WhatsApp Coexistence

WhatsApp Coexistence is a mode from Meta that lets businesses run the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business API in parallel on the same phone number. Both sides share the chat history and can reply. Meta has offered it since February 2025; in the EU, the EEA and the UK it has been available since October 2025.

What is WhatsApp Coexistence?

WhatsApp Coexistence is an official mode from Meta. It allows businesses to operate the WhatsApp Business App on a smartphone and the WhatsApp Business API through a professional platform like SendSeven simultaneously on a single phone number. Meta has offered Coexistence since February 2025; for businesses in the EU, the EEA and the UK it has been available since October 2025.

Before Coexistence, businesses had to choose: keep the app or move to the API. With Coexistence, both sides see the same chat history and both can reply. A reply typed on the phone also shows up in the platform inbox. Owners keep typing from the familiar app while the team works in parallel from a professional inbox.

How does Coexistence work technically?

Activation happens once during Meta's Embedded Signup flow. The user selects the option that the phone number is already in use with the Business App, scans a QR code with the app and decides whether to share contacts and chat history.

After activation, sync runs both ways through so-called echo messages: when the owner types from the app, the message reaches the API platform via webhook. When the platform sends, the message also appears in the app. If the business agrees to share its chats, up to 180 days of history from one-to-one chats and the contacts transfer at activation. This choice cannot be changed later.

Benefits for SMBs

  • Soft start on the API: owners keep their familiar app, the team gets a professional inbox
  • No phone number migration: the existing number stays, customers don't need to change anything
  • Parallel use: team inbox, marketing campaigns and AI replies (from the Professional plan) run alongside the app
  • Reversible: Coexistence can be disconnected anytime in the Business App under Settings → Account → Business platform
  • App messages are free: messages sent from the app do not trigger any Meta fee

Limitations to know

Coexistence comes with trade-offs. Meta changes a few things so both sides work together cleanly:

  • In one-to-one chats, disappearing messages are turned off, and view-once and live location messages are disabled
  • Existing broadcast lists in the app become read-only and no new ones can be created; campaigns run via templates on the API side
  • Group chats keep working in the app but are not synced to the platform
  • Throughput is capped at 20 messages per second (the full API handles 80, up to 1,000 at high volume)
  • All linked devices are unlinked during setup and have to be re-linked; WhatsApp for Windows and Wear OS are not supported
  • The phone with the Business App must be opened at least every 13 days; after about 14 days of inactivity Meta disconnects the platform

Practical example

A bakery with 4 employees has built 800 WhatsApp contacts on the owner's phone using the Business App. With Coexistence, they connect the number to SendSeven on top: the owner keeps replying from the app in the morning, the sales team handles requests during the day from the SendSeven desktop inbox, and an AI assistant (from the Professional plan) covers evenings and weekends with answers to common questions. Marketing campaigns (e.g., "New seasonal breads from Monday") go to all opt-in contacts via the campaigns feature. One number, three reply sources, no data loss.

Coexistence on SendSeven

SendSeven supports Coexistence through Meta's official Embedded Signup, on every plan from Basic. Setup takes 10 to 15 minutes. Plans start at €49/month (Basic); API Only starts at €9 per channel. App messages remain free; API messages are billed at Meta's list rates. 14-day free trial, no credit card. More in the Coexistence guide, the App vs API vs Coexistence comparison and the developer guide.