Overview
WhatsApp now gives users more control over the types of marketing messages they want to receive from businesses. These preferences help ensure that people only get messages that are relevant and welcome — and for businesses, this means better engagement and trust.
If your business sends marketing messages via WhatsApp using templates (like for promotions, offers, or product updates), it's important to understand how these new user preference controls work.
What’s New?
Users can now manage their preferences directly within WhatsApp. This means they can opt in or out of specific categories of marketing messages from your business — without needing to go to an external website or app.
WhatsApp provides a standard way for users to control:
Whether they want to receive marketing messages at all.
Which categories of messages they are interested in (e.g., deals, order updates, new arrivals).
Whether they'd like to stop receiving marketing messages from your business entirely.
How It Works
Automatic Categorization
When your business sends a marketing message template, WhatsApp categorizes it based on its content (e.g., promotions, reminders, recommendations). This is done by Meta’s systems behind the scenes.User Visibility
Users can now see what type of marketing content they are receiving — for example, “You’re receiving this as a promotion from charles.”In-Chat Controls
At the bottom of marketing messages, WhatsApp may include a preference management link or label. This lets users:Adjust the types of messages they want from your business.
Stop all marketing messages if they choose.
Business Impact
If a user opts out of a category (like promotions), your messages in that category will no longer be delivered to them.
If they opt out entirely, you won’t be able to send them any future marketing messages — but non-marketing, transactional messages (like receipts or OTPs) are not affected.
In both scenarios, WhatsApp returns a specific error code which is displayed in charles
What You Need to Do as a Business
Keep your message content focused and relevant: Clear, specific messages are easier to categorize and more likely to be welcomed.
Use WhatsApp templates thoughtfully: Marketing templates should only be used when users have opted in to receive messages of that type.
In your campaign send-outs, charles automatically handles the errors returned from WhatsApp. For more information on specific error codes, head over to our dedicated product guide on error codes.
Why This Matters
Improves trust: Users know they’re in control, which builds confidence in your brand.
Enhances targeting: Messages reach users who are more likely to be interested and engaged.
Supports compliance: WhatsApp is aligning with privacy and consent standards in global markets.
Summary
With the new user preference controls, WhatsApp is giving users greater power to manage how they interact with businesses. For companies, this is an opportunity to build more respectful, relevant, and high-performing marketing campaigns. Focus on quality over quantity — and use this system as a guide to send messages that truly matter to your customers.