A WhatsApp broadcast list, legally: consent, opt-out and what Meta requires

Contents

1. Two different things called a "broadcast list"
2. What the spam law requires, without the lawyers
3. What consent that holds up looks like
4. Opt-out: one word should be enough
5. Meta's side: templates, the 24-hour window and a cap per recipient
6. Broadcast list, marketing template or a conversation the customer opened
7. What WhaleBiz does today
8. Checklist before the first message
9. Frequently asked questions

Almost every Israeli business owner knows the rule: marketing messages go only to people who agreed to them. Almost nobody enforces it on their own list: phone contacts, past bookings, numbers from three years ago, and the holiday promotion goes to all. The arithmetic: section 30A of the Communications Law, known as the spam law, lets a court award up to 1,000 ₪ per message with no proof of damage. On a list of 600 where only a third have documented consent, 400 recipients mean a theoretical exposure of 400,000 ₪ for one message. One small claim can cost more than the promotion earned. The second risk is Meta: a blocked and reported number loses the ability to send. Here is how to build a WhatsApp broadcast list you can send to calmly.

Two different things called a "broadcast list"

The first is the broadcast list in the WhatsApp Business app. You pick up to 256 contacts and each gets your message as a private chat, but only if they saved the business number. It is free but manual: no record of who agreed and when, opt-outs live in memory, and one promotion to dozens of people is exactly what WhatsApp's spam systems look for.

The second is a marketing template through WhatsApp's business interface (the official API). Meta approves the wording in advance, the message leaves from a system, Meta charges its own fee, and you see who received, read or asked to stop.

A third is no list at all: a conversation the customer opened (below). The law ignores the tool: both lists are judged by the same section.

What the spam law requires, without the lawyers

What counts as an "advertisement". A message distributed commercially to encourage buying a product or service, or spending money otherwise. A holiday promotion, a new treatment, a coupon, "last places left": all advertisements. A reminder, a receipt or an answer to a question usually are not, but a promo line inside a reminder can make it one. The law names email, SMS, fax, autodialers and electronic messages, and courts judge marketing WhatsApp messages by the same section.

Explicit consent, in advance, in writing. "In writing" includes an electronic message or a recorded call. Silence is not consent, nor is a pre-ticked box.

An existing-customer exception, and a narrow one. Without explicit consent, only if every condition holds: the customer gave their details while buying or negotiating a purchase, you told them they would be used for advertising, you offered a chance to refuse and they did not, and the advertisement is for a similar product or service.

What every message must carry. The word "advertisement" (in Hebrew, "פרסומת") at the start, the business name and contact, and a simple way to refuse more.

Refusal. The recipient may refuse at any time, in writing or the way the message arrived. After that, every further marketing message is a violation.

This is not legal advice. For a specific case, especially in health, check the wording with a lawyer.

What consent that holds up looks like

Good consent comes from one of four places, each with its own record.

1. A website form. A separate checkbox, not pre-ticked, with clear wording: "I agree to receive updates and offers from [business name] on WhatsApp. You can unsubscribe in any message." Not inside the terms, not a condition for booking.
2. Inside a conversation. At the end of a chat the customer opened, ask once: "Would you like us to tell you here about offers and freed-up slots? You can stop any time." A typed "yes" is written consent, with a timestamp.
3. At the counter or the clinic. A QR code that opens WhatsApp with ready text, "I'd like to get updates". The customer sends it, so you get written consent and an open conversation.
4. By phone. A recorded call counts. An unrecorded spoken "yes" is very hard to prove.

Not consent: a number given to book (unless the exception's conditions were met), WhatsApp group membership, a bought or passed-on list, a business card, a customer who once asked a price. A price question is a conversation, not permission to send offers.

Keep four details per consent: who, when, which channel, what wording. In a dispute, the business has to show the consent.

Opt-out: one word should be enough

Every marketing message ends with a simple line, such as "Reply STOP to unsubscribe". An API template can also carry a stop button.

The trouble starts when the opt-out knows one word. Customers write "stop sending me this", "not relevant anymore", "who gave you my number?". Each is a refusal, and a system that looks only for "STOP" keeps sending. Whoever reads the replies, a person or an AI agent, must understand intent, not a keyword.

Three more rules: log the refusal on the customer card the same day, so no other tool sends again; confirm it briefly, with no advertising; and never re-add a removed person in the next phone import.

Meta's side: templates, the 24-hour window and a cap per recipient

The law is half the picture. WhatsApp has its own rules, and meeting one does not cover the other.

Consent by Meta's rules. WhatsApp's business messaging policy requires a customer's agreement to receive your WhatsApp messages before you contact them, and that you honour every request to stop.

The 24-hour window. When a customer writes, a 24-hour window opens in which you reply freely. Outside it, a business can start a conversation only with a pre-approved template, and marketing templates are paid. The price is Meta's and varies by country; we keep the current rates in our article on Meta's WhatsApp pricing in 2026.

A cap per recipient. Meta limits how many marketing templates a person receives from all businesses together. At the cap, the message is neither delivered nor queued. Israel is not among the exempt countries, so part of a campaign can fail silently.

Number quality. Blocks and reports lower the quality rating, which limits how many new people you can reach. Promotions from a private phone or an unofficial tool risk the number itself.

Broadcast list, marketing template or a conversation the customer opened

The last column is the cheapest and safest list there is: get customers to write first. An ad that opens a WhatsApp chat, a QR code at the counter, an Instagram story saying "send us 'offer' for the details". Each opens a window in which you answer a question the customer asked. It works only if someone answers within minutes, evenings and Saturdays included, and then asks whether they want updates. So the list grows from people who asked to be on it. For the other ways to market in this channel, see the guide to WhatsApp marketing with AI.

What WhaleBiz does today

The WhaleBiz AI agent on WhatsApp answers every conversation a customer opens, at any hour and in any language, qualifies, books and logs everything in the CRM. Whoever wrote to the agent and agreed to updates joins the list from the CRM. When someone replies to a broadcast, a sales agent takes the conversation on and hands a hot lead to a person on the team.

The broadcast goes out through a newsletter system that works only with people who opted in: Meta-approved templates, through WhatsApp's business interface rather than a private phone, with a simple opt-out saved on the customer card, so no tool in the system sends to them again. Imported contacts without a consent record get nothing until they confirm.

The AI agent on WhatsApp starts on the Standard plan; Start is a website widget or Telegram only, without WhatsApp. Broadcasting is a separate service priced after a short check-up, and Meta's charge for marketing messages is separate from ours. What each plan includes: the full plan comparison. Have your lawyer approve the consent wording: we keep the records, they own the phrasing.

Checklist before the first message

1. Split the list in three. Documented consent, existing customers who meet the whole exception, everyone else.
2. "Everyone else" gets no advertising, not even a message asking if they want it. Invite them where they come to you: a story, a sign, a receipt.
3. Add a separate consent checkbox to every website form, not pre-ticked.
4. In every message: "advertisement" at the start, the business name, a way to contact you and a simple way to opt out.
5. Accept a refusal in any wording, and log it on the customer card the same day.
6. Get templates approved in advance and budget Meta's charge per marketing message.
7. Set your own frequency. Weekly blasts wear a list out faster than any Meta cap.
8. Make sure someone answers. A reply sent at 8 p.m. and answered the next afternoon misses the moment the customer was ready.

Frequently asked questions

May I send a WhatsApp marketing message to existing customers without asking them?

Only under the law's exception: details given while buying or negotiating a purchase, a notice that they would be used for advertising, a chance to refuse that was not taken, and an advertisement for a similar product or service. If any condition is missing, you need explicit prior consent. This is not legal advice; check a specific case with a lawyer.

Is a broadcast list in the WhatsApp Business app exempt from the spam law?

No. The law looks at content and consent, not the tool. A saved number is WhatsApp's technical condition for delivery, not consent to advertising.

How much does Meta charge for a WhatsApp marketing message?

Meta charges for every delivered marketing template, by the recipient's country, and changes its price from time to time. A free-form reply within 24 hours of the customer's last message is not charged. The charge is Meta's, separate from the WhaleBiz subscription.

Which WhaleBiz plan lets me connect WhatsApp and send broadcasts?

The AI agent on WhatsApp starts on the Standard plan, because Start includes only a website widget or Telegram. WhatsApp and email broadcasting is a separate service priced after a short check-up, and Meta's charge for marketing messages is separate. Full details are on the pricing page.