Managing WhatsApp Conversations

The Inbox brings supporter conversations together in one place, making it easy to manage WhatsApp and SMS alongside the wider supporter record.

When a supporter replies or reacts to one of your WhatsApp messages, their conversation will appear in the Inbox for your team to manage.

Use the Inbox to:

When a supporter replies or reacts to a WhatsApp message, their conversation will automatically appear as Open in your Inbox.

Use the controls at the top of the Inbox to find and organise conversations.

You can:

Each item in the Inbox represents your overall conversation with a supporter.

A supporter may contact you through both WhatsApp and SMS, but their conversation is still managed as one supporter interaction. If both channels are available, you can switch between the WhatsApp and SMS tabs to review their communication history.

For example, marking a conversation as closed means you have finished dealing with the supporter's current question or interaction.

Conversations have two simple statuses:

Select Close once you have finished dealing with the supporter. The conversation will be removed from your open queue and you will move on to the next item.

If you close a conversation by mistake, you can reopen it at any time.

If the supporter messages you again later, their conversation can become active again while retaining the previous communication history.

Use Follow-up when a conversation needs additional attention or should be prioritised for later.

Follow-up conversations are highlighted in the Inbox and can be filtered separately, making it easy to create a focused list of supporters your team needs to return to.

You can add or remove the follow-up status at any time.

Bulk actions make it easier to manage larger volumes of supporter conversations.

Select multiple conversations, or all conversations currently displayed, to:

This is useful when several conversations require the same update.

When you open a conversation, the supporter panel gives you additional context without leaving the Inbox.

Depending on the information available, you can view:

Use this information to understand the supporter and their relationship with your organisation before replying.

Messages sent automatically through Journey Builder include information about where they came from.

Select or hover over the Social Sync indicator to view details such as:

This is particularly useful if a supporter asks why they received a message, as your team can quickly understand the journey and context behind it.

Write your reply directly in the WhatsApp conversation. Messages sent within an active WhatsApp conversation are normally delivered almost immediately.

You can also:

The supporter panel remains available while you reply, making it easier to confirm which event, fundraiser or campaign they are referring to.

When a supporter sends you a WhatsApp message, Meta opens a 24-hour engagement window.

During this window, your team can reply directly and continue the conversation in real time.

When approval is required, you can also choose when the message should be sent once approved, helping you avoid sending replies at an unsuitable time.

WhatsApp conversations update in near real time. After sending a message, you can see when it has been read by the supporter where WhatsApp provides a read receipt.

Supporters can reply with:

Your team can currently respond with text and emojis from the Inbox.

Quick Replies help your team respond to common supporter questions quickly while keeping messages personal.

You can use reusable responses for things like registration information, fundraising links, event questions and general supporter enquiries. Quick Replies can also include dynamic supporter or campaign information, such as personalised links and the name of the team member sending the response.

Select a Quick Reply from the Inbox, review the content and send it when you're ready.

For more information on creating and managing Quick Replies, see our Quick Replies guide.

If a supporter no longer wants to receive WhatsApp messages for a specific journey, you can update their audience record in the same way you would manage their channel preferences for email or SMS.

Open the relevant audience record and update their WhatsApp subscription status. Once unsubscribed, they will no longer receive future WhatsApp touchpoints from that journey.

This allows you to manage WhatsApp preferences at journey level without affecting the supporter’s wider record or other channel subscriptions.