All Products
Search

This Product

    Chat App Message Service:WhatsApp message template category changes and sending controls

    Document Center

    Chat App Message Service:WhatsApp message template category changes and sending controls

    Last Updated:Jun 22, 2026

    WhatsApp message templates undergo a review process and periodic checks that may update a template's category. This can happen in the following two scenarios:

    • Category changed during review

      When you submit a template for review, if WhatsApp determines that the content does not match the selected category, it adjusts the category based on the actual content and updates it upon approval.

      For example, you create a template with the Utility category and the following content: "Your order has been shipped and is expected to arrive this Friday. Thank you for your order! Use code SAVE20 for 20% off your next purchase." Because this message contains promotional information, WhatsApp will change the category from Utility to Marketing and approve it under the new category.

      After approval, you can still send this template, but its category is now Marketing.

      Note

      A template's category can also be changed from Marketing to Utility.

    • Category updated during periodic checks after approval

      To ensure consistency between template content and categories, WhatsApp performs periodic automated checks. Starting April 16, 2025, if WhatsApp detects a mismatch between a template's category and its content, WhatsApp will instantly update the category.

    In both scenarios, a template's category may differ from what you originally selected. If a template's category changes from Utility to Marketing, messages sent using it are billed at the Marketing rate, increasing your messaging costs.

    Automatically pause sending when a category changes

    Chat App offers a pause sending when category is changed feature that you can enable when creating a WhatsApp message template. If the template's category is later updated to Marketing, sending is automatically paused to prevent unintended costs.

    Important

    Chat App attempts to block sending as soon as it receives a category update notification from WhatsApp. However, due to network latency, a few messages might still be sent and billed at the Marketing rate before the pause takes effect.

    Procedure

    1. When you create a WhatsApp message template, select Utility as the template category.

      In the Add dialog box, enter a template name (for example, update_demo), select a target language in the Language field (for example, English), and then click OK.

    2. On the template design page, select the Pause sending when category is changed check box.

    3. Edit the template content, then save and submit it for review.

      • If the template's category is changed to Marketing during the review or a subsequent check, sending is automatically paused.

    Important

    • If a template's category is changed to Marketing and sending is paused, you can resume sending by clearing the Pause sending when category is changed check box.

    • After you clear this check box, you cannot enable this setting again for the template.