# Official vs unofficial WhatsApp API: what changes

The official WhatsApp API is the Cloud API, run by Meta: a number is registered in a WhatsApp Business account and sends through Meta's servers. An unofficial API drives a WhatsApp Web session, linked by QR code, without Meta's agreement. The first has rules and fees; the second has neither, and WhatsApp can ban the number.

## Side by side

|  | Official (Cloud API) | Unofficial (QR code session) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How a number connects | Registered in a WhatsApp Business account, through Meta's signup | A phone scans a QR code, like WhatsApp Web |
| Allowed by WhatsApp | Yes: it is Meta's own product | No: automating a session breaks WhatsApp's terms |
| Risk for the number | Quality rating and limits, announced by Meta | Ban without notice |
| Writing first | An approved template | Any text |
| Meta's fees | Per message, by category and country | None |
| Depends on a phone staying online | No | Yes |
| Groups, statuses | Not part of the Cloud API as Nodium serves it | Usually available |

## Which one for a product

- A product your customers rely on needs a number that cannot disappear overnight: the official API.
- Your customers' own numbers are their business line: putting them on an unofficial session puts them at risk, and the risk is theirs.
- The official API's constraints (templates, the [24-hour window](https://nodium.io/en/guides/24-hour-window), [Meta's fees](https://nodium.io/en/guides/meta-pricing)) are the price of that guarantee.

## Where Nodium stands

Nodium uses Meta's official Cloud API only. It offers no QR code connection, no groups and no statuses: it will not put a customer's number at risk.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is an unofficial WhatsApp API illegal?

It is not a matter of law but of contract: it breaks WhatsApp's terms of service, and WhatsApp enforces them by banning numbers.

### Can I move from an unofficial API to the official one?

Yes. The number is registered in a WhatsApp Business account through Meta's signup; with coexistence, the WhatsApp Business app can stay on the phone.

## Sources

- [Meta — WhatsApp Business Platform, Cloud API](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api)
- [WhatsApp — Business Terms of Service](https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/business-terms)

Updated 2026-11-10 · https://nodium.io/en/guides/official-vs-unofficial-whatsapp-api