We recommend using native WhatsApp consent management, which operates independently from SMS. This article explains how to set this up in Dotdigital.

We support the following methods for managing your WhatsApp consent:

Opt-in methods

Opt-out methods

You can view the WhatsApp subscription status of a contact:

You can use SMS subscription status for the API, Import, or connector integrations, but this is not recommended.

You can collect mobile numbers using Surveys, pages, and forms.

To do this:

You can share this form as standalone landing page or as a popup embedded on your website.

You can also use the form to reach out to your existing email or SMS subscribers and gather the necessary consent with a We’re on WhatsApp campaign.

You can collect WhatsApp consent directly within the WhatsApp platform itself. When a user sends a message that begins with any of these specific keywords, their phone number will be automatically subscribed to receive your WhatsApp marketing messages:

Any message beginning with these keywords (case-insensitive) will trigger the subscription process.

How it works

When a user sends a message with a trigger word, the system processes their subscription as follows:

For new contacts

For existing contacts

This process happens automatically without requiring any manual intervention from your team.

You can import WhatsApp subscribers using our import multiple contacts tool. This is useful when you have existing customer data with mobile numbers and want to add them to your WhatsApp marketing list.

You can only import Excel, CSV, TXT, and ZIP file formats.

When a phone number is imported, by default, it's subscribed to both SMS and WhatsApp unless the mobile number is already unsubscribed or suppressed.

You can set different subscription statuses for email, SMS, and WhatsApp channels independently.

Learn more in Import multiple contacts.

Include the custom quick reply button in your templates to manage WhatsApp unsubscribes effectively.

To avoid redundancy and discourage blocks or reports, add the marketing opt-out button to:

Whenever a recipient selects this button or uses one of the STOP keywords (STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, REMOVE, QUIT, CANCEL, END), their WhatsApp subscription status is automatically updated to Unsubscribed.