Contextual replies
Updated: Jul 2, 2026
Copy for LLM
Contextual replies are a special way of responding to a WhatsApp user message. Sending a message as a contextual reply makes it clearer to the user which message you are replying to by quoting the previous message in a contextual bubble:
Limitations
- You cannot send a reaction message as a contextual reply.
The contextual bubble does not appear at the top of the delivered message if:
- The previous message has been deleted or moved to long term storage (messages are typically moved to long term storage after 30 days, unless you have enabled local storage).
- You reply with an audio, image, or video message and the WhatsApp user is running KaiOS.
- You use the WhatsApp client to reply with a push-to-talk message and the WhatsApp user is running KaiOS.
- You reply with a template message.
Request syntax
POST /<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID>/messages
Post body
{ "messaging_product": "whatsapp", "recipient_type": "individual", "to": "<WHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER>", "context": { "message_id": "WAMID_TO_REPLY_TO" }, /* Message type and type contents go here */ }
Post body parameters
| Placeholder | Description | Example value |
|---|---|---|
<WAMID_TO_REPLY_TO>String | Required. WhatsApp message ID (wamid) of the previous message you want to reply to. | wamid.HBgLMTY0NjcwNDM1OTUVAgASGBQzQTdCNTg5RjY1MEMyRjlGMjRGNgA= |
<WHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER>String | Required. WhatsApp user phone number. | +16505551234 |
Example request
Example of a text message sent as a reply to a previous message.
curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/106540352242922/messages' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer EAAJB...' \ -d ' { "messaging_product": "whatsapp", "recipient_type": "individual", "to": "+16505551234", "context": { "message_id": "wamid.HBgLMTY0NjcwNDM1OTUVAgASGBQzQTdCNTg5RjY1MEMyRjlGMjRGNgA=" }, "type": "text", "text": { "body": "You're welcome, Pablo!" } }'