WhatsApp Business Accounts and Data Retention

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The data retention landscape for businesses using WhatsApp, particularly through the WhatsApp Business API, introduces additional considerations. While end-to-end encryption still applies to conversations between users and businesses, how businesses handle and store this data is subject to their own internal policies and relevant data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).

API-Enabled Businesses: When a business uses Meta's Cloud API for WhatsApp, messages travel encrypted via WhatsApp between the user and Cloud API. Once the message reaches Cloud API, it is decrypted and forwarded to the business. This means the business can access the message content.

Business Responsibility: Businesses are responsible for their own data peru phone number list retention and compliance with data protection laws when using WhatsApp Business API. They must ensure secure storage of customer data, obtain consent, provide opt-out options, and delete data upon request.

Cloud API Data Retention: For messages processed through Cloud API, there's a maximum retention period of 30 days to facilitate features like retransmissions. User identifiers are also deleted within 30 days of the last message status update.
Avoiding Sensitive Data in Chats: WhatsApp is primarily a communication tool, not a data storage system. Businesses are advised to avoid storing sensitive customer information directly in chat conversations and instead use secure, encrypted systems for such data.
Compliance Tools and Third-Party Integrations: Businesses often integrate WhatsApp Business API with CRM systems or other tools that allow for message archiving, monitoring, and compliance with data retention requirements.