Overview

Meta has announced new restrictions regarding the categorization of templates, aiming to improve customer experience and the consumer journey. Misuse of categories, especially Utility, will be penalized.

What has changed?

Starting April 1, 2025, new measures will be applied to companies that do not follow the template categorization guidelines.

How will it be done now?

If Meta identifies misuse after this notice, the following restrictions will be applied, preventing the WhatsApp Business Account from using the WhatsApp Business Platform for utility message exchanges for 7 days:

• Rejection of all approved utility templates.
• For 7 days: deactivation of category analytics for these templates.
• For 7 days: blocking the creation of new utility templates.

For companies that have already received these restrictions previously and continue to misuse the template categorization system, Meta will apply such limitations for 30 days.

When these restrictions are implemented or extended, Meta will send email notifications to all WABA administrators and trigger a change in the restriction_info object in the account_update webhook.

Most relevant for:

• Communication managers, marketing analysts, customer service professionals.

Documentation

For more information, please check Meta's documentation.