WhatsApp Business API in 2026: every change, month by month

Updated on October 28, 2026

In 2026 the WhatsApp Business API changed on four fronts: pricing (new rates, plus charges for service messages and for utility messages inside the customer service window since October 1), user identity (BSUIDs and usernames), marketing (the Marketing Messages API and the end of marketing on the Cloud API in 2027) and account structure (the WABA became a WhatsApp account + a Messaging account). This page collects, month by month, the changes published in Meta’s official changelog, each with a date and source.

This is a living page. It’s revised whenever Meta publishes something relevant for teams integrating the API. Last revision: October 28, 2026.

Summary: what requires action

Change	Date	What to do
New rates and end of unlimited free service messages	Oct 1, 2026	Review costs and keep a payment method active
Utility messages inside the window become billable	Oct 1, 2026	Recalculate the cost of transactional notifications
BSUIDs in webhooks and sending by BSUID	April and July 2026	Stop using the phone number as the only contact key
New WABA structure	from Sept 23, 2026	Replace paid_messaging_account_id by Dec 31, 2026
End of marketing on Cloud API	Oct 13, 2027 (announced Oct 13, 2026)	Move campaigns to /marketing_messages

January

• Jan 28 — Meta introduced a pricing policy for “AI Providers”: from February 16, 2026, in countries where it’s legally required to support them, Meta charges for non-template messages sent by these providers. (changelog)

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February

• Feb 3 — Cloud API Groups available to all businesses with an Official Business Account. (changelog)
• Feb 4 — account_offboarded and account_reconnected webhooks for coexistence numbers. (changelog)
• Feb 19 — New automatic creative optimization in the Marketing Messages API: auto promotion tag. (marketing changelog)

March

• Mar 2 — Upcoming 2026 rates published in 15 currencies, including the Argentine, Chilean, Colombian and Mexican pesos, the Peruvian sol and the US dollar. (changelog)
• Mar 27 — The request_welcome webhook and welcome message were removed from conversational components; the enable_welcome_message parameter no longer exists. (changelog)

April

• Apr 1 — Rates updated for Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan and Turkey, plus eight new billing currencies: AED, ARS, CLP, COP, MYR, PEN, SAR and SGD. (changelog)
• Early April — The BSUID (business-scoped user ID) starts appearing in webhooks. (BSUIDs)
• Apr 6 — Businesses onboarded to the Marketing Messages API can turn off marketing on the Cloud API; /messages then rejects marketing templates with error 131063. (changelog)
• Apr 17 — New error 131064: messaging limit exceeded due to template classification violations. (changelog)
• Apr 21 — New off-WhatsApp conversion metrics in the Marketing Messages API; automatic creative optimizations become off by default at the account level. (marketing changelog)

May

• May 5 — /marketing_messages accepts BSUID recipients through the recipient field. (changelog)
• May 12 — In the EU/EEA, Meta stops charging AI Providers for non-template messages from May 13; in Brazil, the charge remains. (changelog)
• May 13 — Keyboard suggestions on by default for authentication templates from June 15, 2026: on iOS 26 and later, the code appears for one-tap autofill. (changelog)
• May 14 — Group messages can be marked as read, one by one. (changelog)
• May 15 — Max price for marketing messages enters limited beta. (changelog)
• May 26 — The pricing page lists the July 1 and October 1, 2026 changes; a new billing currency migration API is added. (changelog)

June

• Jun 2 — Meta Business Agent, for Meta’s own AI agents on WhatsApp, is added to the docs, alongside the guides for the new account structure. (changelog)
• Jun 3 — In-App Signup: links that let users subscribe to a business’s messages. On July 3, Meta noted the feature isn’t available in Brazil, among other markets. (changelog)
• Jun 15 — Direct Send in open beta: utility and authentication messages without creating a template first. (changelog)
• Jun 16 — messaging_account_id replaces paid_messaging_account_id, which should be dropped by December 31, 2026. (Messaging accounts)
• Jun 25 — Voicemail for Cloud API calling leaves alpha and becomes generally available. (changelog)
• Jun 29 — Businesses can reserve and adopt a business username. (BSUIDs)
• Jun 30 — Call recording and call transcription guides. (changelog)

July

• Jul 1 — The rate changes announced in May take effect. (pricing)
• July — The Cloud API accepts BSUID recipients and the REQUEST_CONTACT_INFO button, which asks the user for their phone number. (BSUIDs)
• Jul 15 — The “Phone Number First” Embedded Signup flow starts reaching the default flow. (changelog)
• Jul 31 — Direct Send for utility becomes generally available; authentication stays in beta. (changelog)

August

• Aug 4 — The docs make it official: the WABA becomes a WhatsApp account (WAAC) + a Messaging account. (changelog)
• Aug 11 — New user_changed_user_id system webhook for BSUID changes. (changelog)
• Aug 18 — Phone number migration between partners is no longer supported in the new model; the path is sharing the WhatsApp account. (changelog)
• Aug 19 — Beta of WhatsApp Business app login for coexistence onboarding without a Facebook account. (changelog)
• Aug 24 — Contact book lookup by BSUID (GET /<PHONE_NUMBER_ID>/contact_book). (changelog)

September

• Sept 22–23 — Phase 1 of the new account structure begins, with automatic migration through mid-October; IDs, tokens and endpoints keep working. (account updates)
• Sept 23 — Conversation Routing: rules for which partner receives each inbound message when more than one partner uses the same number. (changelog)
• Sept 28 — The free entry point window opened by click-to-WhatsApp ads can stay open for up to 7 days instead of 72 hours. (changelog)
• Sept 29 — Policy for eligible governments and non-profits: service messages stay free beyond the free tier from October 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027. Reactions remain free for everyone and don’t count toward the free tier. (changelog)
• Sept 30 — The pricing page is restructured around the October 1 rules. (pricing)

October

• Oct 1 — New rates. For recipients in Brazil (billed in Brazilian reais, BRL): marketing BRL 0.3217; utility, authentication and service BRL 0.0350. Each number gets 1,000 free service messages per month (charges start at the 1,001st; the free tier doesn’t cover utility), and utility templates sent inside the customer service window become billable. Max price for marketing enters open beta. (pricing)
• Oct 5 — Payment templates in Brazil add one-click payment (offsite_card_pay). (changelog)
• Oct 8 — Portfolios with a 100K or unlimited messaging limit become eligible for Direct Send utility. (changelog)
• Oct 13 — Global announcement: the Cloud API stops sending marketing on October 13, 2027; Messaging accounts created from April 13, 2027 can’t send it at all. (Marketing Messages API)
• Oct 14 — Direct Send supports OTP with a copy code button without a pre-created template. (changelog)
• Oct 15 — Embedded Signup v2 and v3 deprecated (served as v4). (changelog)
• Oct 16 — Pix with redirect (Pix is Brazil’s instant payment system): the buyer picks their bank inside WhatsApp and authorizes in the bank app (flow_type: "APPSWITCH"). (changelog)
• Oct 20 — Embedded Signup v5, with coexistence onboarding on by default. (changelog)
• Oct 23 — Business username change limit: 2 times every 14 days per number. (BSUIDs)
• Oct 27 — With Pix with redirect, WhatsApp marks the order as paid once the bank completes the payment. The conversation_analytics field is removed on November 1, 2026. (changelog)

The four changes that matter most

Pricing. October’s change ended unlimited free service messages and free utility inside the window, which affects the cost of any support or notification operation. Details in free utility messages in the service window, how much a WhatsApp campaign costs and, for other countries, WhatsApp API pricing by country.

User identity. The phone number is no longer guaranteed in webhooks. See WhatsApp usernames and BSUIDs.

Marketing. Campaigns must move to /marketing_messages by October 2027. See how to migrate to the Marketing Messages API.

Account. The WABA is now two accounts, and switching providers no longer requires migrating the number. See WhatsApp account vs. Messaging account.

How it works with Vectalk

Vectalk is a proxy for the official WhatsApp Cloud API: payloads and webhooks are Meta’s, so new fields like user_id reach your endpoint exactly as Meta sends them, and Meta’s charges are passed through Vectalk. To keep up with platform changes, use this page and the Vectalk documentation. To get started, sign up at apps.vectalk.com.br/register.

Frequently asked questions

What was the biggest WhatsApp API change in 2026?

For cost, October 1: new rates, a free tier of 1,000 service messages per number and charges for utility inside the window. For code, BSUIDs and the end of marketing on the Cloud API in 2027.

Will my old code break with the new WABA structure?

Not in phase 1. Meta keeps IDs, tokens and endpoints. The mandatory move to WhatsApp account IDs is planned for the first half of 2028.

Where does Meta publish these changes?

In the WhatsApp Business Platform changelog and the Marketing Messages API changelog. Pricing changes also show up on the pricing page.

How often is this page updated?

Whenever Meta publishes a change that matters to teams integrating the API. The date at the top shows the last revision.

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Official sources consulted on October 28, 2026: WhatsApp Business Platform changelog, Marketing Messages API changelog, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing (updated September 30, 2026), Business-scoped user IDs (updated October 23, 2026), Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts (updated September 22, 2026), Marketing Messages API overview (updated October 13, 2026).