or more people need to answer from the same number.
- You want to send notifications, order confirmations or appointment reminders, without typing them one by one.
- You lose enquiries at night or at weekends for want of an immediate reply.
What Meta requires, and what it costs
You need a verified Meta Business account, a number not already used by the free app, and a declared technology partner to connect it all. Lisanga Soft is a Meta Tech Provider, so that part costs you no work.
On the billing side, Meta counts open twenty-four-hour conversations, not messages. A conversation opened by the customer costs less than one opened by the business, and a first monthly volume is free. For a shop receiving a few dozen enquiries a day, the bill stays small.
Questions that come up
Do I lose my history when moving to the official version?
Yes, conversations from the free app do not follow. That is the only real loss in the migration, which is why it is better done early than late.
Can I keep my current number?
Yes, provided you release it from the free app. The number stays yours: you grant partner access from your account, and you withdraw it whenever you want.
Can I message my whole contact list?
Only those who agreed to be contacted, and using message templates approved by Meta. Unsolicited bulk sending is exactly what gets numbers suspended.
Is your case different?
Tell us where you stand. You get an answer about your situation, not a sales pitch.