Inbound Webhook Notifications

This document describes the several types of inbound notifications that may be delivered to the Webhook URL you set in the application settings.

Inbound Message Fields

Webhook notifications of received messages are contained within a messages object. The tables in this section describe the fields in the inbound notifications.

The contacts Object

The contacts object provides all the information about the contact.

The profile Object

This object contains the sender's profile information.

The messages Object

The messages object provides all of the information about the incoming message.

The context Object

A context object is found in messages where someone has replied to one of your messages. Its purpose is to provide you with a context for the reply.

The identity Object

The identity object provides all the information about the user's identity.

The text Object

When the notification describes a text message, the text object provides the body of the text message.

The location Object

When you receive a notification of a user's static location, the location object provides the details of the location.

The contacts Object

When you receive a notification of a user's contact information, the contacts object provides the contact information details.

The media (image | document | audio | video | voice | sticker) Objects

When a message with media is received, the WhatsApp Business API client will download the media. Once the media is downloaded, a notification is sent to your Webhook. This message contains information that identifies the media object and enables you to find and download the object.

The system Object

Notifications of changes to the system are sent in the system object.

referral Property

Starting with version 2.33 of the WhatsApp Business API, inbound message notifications may contain an additional property called referral. This section is included in notifications when a user clicks on an ad that clicks to WhatsApp and sends a message to the business. You need to be added to an allowlist to have access to the referral property —please contact your WhatsApp Partner Manager.

This is how the referral property works:

1. A user clicks on an ad with the Click to WhatsApp call-to-action.
2. User is redirected to WhatsApp and sends a message to the advertising business.
3. User sends a message to the business.
4. The advertising business gets an inbound message notification including the referral property, which provides additional context on the ad that triggered the message. Knowing all this information, the business can appropriately reply to the user message.

The referral property can contain the following types of message:

• Text
• Location
• Contact
• Image
• Video
• Document
• Voice
• Sticker

The following is an example of an inbound image message notification containing referral. In the example, the user clicked on an ad that contained a video:

{
   "messages":[{
      "from":"12345678",
      "id":"ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
      "image":{
         "id":"b1c68f38-8734-4ad3-b4a1-ef0c10d683",
         "mime_type":"image/jpeg",
         "sha256":"29ed500fa64eb55fc19dc4124acb300e5dcca0f822a301ae99944db"
         "caption": "Check out my product!",
      },
      "timestamp":"1521497954",
      "type":"image",
      "referral" : {
        "headline": "Our new product",
        "body" : "This is a great product",
        "source_type": "<SOURCE_TYPE>",
        "source_id": "<SOURCE_ID>",
        "source_url": "<SOURCE_URL>", //for the moment, this will always be a Facebook owned domain
        "video": {
          "id": "e144be57-12b1-4035-a520-703fcc87ef45",
      }     
    }
  }]
}

The referral Object

Included in notifications when a user clicks on an ad that clicks to WhatsApp and sends a message to the business. This object has the ad's information.

The referral media (video | image) Objects

Media that was used in the ad. Note that sha256 and mime_type are not present —mime_type can be discovered when the media is downloaded.

Inbound Message Notifications

You will receive a notification when your business receives a message. The messages object section below covers all the information you may receive about an incoming message.

This section shows examples of text, location, contacts, forwarded and unknown messages.

Example: Text Message Received

The following is an example of a text message received from a customer. See the text object section below for more information.

{
  "contacts": [ {
    "profile": {
        "name": "Kerry Fisher"
    },
    "wa_id": "16315551234"
  } ],
  "messages":[{
    "from": "16315551234",
    "id": "ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
    "timestamp": "1518694235",
    "text": {
      "body": "Hello this is an answer"
    },
    "type": "text"
  }]
} 

Example: Static Location Message Received

The following is an example of a message received from a customer specifying their static location. See the location object section below for more information.

{
  "contacts": [ {
    "profile": {
        "name": "Kerry Fisher"
    },
    "wa_id": "16315551234"
  } ],
 "messages":[{
   "from":"16315551234",
   "id":"ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
   "location":{
      "address":"Main Street Beach, Santa Cruz, CA",
      "latitude":38.9806263495,
      "longitude":-131.9428612257,
      "name":"Main Street Beach",
      "url":"https://foursquare.com/v/4d7031d35b5df7744"},
   "timestamp":"1521497875",
   "type":"location"
  }]
} 

Example: Contacts Message Received

The following is an example of a message received from a customer specifying their contact information. See the contacts object section below for more information.

{
    "contacts": [ {
        "profile": {
          "name": "Kerry Fisher"
        },
        "wa_id": "16315551234"
    } ],
    "messages": [
        {
            "contacts": [
                {
                    "addresses": [
                        {
                            "city": "Menlo Park",
                            "country": "United States",
                            "country_code": "us",
                            "state": "CA",
                            "street": "1 Hacker Way",
                            "type": "WORK",
                            "zip": "94025"
                        }
                    ],
                    "birthday": "2012-08-18",
                    "emails": [
                        {
                            "email": "kfish@fb.com",
                            "type": "WORK"
                        }
                    ],
                    "ims": [
                        {
                            "service": "AIM",
                            "user_id": "kfish"
                        }
                    ],
                    "name": {
                        "first_name": "Kerry",
                        "formatted_name": "Kerry Fisher",
                        "last_name": "Fisher"
                    },
                    "org": {
                        "company": "Facebook"
                    },
                    "phones": [
                        {
                            "phone": "+1 (940) 555-1234",
                            "type": "CELL"
                        },
                        {
                            "phone": "+1 (650) 555-1234",
                            "type": "WORK",
                            "wa_id": "16505551234"
                        }
                    ],
                    "urls": [
                        {
                            "url": "https://www.facebook.com",
                            "type": "WORK"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "from": "16505551234",
            "id": "ABGGFlA4dSRvAgo6C4Z53hMh1ugR",
            "timestamp": "1537248012",
            "type": "contacts"
        }
    ]
}

Example: Forwarded Message Received

Beginning with v2.29.1 it is possible to see if a message you received has been forwarded or is frequently forwarded.

Forwarded Message

{
    "contacts": [{
            "profile": {
                "name": "Kerry Fisher"
            },
            "wa_id": "16315551234"
    }],
    "messages": [{
            "context": {
                "forwarded": true
            },
            "from": "16315558011",
            "id": "ABGGFmkiWVVPAgo-sOGh7pv13wVJ",
            "text": {
                "body": "Party at Dotty's tonight!"
            },
            "timestamp": "1593068329",
            "type": "text"
    }]
}

Frequently Forwarded Message

{
    "contacts": [{
            "profile": {
                "name": "Kerry Fisher"
            },
            "wa_id": "16315551234"
    }],
    "messages": [{
            "context": {
                "frequently_forwarded": true
            },
            "from": "16315558011",
            "id": "ABGGFmkiWVVPAgo-sBTHfS3swNIl",
            "timestamp": "1593068225",
            "type": "video",
            "video": {
                "id": "e144be57-12b1-4035-a520-703fcc87ef45",
                "mime_type": "video/mp4",
                "sha256": "02c4e68a4f0d6af5ec6ef02120e20d15f520a4dd473b535abec1aab175c4e8b9"
            }
    }]
}

Example: Unknown Message Received

It is possible to receive an unknown callback notification. The following is an example of an unsupported message type received from a customer.

{
	 "contacts": [{
		"profile": {
			"name": "Kerry Fisher"
		},
		"wa_id": "16315551234"
	}],
	"messages": [{
		"errors": [{
			"code": 501,
			"details": "Message type is not currently supported",
			"title": "Unknown message type"
		}],
		"from": "16315551234",
		"id": "ABGGFRBzFymPAgo6N9KKs7HsN6eB",
		"timestamp": "1531933468",
		"type": "unknown"
	}]
}

Example: Inbound Message Received when a Business Has Opted in to Receive Security Notifications

If the show_security_notifications parameter is set to true in the application settings, all inbound message notifications will include the following information about the user's identity contained inside the identity object.

{
  "contacts": [{
		"profile": {
			"name": "Kerry Fisher"
		},
		"wa_id": "16315551234"
	}],
   "messages": [{
        "from": "16315553601",
        "id": "ABGGFjFVU2AfAgo6V-Hc5eCgK5Gh",
        "identity": {
            "acknowledged": true,
            "created_timestamp": 1602532300000,
            "hash": "Sjvjlx8G6Z0="
        },
        "text": {
            "body": "Hi from new number 3601"
        },
        "timestamp": "1602532300",
        "type": "text"
    }]
}

Example: Inbound Message From a Quick Reply Button Click

{
    "contacts": [
        {
            "profile": {
                "name": "Kerry Fisher"
            },
            "wa_id": "16505551234"
        }
    ],
    "messages": [
        {
            "button": {
                "payload": "No-Button-Payload",
                "text": "No"
            },
            "context": {
                "from": "16315558007",
                "id": "gBGGFmkiWVVPAgkgQkwi7IORac0"
            },
            "from": "16505551234",
            "id": "ABGGFmkiWVVPAgo-sKD87hgxPHdF",
            "timestamp": "1591210827",
            "type": "button"
        }
    ]
    # If there are any errors, an errors field (array) will be present        
    "errors": [ { ... } ]
}

Inbound Media Message Notifications

When you receive a message with media, the WhatsApp Business API client will download the media. A notification is sent to your Webhook once the media is downloaded. This notification contains information that identifies the media object and enables you to find and retrieve the object. Use the Media endpoint with the media's id to retrieve the media.

This section shows examples of messages that are received with media.

Example: Message with Image Received

The following is an example inbound message that contains an image. See the media object section below to learn more about the different media types.

{
	"messages": [{
		"from": "16315551234",
		"id": "ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
		"image": {
			"file": "/usr/local/wamedia/shared/b1cf38-8734-4ad3-b4a1-ef0c10d0d683",
			"id": "b1c68f38-8734-4ad3-b4a1-ef0c10d683",
			"mime_type": "image/jpeg",
			"sha256": "29ed500fa64eb55fc19dc4124acb300e5dcc54a0f822a301ae99944db",
			"caption": "Check out my new phone!"
		},
		"timestamp": "1521497954",
		"type": "image"
	}]
}

Example: Message with Document Received

The following is an example inbound message that contains a document. See the media object section below to learn more about the different media types.

{
	"messages": [{
		"from": "16315551234",
		"id": "ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
		"timestamp": "1522189546",
		"type": "document",
		"document": {
			"caption": "80skaraokesonglistartist",
			"file": "/usr/local/wamedia/shared/fc233119-733f-49c-bcbd-b2f68f798e33",
			"id": "fc233119-733f-49c-bcbd-b2f68f798e33",
			"mime_type": "application/pdf",
			"sha256": "3b11fa6ef2bde1dd14726e09d3edaf782120919d06f6484f32d5d5caa4b8e"
		}
	}]

Example: Message with Voice Message Received

The following is an example inbound message that contains a voice message. See the media object section below to learn more about the different media types.

{
    "messages":[{
        "from": "16315551234",
        "id": "ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
        "timestamp": "1521827831",
        "type": "voice",
        "voice": {
            "file": "/usr/local/wamedia/shared/463e/b7ec/ff4e4d9bb1101879cbd411b2",
            "id": "463eb7ec-ff4e-4d9b-b110-1879cbd411b2",
            "mime_type": "audio/ogg; codecs=opus",
            "sha256": "fa9e1807d936b7cebe63654ea3a7912b1fa9479220258d823590521ef53b0710"}
  }]
}

Example: Message with Sticker Received

The following is an example inbound message that contains a sticker. See the media object section below to learn more about the different media types.

{
  "messages":[{
        "from": "16315551234",
        "id": "ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
        "timestamp": "1521827831",
        "type": "sticker",
        "sticker": {
            "id": "b1c68f38-8734-4ad3-b4a1-ef0c10d683",
            "metadata": {
                "sticker-pack-id": "463eb7ec-ff4e-4d9b-b110-1879cbd411b2",
                "sticker-pack-name" : "Happy New Year",
                "sticker-pack-publisher" : "Kerry Fisher",
                "emojis": ["🐥", "😃"],
                "ios-app-store-link" : "https://apps.apple.com/app/id3133333",
                "android-app-store-link" : "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example",
                "is-first-party-sticker" : 0 | 1 # integer 
            },
            "mime_type": "image/webp",
            "sha256": "fa9e1807d936b7cebe63654ea3a7912b1fa9479220258d823590521ef53b0710"
        }  
    }]
}

Inbound Replies to Sent Messages

Users can respond to a specific message in WhatsApp. For the business to understand the context of a message reply, we include the context object. This context object provides the id of the message to which the customer replied and the WhatsApp ID of the sender of the original message.

Replying to Messages contains more information.

Example: Customer Replied to Your Message

The following is an example of an inbound message that is a reply to a message that you sent. See the context object section below for more information.

{
  "contacts": [ {
    "profile": {
        "name": "Kerry Fisher"
    },
    "wa_id": "16315551234"
  } ],
   "messages":[{
      "context":{
         "from":"16315558011",
         "id":"ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf"
         },
      "from":"16315551234",
      "id":"gBGGFlA5FpafAgkOuJbRq54qwbM",
      "text":{"body":"Yes, count me in!"},
      "timestamp":"1521499915",
      "type":"text"
  }]
}

Inbound System Messages

System messages are generated by the system when some event happens. See the system object section below for more information.

Example: A User Changed Their Number

If the notify_user_change_number parameter is set to true in the application settings you will receive inbound system messages when a user changes their phone number.

{
    "messages": [
        {
            "from": "16315558889",
            "id": "ABGGFjFVWIifAzNzeXMtMTYzMTU1NTg4ODlAcy53aGF0c2FwcC5uZXQtMTU3NDA4MDEwMjIxMy1jaGFuZ2U",
            "system": {
                "body": "‎User A changed from ‎+1 (631) 555-8889 to ‎+1 (631) 555-8890‎",
                "new_wa_id": "16315558890",
                "type": "user_changed_number"
            },
            "timestamp": "1574080102",
            "type": "system"
        }
    ]
}

Example: A User Potentially Changed

If the show_security_notifications parameter is set to true in the application settings you will receive inbound system messages when a user (in conversation with you) has potentially changed on WhatsApp.

Until this notification is acknowledged using the identity endpoint, all outgoing messages to this user will be blocked. Incoming messages will continue to be received as expected.

{
    "messages": [
        {
            "from": "16315553601",
            "id": "ABGGFjFVU2AfAzVzeXMtMTYzMTU1NTM2MDFAcy53aGF0c2FwcC5uZXQtMTYwMjUzNTM1NjMzMi1pZGVudGl0eQ",
            "system": {
  		"body": "Test security code change",
                "identity": "Rc/eg9Rl0JA=",
                "type": "user_identity_changed",
                "user": "16315553601"
            },
            "timestamp": "1602535356",
            "type": "system"
        }
    ]
}

System Message Types

Mentioning Users in Messages

When you send a message that mentions a particular WhatsApp ID directly and someone replies to that message, you will see the mentioned ID in the context object and in the mentions array. Because more than one phone number can be mentioned, the mentions field is an array of phone numbers, even if only one phone number is mentioned.

Example: Customer Replying to Message

The following is an example of a customer replying to a message that contained mentions. The context object contains the numbers mentioned in the original message. The reply in the text object mentions the same numbers again.

{   
  "messages": [{
    "context": {
      "from": "16315555544",
      "id": "gBGGFlA5FpafAgkOuJbRq54qwbM",
      "mentions": [
        "16315551000",
        "16315551099"
      ]
    },
    "from": "16315551234 ",
    "id": "ABGGFlA5FpafAgo6tHcNmNjXmuSf",
    "timestamp": "1504902988",
    "text": {
      "body": "@16315551000 and @16315551099 are mentioned"
    },
    "type": "text"
  }]
}

Marking Messages as Read

You can use the messages node to change the status of incoming messages to read.

Prerequisites

• You must set pass_through to false in the application settings.
  Note: When you set the flag for first time, you must restart the Coreapp to reflect this change.

When pass_through is set to true, messages are removed from the local database after they are delivered to or read by the recipient. But, when it is set to false, incoming messages are saved in local database for 7 days, after which they are deleted if db_garbagecollector_enable is set to true.

We recommend marking incoming messages as read within 7 days of receipt.

Request

The message_id used in this API call is the id provided in the inbound notification.

PUT /v1/messages/message-id

{
    "status": "read"
}

Parameters

Response

null # or {}

Learn More

• Format of the Notifications Webhook
• Configure Notifications Settings
• Sample Testing App