March 30, 2025
WhatsApp is introducing new measures to prevent misuse of its message template category guidelines. These measures will be implemented globally by April 1.
If businesses are detected misusing the template categorization system, securing the utility category for templates that should be categorized as marketing, META will issue a written notice. If misuse continues, the following restrictions will apply:
• Immediate rejection of all approved utility templates
• For 7 days:
o Category reviews for these templates will be disabled
o Creation of new utility templates will be disabled
• If misuse persists, restrictions may be extended for up to 30 days.
To avoid these restrictions, we strongly encourage you to review your existing templates and ensure proper categorization. If a template should be categorized as marketing, please create a new marketing template accordingly.
META has updated its developer documentation to provide clarity on template category guidelines, including how message templates are categorized. Please review these guidelines for compliance:
• Template Categorization (Developer Documentation) – Updated March 12, 2025, to reflect new restrictions. This will be linked in META’s warning emails.
• Template Category Guidelines (Developer Documentation) – Outlines how templates are categorized and the distinction between marketing and utility templates.”