Privacy and security for business messages
Business Messaging
Every WhatsApp message is protected by the same Signal encryption protocol that secures messages before they leave your device. When you message a WhatsApp business account, your message is delivered securely to the destination chosen by the business.
WhatsApp considers chats with businesses that use the WhatsApp Business app or manage and store customer messages themselves to be end-to-end encrypted. Once the message is received, it will be subject to the business’s own privacy practices. The business may designate a number of employees, or even other vendors, to process and respond to the message.
Some businesses choose WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, to securely store messages and respond to customers. Meta will not automatically use the messages you send a business to inform the ads that you see. However, businesses will be able to use chats they receive for their own marketing purposes, including advertising on Meta.
Note:
- The encryption status of an end-to-end encrypted chat can't change without the change being visible to the user. For more information about which chats are end-to-end encrypted, please read our white paper.
- There are optional services that a business or you can choose to use where Meta receives limited information. For example, you can choose to start a chat with a business after interacting with their ad on Facebook and Instagram or interact with offers and announcements a business may send you on WhatsApp. We’re rolling out the >> icon at the top of the chat bar for these services, which you’ll be able to tap to learn more about how this works.
- In addition, certain companies choose to use AI from Meta to assist them in responding to messages sent from customers. Meta receives these chats to improve its AI quality; when this happens we will let you know by highlighting “uses AI from Meta” under the business name.
You’re in control
WhatsApp wants to make sure you know what’s happening with your messages. If you don’t want to receive messages from a person or business, you can always:
- Block them directly from the chat
- Delete them from your contact list
