Quality Rating
A traffic-light score (Green / Yellow / Red) Meta assigns to each WhatsApp Business phone number based on customer block and report rates.
Last updated: 2026-05-03
Definition
Quality rating is Meta's health score for a WhatsApp Business phone number, computed continuously from customer feedback signals — primarily block rates, "Report" submissions, and message-quality complaints. Green means healthy; Yellow means Meta has detected concerning signals and the business should review messaging practices; Red means the number is severely degraded and faces messaging-tier downgrades, template approval delays, and eventually a sending ban. Quality rating directly governs the messaging tier (250 / 1,000 / 10,000 / 100,000 unique customers per 24h), so a Red rating compresses how many people you can broadcast to.
How it applies in India
Indian merchants most often hit Yellow / Red after sending unsolicited marketing broadcasts to scraped lists or low-quality opt-in pools. Recovery requires pausing broadcasts for 7+ days, reviewing template content, ensuring genuine opt-in, and waiting for the rating to climb back. WatEase surfaces quality alerts in real-time and recommends paused broadcasts on Yellow.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly can I move from Red back to Green?
Typically 5–14 days of clean messaging behaviour. Customer block/report rates need to fall below Meta's threshold for a sustained period; one good day is not enough.
What's the messaging tier for a fresh new number?
New numbers start at the 250 unique customers / 24h tier. Climbing to higher tiers requires sustained Green quality rating + actual usage. Tier promotions happen automatically every few days when criteria are met.
Related terms
- Opt-inExplicit, recorded permission from a customer to receive WhatsApp messages from a business — required by Meta's Commerce Policy before any business-initiated conversation.
- WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)A logical container in Meta Business Manager that owns one or more WhatsApp phone numbers and the templates, settings, and billing attached to them.
- Conversation CategoryOne of four labels Meta assigns to a WhatsApp conversation — Marketing, Utility, Authentication, or Service — that determines its price and rules.
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