Last updated: April 3, 2024
Available with any of the following subscriptions, except where noted:
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Service Hub
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After you connect your WhatsApp Business account as a channel in your conversations inbox, you must ensure that you get explicit consent from contacts to communicate with them using WhatsApp.
Contacts can grant explicit consent via specific keywords in a WhatsApp thread. You can also manually opt in a contact to receive WhatsApp messages if they've given their express and verifiable consent.
You can also update WhatsApp subscription preferences in bulk on the contacts home page, or update subscription statuses automatically using a workflow.
WhatsApp consent requirements
WhatsApp allows you to initiate text conversations only by sending messages using pre-approved templates. A contact must grant explicit consent to communicate using business-initiated WhatsApp messages. You must clearly inform anyone who sends a message to your WhatsApp Business account that they consent to receive messages from your business. You must state the name of your business and comply with any applicable laws.
You may want to update any relevant legal documents, including your Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, to detail how you will handle WhatsApp consent and processing. Please note that by connecting your WhatsApp Business account to HubSpot, you agree to the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy which is incorporated by reference to the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service and governs your use of WhatsApp Business Services. Please review this policy carefully as it outlines requirements for obtaining WhatsApp consent from your users.
Disclaimer: this page is neither an exhaustive summary of consent requirements nor legal advice for your organization to use in complying with it. Instead, it provides background information to help you better understand WhatsApp consent options and how it can apply to your organization. This information is not the same as legal advice, where an attorney applies the law to your specific circumstances, so you should consult an attorney if you’d like advice on your interpretation of this information or its accuracy.
Subscribe a contact using opt-in keywords in a WhatsApp thread
A contact can send a message with a keyword in a WhatsApp thread to opt in or out of receiving WhatsApp communications from your business. HubSpot provides a specific set of keywords to trigger opt-in and opt-out consent. These keywords are listed in the table below:
| Language | Opt-in | Opt-out |
| English | START, SUBSCRIBE, UNSTOP | STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT |
| Spanish | EMPEZAR | ALTO |
| French | COMMENCER | ARRÊTER |
| Portuguese | INICIAR | PARAR |
| German | LOSLEGEN | BEENDEN |
| Japanese | 開始 | 停止 |
Please note: a contact's message must only contain one of the keywords from the table above to successfully opt a contact in or out of receiving WhatsApp messages from your business. For example, the message "Can I START receiving messages?" will not opt a contact in, but the message "Start" will opt a contact in. Spaces before or after the keyword are permitted.
If you include a Marketing opt-out button in your WhatsApp template and the contact clicks it, they will automatically be unsubscribed in HubSpot. To learn more about creating message templates in your WhatsApp Business account, log into your Facebook account then check out this article in Meta's Business Help Center.
Please note: you can also use WhatsApp's click to chat feature to create a link that'll allow you to start a chat automatically when a user clicks the link. Learn more about the click to chat feature in WhatsApp's Help Center.
Manage your contacts' WhatsApp subscription
You can opt in a contact to receive WhatsApp messages manually, in bulk on the contacts home page, or automatically using a workflow. Learn more about managing your contacts' messaging subscriptions.
Manually update the opt-in status for a contact
You can manually edit a contact's WhatsApp subscription status from the contact record if you have received their explicit and verifiable consent to receive WhatsApp communications from your business. The contact must also have a valid phone number populated for the WhatsApp Phone Number contact property.
To manage opt-in consent for a contact:
- In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Contacts.
- Click the name of the contact.
- In the left sidebar, under the Communication subscriptions section, click View subscriptions.
- In the right panel, hover over the WhatsApp subscription type.
- To manually subscribe or resubscribe the contact:
- If the contact hasn't yet specified their preference on receiving WhatsApp messages, click Subscribe. If they had previously opted out of receiving WhatsApp messages, you can resubscribe them by clicking Resubscribe.
- In the dialog box, select a legal basis for communicating and enter the explanation for communication.
- Click Save.
- If you want to manually unsubscribe a contact from receiving WhatsApp messages, click Unsubscribe.
- To manually subscribe or resubscribe the contact:
You can also click the History tab in the Subscription status panel to review the contact's subscription history, which includes details such as the legal basis, explanation, and timestamp of each subscription change, as well as the user in your account who requested the subscription status change.
Update the opt-in status of contacts in bulk
You can edit and manage a contact's WhatsApp subscription type in bulk on the contacts home page. You can also remove an opt-out of all email status that was added manually by a user in your HubSpot account. Learn more about how to update contacts subscriptions in bulk.
Update the opt-in status of contacts with a workflow (Professional and Enterprise only)
If your account has a Professional or Enterprise subscription, you can opt your contacts into receiving WhatsApp messages in bulk using a contact-based workflow. Learn more about how to update opt-in statuses via a workflow.
