WhatsApp quality rating

Definition

The quality rating is the score Meta assigns to every phone number connected to the WhatsApp Business Platform. It reflects recipient feedback over the previous seven days: blocks, reports and the reasons people give when they block. It has three levels, shown as green (high), yellow (medium) and red (low) in Meta Business Manager and as High, Medium, Low or Not Rated in ORIS. A low rating first triggers a warning, then can reduce the number's messaging limit (the ceiling of business-initiated conversations per 24 hours, typically 1,000, 10,000 or 100,000 unique recipients) to a lower tier and, if it persists, restrict the number. Templates carry their own quality score and can be paused or disabled independently of the number.

What you need to know

For a brokerage the quality rating is the reputation of its business number, and it is shared: one poorly targeted campaign by one account handler slows down the premium reminders of the entire firm. Meta does not publish the formula, but the known drivers are consistent: messages to people without a recorded opt-in, high frequency, promotional wording in utility templates, no opt-out path and sends at unsuitable hours.

The protective rules are straightforward. Send marketing campaigns only to clients who have explicitly agreed to offers, and rarely more than once or twice a month. Keep servicing messages (renewals, documents, claims) as short, factual utility templates. Watch the block rate after every campaign and stop one that is going wrong rather than letting it run. Respect a sending window that fits the country and client base; ORIS applies a send window and a daily limit per campaign to smooth volumes.

The rating also interacts with messaging-limit tiers: a new number starts on a low tier that Meta raises as volume and quality are demonstrated, and business verification speeds that up. A brokerage that launches a first campaign to its whole book hits the ceiling; ramping up over a few weeks works better. The WhatsApp Business hub follows Meta's rule changes, and the South African setup guide explains how to warm up a new number.

Concrete example

A Harare brokerage sends a travel-insurance offer to 3,500 clients in one afternoon, including many who had never heard from the firm on WhatsApp. Dozens block the number; the rating drops to yellow, then red, and Meta lowers the messaging limit. The next month's premium reminders go out late. The firm restricts campaigns to marketing opt-ins, splits sends over several days and rebuilds the rating over six weeks.