WhatsApp Mandates Cloud API Migration
Meta has officially ended support for the On-Premises WhatsApp Business API, making the Cloud API mandatory for all business integrations. The company stated that any self-hosted solutions ceased to function as of October 2025, requiring immediate migration to avoid service disruption. The Cloud API is now the baseline for new features, with Meta claiming improved performance and scalability.
- The primary driver for mandating the Cloud API is to accelerate the rollout of new features, as all updates from January 9th, 2024, are exclusive to the cloud version. Upcoming features like advanced AI chatbots, integrated payments, and in-app calling will not be available to users of the now-deprecated On-Premises API. - With the Cloud API, Meta hosts the infrastructure, eliminating server maintenance and hosting costs for businesses. This contrasts with the On-Premises version, where companies were responsible for all operational overhead, including setup, maintenance, and scaling of their own servers. - Message throughput sees a significant increase with the Cloud API, supporting up to 1,000 messages per second compared to the On-Premises limit of 250 messages per second. Meta also targets a 99.9% uptime for the cloud service, a reliability level that was previously dependent on a business's own infrastructure. - The pricing model for the Cloud API is based on conversations, with different rates for marketing, utility, and authentication messages; service conversations initiated by users are generally free within a 24-hour window. This removes the server and maintenance costs associated with the On-Premises API, where businesses paid for both conversations and infrastructure. - India, as one of Meta's largest markets, is a key focus for new business features, with many functionalities being tested and shaped by the behavior of Indian businesses before a global rollout. Recent additions for Indian businesses include direct in-app payments via QR codes and enhanced AI tools for automating customer support. - The migration timeline required businesses to move to the Cloud API to avoid service disruption, as the On-Premises API was officially sunset on October 25, 2025. No new sign-ups for the on-premise version were allowed after July 1, 2024. - For Indian businesses, this shift aligns with broader regulatory changes, such as the Department of Telecommunications' SIM-binding rules announced in late 2025, which make cloud-hosted solutions more stable and reliable than systems dependent on a physical device or SIM card.
