Same WhatsApp number: chat on your phone, confirm orders by API
Your team keeps replying from the WhatsApp Business app. Order confirmation goes out on the same number. What stays, what Meta turns off, and when you pay.
You do not have to give up the WhatsApp chat on your phone to send order messages. Meta lets one number live in two places: the WhatsApp Business app, and the Cloud API.
People call that coexistence. Meta’s name for it is onboarding a WhatsApp Business app user. Same idea.
One number, two jobs
Your team keeps answering customers from the phone. Size, address, “where is my order”.
The API handles the messages you should not type by hand:
- Confirm the order before it ships.
- Tell the customer it is out for delivery.
- Ask the customer if a “rejected” shipping update is real.
Vrobo sends those checks on WhatsApp. With coexistence, they go out on the number customers already know. You do not open a second line.
What stays on the phone
These stay in the WhatsApp Business app:
- One-to-one chats
- Voice and video calls
- Your catalog, labels, quick replies, greeting, and away message
- Your business name, logo, and profile
A message you type in the app is free. It does not open, extend, or change the paid API conversation window. If you reply from the phone, that reply is not an API charge.
What the API is for
API messages follow WhatsApp prices. In Egypt, an order update is the cheap message. A discount or “buy now” blast is the expensive one.
Use the API for order confirmation and shipping checks. Use the phone when a person needs to talk.
Chats stay in one thread. A message the API sends shows in the app. A message you send from the app can show on the API side. If you allow it at setup, Meta can copy up to 6 months of one-to-one history. Group chats are not copied.
What Meta turns off
The number can stay on the app only if some app tools stop. This is from Meta, not a Vrobo limit.
| On the WhatsApp Business app | After you connect the API |
|---|---|
| One-to-one chat | Stays. Messages mirror with the API. |
| Calls | Stay in the app. The API cannot place them. |
| Broadcast lists | You cannot create new ones. Old lists are read-only. |
| Disappearing, view-once, and live location | Turned off in one-to-one chats. |
| Group chats | Stay in the app. They are not synced to the API. |
| Catalog, labels, quick replies | Stay in the app. They are not API features. |
| Send speed | Capped at 20 messages per second while both are on. |
Linked devices (WhatsApp Web and desktop) are unlinked when you connect. You can link supported ones again. WhatsApp for Windows and WhatsApp for Wear OS are not supported as companion apps.
You need WhatsApp Business app version 2.24.17 or newer. The normal WhatsApp app is not enough. It has to be the Business app.
While the app and the API share the number, you cannot remove it from the API with the usual deregister step.
A normal COD day
- A customer places a cash-on-delivery order.
- An order confirmation goes out on your WhatsApp number.
- The customer replies yes, or asks to change the address.
- Your team opens that same chat on the phone and answers.
- If the courier later marks the order rejected, you ask the customer if that is true before you trust it.
The robot and the person share one conversation. The customer does not get a message from a strange second number.
When to skip coexistence
Coexistence fits a store that still replies by hand.
Skip it if nobody on your team uses the WhatsApp Business app. An API-only number does not keep the phone app, and it is not held at 20 messages per second.
Also skip app broadcasts as your campaign tool. After coexistence they stop. A sale message belongs on the API, and you pay the marketing rate for it.
Before you connect
- Update the WhatsApp Business app.
- During setup, Meta asks if you want to share chat history. Say yes only if you want old chats in your tools.
- Keep the app installed. Deleting it can break the link.
- Plan campaigns as API templates, not as broadcast lists.
- Expect onboarding to take a few minutes. History sync depends on how many chats you have and how fast the phone’s internet is.
Prices and feature rules come from Meta and can change. This page follows Meta’s guide for onboarding WhatsApp Business app users, updated June 2026.
Source: Onboard WhatsApp Business app users. Message prices: How much does a WhatsApp message cost?
Quick questions
What is WhatsApp coexistence?
It is Meta’s way to keep one phone number on the WhatsApp Business app and on the Cloud API at the same time. Your team still chats from the phone. Automated messages, like order confirmation, go through the API on that same number.
Do I need a second WhatsApp number?
No. Coexistence is for the number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app. Customers keep one chat with your store.
Does coexistence cost extra?
Meta does not add a coexistence fee. Messages you type in the app stay free. Messages sent through the API follow normal WhatsApp prices. An order update is the cheap message. A sale blast is the expensive one.
Can customers see the order message in the same chat?
Yes. One-to-one messages are mirrored. A message sent by the API shows in the WhatsApp Business app, and a message you send from the app can show on the API side. Meta can also sync up to 6 months of one-to-one history if you allow it during setup.
Can I still send broadcast lists from the app?
No. After you connect, you cannot create new broadcast lists. Old lists become read-only. Send campaigns as template messages through the API instead.
What if I only want automation and never chat from the phone?
Then you do not need coexistence. An API-only number is enough, and it is not capped at 20 messages per second the way a shared number is. Coexistence is for stores that still reply by hand.