WhatsApp Conversations
From Conversations, you can read and reply to messages your contacts send you via WhatsApp without leaving Acumbamail. You’ll receive replies to your campaigns and any message your number receives. In this article, we explain how to find a conversation, reply, and what limits WhatsApp sets.
In this article:
5. Photos, videos, and other messages
6. How long conversations are stored
Accessing the feature
Conversations is available to all users who have their WhatsApp Business account connected to Acumbamail. If you haven’t connected it yet, follow the steps in our WhatsApp article.
You’ll find it in the WhatsApp section of the main menu, under Conversations. Next to the name, you’ll see a number showing how many unread messages you have.
The conversation inbox
Each contact who writes to you has their own conversation. In the list, for each one you’ll see:
- The contact’s name, or their phone number if we don’t have one.
- The last message and when it was sent.
- How many unread messages you have.
- Whether you can no longer reply because the 24-hour window is closed.
When you click a conversation, the chat opens on the right (on mobile, in full screen) and its messages are marked as read. In the chat, you’ll see both what the contact has written to you and what you’ve sent them: your campaign messages and your replies.
Search and filter
Above the list, you have a search bar to find a conversation by the contact’s name or phone number, and two quick access options: All and Unread.
With the Filters button, you can narrow it down further:
- Status: unread, read with no reply, or according to the status of your last message (sent, delivered, or read by the contact).
- 24-hour window: conversations where you can still reply or those that are already closed.
- Campaign: only conversations from contacts who received a specific campaign. This is useful for reviewing replies to a sendout.
- From and To: a date range.
Click Apply filters to view them, or Remove filters to return to the full list.
Reply to a contact
Write your message in the box at the bottom of the chat and click the send button. You can add emojis with the smiley face button. The message is sent from your WhatsApp Business number, just like your campaigns.
The 24-hour window
WhatsApp only allows you to reply with free-form text during the 24 hours following the contact’s last message. While it’s open, the chat will show how much time you have left to reply.
After that period, the conversation appears as 24-hour window closed and you won’t be able to write to them from here. It reopens as soon as the contact writes to you again. In the meantime, if you need to contact them, you can send them an approved template in a WhatsApp campaign.
Undelivered messages
If WhatsApp doesn’t accept a message, you’ll see it marked as Undelivered along with the reason, both in the chat and in the list. The most common reasons are that the 24-hour window has closed or that the contact’s number doesn’t have WhatsApp.
Photos, videos, and other messages
Photos and videos sent by your contacts are displayed directly in the chat and you can download them. They are stored for 30 days; after that period, you’ll no longer be able to view or download them.
Locations are shown with a link to view them on the map.
Other types of messages, such as voice notes, documents, stickers, or contacts, appear in the chat indicating what type they are, but their content can’t be viewed from Acumbamail.
From Conversations, you can only reply with text and emojis.
How long conversations are stored
The messages in each conversation, both the ones you receive and the replies you send from here, are stored for 180 days. After that time, they are automatically deleted, and conversations with no messages or activity during that period disappear from the list. Photos and videos, as we’ve seen, are stored for 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
I don’t see the Conversations option in the menu
Conversations is in the WhatsApp section of the main menu. If you don’t see that section, your plan doesn’t include WhatsApp. If you see it but Conversations is empty, check that your WhatsApp Business account is connected by following our WhatsApp article.
I don’t see the messages I received before connecting WhatsApp
Conversations starts collecting messages once your number is connected to Acumbamail. Previous messages are not imported.
I can’t reply to a contact
Most likely, more than 24 hours have passed since their last message. See the section The 24-hour window.
Can I write to a contact who hasn’t written to me before?
Not from Conversations. To start a conversation, WhatsApp requires using an approved template, which you can send in a WhatsApp campaign.