WhatsApp coexistence: how to use the same number in the app and the API

What is WhatsApp coexistence and when did it launch?

Until recently, moving a number to the WhatsApp Business API meant removing it from the phone app. For many businesses that was a deal-breaker: it's the number customers have had saved for years.

Meta launched onboarding of WhatsApp Business app users to the Cloud API, which everyone calls “coexistence,” on February 11, 2025, according to the WhatsApp Business Platform changelog. Several markets were excluded at first; on October 23, 2025 Meta added, among others, the European Economic Area, the European Union and the United Kingdom. Today a business in the US, Spain or Venezuela can use it.

In practice, the same number lives in two places at once: the WhatsApp Business app on your phone and a provider's platform, where an AI assistant can work.

What do you need to turn on coexistence?

Meta's developer documentation (checked in November 2026) sets few requirements for the business and several for the provider that connects it:

• The WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or later. Regular WhatsApp doesn't qualify.
• A Meta Business account (business portfolio) in your company's name.
• A provider that is already a Meta Tech Provider or Solution Partner and uses the official Embedded Signup flow.
• Your phone at hand during setup: you enter your number, confirm with “Connect” in a message Meta sends to the WhatsApp Business app, and keep the app open while history syncs.

What syncs between the app and the API?

According to Meta, contacts with a WhatsApp number and one-to-one chats from the last six months (180 days) can be synced. The provider has 24 hours after onboarding to import that history; otherwise the process has to be repeated.

From then on, everything sent and received is mirrored on both sides. If someone on your team replies from the phone, the provider's system receives a copy of that message, so the assistant knows a person is already handling it and can step back from that conversation.

Group chats are not synced and can't be managed from the API.

What changes in the WhatsApp Business app once it's connected?

This is the part that surprises people, so it's worth knowing upfront. When coexistence is on, Meta turns off a few app features the API can't mirror:

• Disappearing messages: turned off in all one-to-one chats.
• View-once photos and videos: disabled.
• Live location: disabled.
• Broadcast lists: you can't create new ones, and existing lists become read-only.
• Linked devices: all are unlinked during setup and must be linked again (up to four). WhatsApp for Windows and Wear OS aren't supported.

What keeps working the same on the phone?

Voice and video calls, groups, the catalog, quick replies, labels and the business profile stay in the app as usual. They just don't carry over to the API: the assistant doesn't take calls or write in groups.

One practical detail: if the primary phone goes about two weeks without opening the app, Meta may disconnect coexistence for inactivity. Normal daily use by your team is enough.

How much does it cost and what are the limits?

Messages your team sends from the app remain free. Messages sent through the API are billed at Meta's Cloud API rates, which depend on the message type and the customer's country. Our guide on what a WhatsApp chatbot costs covers the details.

A coexistence number has a fixed throughput of 20 messages per second: plenty for a restaurant, a store or a real estate office, but not for very large bulk sends.

Step by step with a Tech Provider

• Assessment: we check your number, your app version and whether you rely on features that will be turned off, like broadcast lists.
• Official signup: you enter Meta's flow from our link, pick your business portfolio, enter your number and confirm in the message Meta sends to the WhatsApp Business app.
• Sync: contacts and the last six months of chats are imported. Keep the app open in the meantime.
• Assistant: we connect the number to the AI assistant, with the knowledge base and rules we agree on with you.
• Testing and launch: we check that the assistant steps back when your team writes from the phone before opening it to all your customers.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Using unofficial tools that imitate WhatsApp Web: they put the number at risk of being banned. Coexistence is the official route.
• Not warning the team that broadcast lists and disappearing messages will stop working.
• Forgetting to re-link the computer or tablet after setup.
• Leaving the primary phone unused for weeks.
• Launching the assistant without hand-off rules: customers should always be able to reach a person when they ask.

How we do it at Ikusa Media

Ikusa Media is a Tech Provider approved by Meta, so we connect your number through the official signup flow and the account stays in your company's name. We use it with clients like Villa Emma and on our own WhatsApp, where Sofía answers. Message her to see it working, or check our AI WhatsApp assistant service and request a proposal through the planner.