Why WhatsApp is policy-gated for political use and how the controls work.
The policy position#
WhatsApp Business Platform policy prohibits political parties, candidates, campaigns and political campaigning services. A WhatsApp Cloud API account used for campaigning may be rejected or suspended. A "linked number" route breaks WhatsApp's terms and may lose access without notice.
Because of this, both WhatsApp routes in Sauti are off by default.
How the controls work#
- The Sauti platform team must switch a route on for your organisation.
- Your organisation must record its acceptance of the risk in Messaging › WhatsApp, after reading the official policy. You can withdraw acceptance at any time.
- Only then can WhatsApp senders be assigned and used in the composer.
All WhatsApp messages still go through the same audience, approval, wallet and opt-out controls as other channels.
Alternatives#
For most campaigns, SMS, USSD, voice, email and Telegram reach supporters without this risk. Volunteers can also share approved messages from their own WhatsApp through the field app; Sauti never sees who receives them.