orca.floWhatsApp coexistence: use the Business app and the official API on one number
Short answer
WhatsApp coexistence connects the number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app to Meta’s official Cloud API, and you keep chatting in the app. Contacts and the last 6 months of one-to-one chats can sync; broadcast lists, disappearing and view-once messages stop. Messages sent from the app stay free; API messages follow Meta’s API pricing.
Updated
For years, moving to the WhatsApp Business API meant giving up the app on your phone and starting the number from scratch. Coexistence changed that: one number, both the app and the API. Here is what moves across, what changes, and how OrcaFlo uses it.
What changes on the app (Meta’s documentation)
| Feature | With coexistence |
|---|---|
| One-to-one chats from the last 6 months | Can be synced to the API side |
| Contacts with a WhatsApp number | Can be synced |
| Group chats | Not synced |
| Broadcast lists | Disabled (existing lists become read-only) |
| Disappearing, view-once and live-location messages | Turned off in one-to-one chats |
| Messages you send from the app | Still free |
| Messages sent through the API | Meta’s API pricing |
Before you switch
- Update the app. Meta requires WhatsApp Business app version 2.24.17 or later.
- Move broadcasts to the API. Broadcast lists stop in the app; send campaigns as approved templates instead.
- Add a payment method in Meta. API messages are billed by Meta to your own WhatsApp Business account.
- Know the 24-hour window. On the API, messages more than 24 hours after the customer’s last message need a template.
How OrcaFlo connects with coexistence
Open Channels
Choose WhatsApp Business Platform (official API) and click Connect. Meta’s own sign-up window opens.
Pick your business and number
Choose your WhatsApp Business account and the number you use in the app, and keep the app.
It switches over by itself
OrcaFlo checks the number and moves your assistant to the API, usually within a minute.
Already on the QR link?
The QR link stays as a silent backup for 7 days, so the assistant never answers twice; if messages stop going through, it switches back and tells you.
Price
No plan fee for 14 days and your first 500 messages free, then from $14.99 a month + 2¢ per message. No setup fee. Meta’s API fees are separate and billed by Meta. More: the official API with OrcaFlo, the 24-hour window and the Business app vs the API.
Questions
A way to connect the number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app to Meta’s official Cloud API while you keep using the app on your phone.
No. Contacts and one-to-one chats from the last 6 months can be synced to the API side, and the app keeps your chats. Group chats aren’t synced.
Broadcast lists are disabled, and disappearing, view-once and live-location messages are turned off in one-to-one chats. Normal chatting from the app continues.
Yes. Messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app stay free; messages sent through the API follow Meta’s API pricing.
Yes. Connect the official API in Channels and keep the WhatsApp Business app on the same number.
Related
The official WhatsApp Business API for UAE businesses, with an AI that answers
Read more GuideWhatsApp Business app vs the WhatsApp Business API
Read more GuideThe WhatsApp 24-hour window, explained for UAE businesses
Read more GuideWhatsApp Business API messaging limits: tiers and how to move up
Read moreStop losing customers to slow replies.
No plan fee for 14 days and your first 500 messages free, then from $14.99 a month + 2¢ per message. No setup fee. Let OrcaFlo answer tomorrow’s messages.