What counts as WhatsApp opt-in on Cloud API, how STOP must work, and how Nautilus Flow records consent so marketing campaigns do not message cold lists.
Meta requires permission before the first business-initiated WhatsApp template. A green tick on a message you sent is not consent. Nautilus Flow stores opt-in and opt-out on the contact so campaigns can skip people you are not allowed to message.
This article is the policy version of what support teams ask after a skipped-audience campaign. The product FAQ matches it; this page is the longer explanation you can share with legal or a client.
We treat a contact as opted-in when at least one of these is true:
opt_in
Sending a template to someone who never heard of you, then calling the delivery receipt “opt-in,” is not allowed. Marketing campaigns in Nautilus Flow skip unknown and unsubscribed contacts for that reason.
Utility and authentication templates (OTP, “your order shipped”) can go to contacts without a marketing opt-in only if you attest you have permission for that transactional message. That is still not a license to add them to a sale broadcast.
If the customer replies STOP, unsubscribe, stop promotions, cancel, end, or quit—or taps a matching template button—we mark them opted-out. Marketing campaigns skip them.
A later “ok” or “thanks” does not turn marketing back on. They must reply START, subscribe, or yes, or you re-record consent in the CRM.
This is stricter than a casual inbox “they seem friendly again.” It is meant to survive an audit and to protect your WhatsApp quality rating.
When a campaign preview shows skipped contacts, it is usually one of:
If Meta holds or drops messages (including error 132015) mid-send, remaining messages pause. We cannot override a Meta restriction. We can stop the product from making it worse.
Do not hide marketing consent inside “I agree to terms.” Do not import a Facebook lead CSV and broadcast a sale the same afternoon unless those people messaged you or you have documented opt-in.