Can I migrate my current number?

Yes, if it is not tied to a personal WhatsApp account; otherwise you must remove that link first or use another number.

How long does template approval take?

The review is Meta's and varies, often hours. A rejection comes with a stated reason, and you can edit and resubmit.

Do I need a commercial registration?

Meta's business verification requires documents proving the business exists. Barqia lets you upload them and follow their status from the dashboard.

Do you offer unofficial numbers?

No. The platform runs on the official API only, and that is not something we compromise on.

What happens to my number if I move off an unofficial tool?

The number can be moved to the official API, but you must first delete the WhatsApp account attached to it (personal or regular Business) — a number cannot be on both. Save any conversations you need before deleting; they do not transfer.

Is the official API slower to send?

No — it is faster and steadier, since sending goes through Meta's servers rather than a phone. What is slower is the initial setup: verification and template approval take a day or less, against minutes for an unofficial tool. You pay that slowness once, at the start.

Can I use a landline number?

Yes, the official API accepts landlines as long as you can receive the verification code on them — usually by voice call. That is a practical option for anyone who wants to keep their personal mobile out of the business.

What happens to my old conversations?

They do not transfer. Moving to the official API requires deleting the existing WhatsApp account on that number, and its history goes with it. Export what you need before you start — this is the step people regret skipping.

Official versus unofficial: what actually differs

Many WhatsApp tools work by pairing a phone or an unofficial web session. They start faster and cost less, but they breach Meta's terms, and a ban is not a remote possibility. Barqia runs only on the official API — and here are the consequences of that honestly, in both directions.

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What the unofficial route costs you

The number can be banned without warning, taking your customer history with it. There is no verified badge, no published sending tiers, and no support from Meta when something breaks. If the number goes, there is nobody to appeal to.

What the official route costs

We will not pretend it is free: templates need Meta's approval before they can be sent, Meta charges for template messages by category, and getting started requires verifying your business. Those are real constraints — and they are the price of your number not vanishing one morning.

Who each one suits

If WhatsApp is a side channel you are testing, the difference may not matter today. If your orders and your customer service run through it, you are building on a foundation — either one you own, or a borrowed one that can be pulled.

What "unofficial" actually means technically

Unofficial tools run a copy of WhatsApp Web in a hidden browser on a server, or tether a phone that must stay connected. Messages leave from your personal or regular Business account, not from an API.

The consequences are concrete: the session drops and messages stop with no warning, the number gets automatically classified as non-human behaviour, and there is no contract between you and Meta protecting you — because you are not their customer.

A ban here is not a penalty you can appeal; it is a loss of service. The number all your customers know, printed on your invoices and your packaging, simply stops working.

What the official route gives you

The difference is not only legitimacy but capabilities that do not exist off the official path:

Your store's name, verified with Meta and visible before the customer opens the message, instead of an unknown number. (The green "Official Business Account" badge is a separate Meta programme, not part of the connection.)
Known sending limits that grow with your number's quality, instead of an unknown ceiling you discover by hitting it.
A quality rating for your number, visible in the dashboard before it becomes a restriction — something that does not exist at all off the official API.
Buttons inside the message: confirm, cancel, open a link.
Several staff on the same number at once, which is technically impossible on a tethered phone.
Stability: no session to drop, no phone that must stay occupied.

The real cost of going official

We will not pretend the official route is free. It costs three things.

First: templates. Any message you initiate needs a template Meta reviews before use. Review takes minutes to a day, and promotional templates are allowed under the MARKETING category — rejection comes from how it is written, not from it being an offer: a template with no context, a variable with no sentence around it, or the wrong category. That slows experimentation — but it is also what stops whoever sold you a service from flooding your list.

Second: money. Meta charges for the messages you initiate. Replying inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes is a different thing from starting a new conversation.

Third: verification. Meta's own Business Verification is a separate step you complete with them, and without it your number runs at a lower sending tier. Barqia's check — the business document we ask for before you connect a number — is what connecting a Salla or Zid store removes, because the store already verified you.

Who each one suits, honestly

If you send ten messages a day by hand from your phone, you need neither an official API nor this page. The free WhatsApp Business app is enough.

If the number is how your customers find you — printed on the packaging, written on the invoice, saved in their phones — then the question is not price but risk. Unofficial tools are only cheaper if the number is never banned, and that is a bet whose loss you pay all at once.

The practical dividing line is automation. The moment a message is sent by a system rather than a person, you are in territory Meta measures and judges.

How to start

1Make sure you have a number not tied to a personal WhatsApp account — or free it first.
2Connect your Salla or Zid store if you have one: it saves you uploading a business document to us. (Meta's own verification is a separate step — start it with them early.)
3Start Meta's embedded signup from inside the Barqia dashboard — ten to fifteen minutes.
4Write your templates and get them approved. Start early; it is the only step with no guaranteed time.
5Send a test to your own number before any real sending.
6Watch the quality rating for the first month — it is your only early indicator, and you have to open it yourself.

Common questions

Can I migrate my current number?: Yes, if it is not tied to a personal WhatsApp account; otherwise you must remove that link first or use another number.
How long does template approval take?: The review is Meta's and varies, often hours. A rejection comes with a stated reason, and you can edit and resubmit.
Do I need a commercial registration?: Meta's business verification requires documents proving the business exists. Barqia lets you upload them and follow their status from the dashboard.
Do you offer unofficial numbers?: No. The platform runs on the official API only, and that is not something we compromise on.
What happens to my number if I move off an unofficial tool?: The number can be moved to the official API, but you must first delete the WhatsApp account attached to it (personal or regular Business) — a number cannot be on both. Save any conversations you need before deleting; they do not transfer.
Is the official API slower to send?: No — it is faster and steadier, since sending goes through Meta's servers rather than a phone. What is slower is the initial setup: verification and template approval take a day or less, against minutes for an unofficial tool. You pay that slowness once, at the start.
Can I use a landline number?: Yes, the official API accepts landlines as long as you can receive the verification code on them — usually by voice call. That is a practical option for anyone who wants to keep their personal mobile out of the business.
What happens to my old conversations?: They do not transfer. Moving to the official API requires deleting the existing WhatsApp account on that number, and its history goes with it. Export what you need before you start — this is the step people regret skipping.