Coexistence: WhatsApp API and the Business app

Yes, you can use the WhatsApp API without leaving the WhatsApp Business app: that is Meta's coexistence. With the app on version 2.24.17 or later, you connect the same number to Genuka WA, keep replying by hand from the phone and send at volume through the API. New messages in one-to-one conversations show up on both sides.

Last updated October 8, 2026

Can my number use coexistence?

It depends on which app the number runs on today. Meta does not register a number already in use on WhatsApp on the Cloud API unless it is deleted first (Meta, Business phone numbers); coexistence is the exception built for the WhatsApp Business app (Meta, Onboard WhatsApp Business app users).

What you need before you start

• A Facebook account. Meta asks you to sign in with it; a personal account is fine.
• The WhatsApp Business app on version 2.24.17 or later (Meta), on the phone that holds the number, within reach: the connection is confirmed from the app.
• To send templates afterwards, a payment method on your WhatsApp Business account: Genuka is a Tech Provider, so Meta bills your account directly (Meta, Partners).

How do I connect a coexistence number to Genuka WA?

Once connected, call GET /api/v1/numbers?refresh=true once. Genuka then reads the number from Meta and records its coexistence mode; without that call, the default list ("source": "database") still shows coexistence: false for a number that has just connected.

curl "https://wa.genuka.com/api/v1/numbers?refresh=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GENUKA_WA_API_KEY"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "con_1",
      "displayPhoneNumber": "+237 6 90 00 00 01",
      "platformType": "SMB_APP",
      "coexistence": true,
      "messagesPerSecond": 20,
      "status": "connected",
      "metaStatus": "CONNECTED",
      "refreshed": true
    }
  ],
  "source": "meta"
}

The full response also carries, for each number, the health alerts detected during the read, and a limits object with the reference throughputs. A refresh queries Meta number by number and stops at 25 numbers per call: beyond that, narrow it with ?companyId=.

Is my app history imported?

Not for now. Meta only sends the app's contacts and history if the provider asks for them, within the 24 hours after you connect; past that, the number has to be disconnected and the flow run again (Meta). Genuka WA does not make that request yet. In practice:

• Your past conversations stay in the app, untouched, but do not show up in Genuka WA. Meta allows importing one-to-one conversations from the last 180 days, without groups (same page); Genuka WA does not do it today.
• Everything after you connect does come through: messages received on message.received, messages sent through the API, and the ones you type in the app (see below).
• Contacts added or changed in the app afterwards are announced by Meta by webhook (same page); Genuka relays them on coexistence.contacts_synced — see Webhooks.

What syncs, and what does not?

Per Meta's coexistence page, with what Genuka WA does with it today:

What changes for API sends?

• Throughput is fixed at 20 messages per second on a coexistence number, against 80 by default on the Cloud API (Meta, coexistence, Meta, Throughput). Genuka paces your campaigns to it once the number is recorded as coexistence (the ?refresh=true call above). A launch is also time-bound: keep campaigns to a few hundred recipients (see the limitations in the campaigns guide).
• Messages sent from the app stay free; messages sent through the API follow Cloud API pricing (Meta).
• What you type on the phone shows up in Genuka. Meta forwards those messages (the "echoes"); Genuka files them on the conversation, labeled "Sent from the WhatsApp Business app". They use nothing from your plan and are left out of delivery statistics, which only count what the API sent: no delivery receipt ever follows them. Webhook subscription: coexistence.message_echoed.
• Meta's limits apply as anywhere else: approved templates outside the 24-hour window, the business portfolio's messaging limit, the per-user marketing limit.

How do I disconnect the API from the app?

Disconnecting happens in the app, not through the API: Settings > Account > Business Platform, then Disconnect Account (labels as in Meta's documentation). Meta then sends an account_update webhook carrying the PARTNER_REMOVED event (Meta).

On Genuka, the number then moves to disconnected and the API can no longer send from it. Nothing is deleted: messages, templates and statistics stay attached to the number. Going through the same connect link again puts it back in service on the same record, without using a new slot in your plan.

FAQ

Do I have to delete my WhatsApp Business account to use the API?

No. That is the whole point of coexistence: the app keeps working on the same number. Only a number used on regular WhatsApp has to be freed before connecting.

Do messages sent from the phone count against my Genuka plan?

No. Only sends made through the API or a campaign use your plan's message allowance. Messages typed in the app are synced so the conversation is complete, without being counted.

What if my app is older than 2.24.17?

Update it before opening Meta's window. Meta requires version 2.24.17 or later to offer coexistence.

Can I keep using WhatsApp Web?

Yes, once you relink it: linked devices are unlinked when you connect and can be linked again, except WhatsApp for Windows and for WearOS.

How many messages per second can I send under coexistence?

20, whatever your tier at Genuka or at Meta. It is a ceiling Meta sets for numbers shared with the app.

Sources

• Meta — Onboard WhatsApp Business app users
• Meta — Business phone numbers
• Meta — Throughput
• Meta — Partners (Tech Providers and Solution Partners)
• Genuka — SDK coexistence guide