WhatsApp Quality Rating and Message Delivery

DesirΓ©e M Updated by DesirΓ©e M

Meta monitors how users interact with your WhatsApp message templates. If too many people block your number or report your messages as spam, Meta can slow down, pause, or disable your templates, which means your messages stop being delivered.

⚠️ This article is based on Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API documentation. Meta does not publish all the criteria they use, so treat this as a practical guide to reduce risk.

πŸ”‘ Opt-in is mandatory

Meta requires you to obtain explicit consent (opt-in) from users before sending them WhatsApp messages. This is not optional β€” it is part of the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy.

Messaging users who haven't opted in is the fastest way to generate blocks and spam reports, which directly damages your account quality. Even users who did opt in may forget they did, so Meta recommends:

β€’ Sending a confirmation message immediately after someone opts in through your website, chatbot, or other channels.

β€’ Including a clear and easy opt-out option both in your marketing templates and within the flow of your campaign-connected bots β€” a user who opts out is better for your account than one who blocks you.

You can manage consent in Landbot using the Opt-in block and Opt-in Check block.

πŸ“ˆ Template Quality Ratings

Every message template has a quality rating that Meta updates automatically based on user feedback and engagement. You can check ratings in your WhatsApp Manager and should monitor them closely β€” quality can change at any time, and acting quickly when it drops makes a real difference.

🟒 High quality – Little to no negative feedback. No action needed.

🟑 Medium quality – Some negative feedback or low read rates. Templates can still be sent, but this is a warning sign. Review and edit the template.

πŸ”΄ Low quality – Significant negative feedback. Templates can still be sent but are at risk of being paused or disabled. Act immediately.

βšͺ Unknown – The template is new and hasn't collected enough data yet.

πŸ’‘ Enable email notifications in your WhatsApp Manager. Meta will alert you automatically when a template's quality changes.

See Meta's full documentation on template quality ratings.

⏸️ Template Pausing

When a template drops to Low quality (πŸ”΄), Meta automatically pauses it. The more times it happens, the longer the pause:

β€’ 1st pause: 3 hours

β€’ 2nd pause: 6 hours

β€’ 3rd pause: The template is permanently disabled

While paused, the template cannot be sent and any campaigns using it will fail. Once the pause lifts, you can resume sending β€” but if you don't fix the underlying issue, it will happen again.

Avoid running campaigns with templates that are already at 🟑 Medium or πŸ”΄ Low quality, and don't let low-quality templates accumulate in your account. Each one is a risk to your overall account health.

If a template gets permanently disabled, you can edit it and resubmit it for Meta's review.

For full details, see Meta's documentation on template pausing.

🐌 Template Pacing

When you send a new template β€” or one that isn't rated 🟒 High quality β€” Meta doesn't deliver all messages at once. It sends to a smaller initial group first and waits for feedback before continuing.

Here's what happens next:

β€’ Positive feedback – Meta releases the remaining messages and delivers them normally.

β€’ Negative feedback – Meta drops the remaining held messages and pauses the template, giving you the opportunity to adjust the content or your targeting before resuming.

For full details, see Meta's documentation on template pacing.

🚫 Per-User Marketing Message Limits

Even with high-quality templates, some users may not receive your messages. Meta limits the number of marketing messages each user can receive in a given period, based on their recent engagement and overall inbox activity. This limit operates at the individual user level β€” you have no direct control over it.

If a message fails because of this limit, you'll see error code 131049 in your Landbot error logs. If you see this error, wait at least 24 hours before retrying β€” sending again immediately will produce the same error.

The most effective way to stay within this limit is to message users who actively want to hear from you, which is why opt-in quality matters so much.

See Meta's documentation on per-user marketing message limits.

βœ… Best Practices

β€’ Only send messages to users who have explicitly opted in.

β€’ Always include a clear and easy opt-out option both in your marketing templates and within your bot flows.

β€’ Monitor template quality in WhatsApp Manager closely and enable email alerts so you can act fast when quality changes.

β€’ Stop campaigns immediately if a template drops to 🟑 Medium or πŸ”΄ Low quality, and edit the template before resuming.

β€’ Don't let low-quality templates accumulate in your account β€” each one is a risk to your overall account health.

β€’ Keep your contact lists clean and well-segmented. Sending to engaged users protects your overall account health.

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