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What are the different ways to use WhatsApp ? WhatsApp is a Meta messaging application enabling different types of usage: WhastApp application Peer to peer contact between end users. The broader usage of WhatsApp enabling you as a user to connect and communicate over the web with your contacts thanks to phone numbers. WhatsApp Business App Enables SMB business to reach out to their customer. This integration does not allow any automation or external integration. WhatsApp Business Platform API integration through a Meta partner like Sinch Engage allowing automation and access to complex WhatsApp features. Here is a list of key features exclusive to the WhatsApp Business Platform integration: Business initiated conversation Marketing — Marketing conversations include promotions or offers, informational updates, or invitations for customers to respond or take action. Utility — Utility conversations facilitate a specific, agreed-upon request or transaction, or update a customer about an ongoing transaction. These may include transaction confirmations, transaction updates, and/or post-purchase notifications. Authentication — Authentication conversations enable you to authenticate users with one-time passcodes, potentially at multiple steps in the login process (e.g., account verification, account recovery, integrity challenges). Service — Service conversations help you resolve customer inquiries. Verified display name Mass messaging capabilities Payment (initiated by a business)   How can you as a company leverage on WhatsApp Business Platform with Sinch Engage ?    WhatsApp is a web mobile messaging app enabling users to chat with their contacts phone numbers. In order for a company to send and receive messages on WhatsApp it needs to be register under a phone number on WhatsApp. Connecting WhatsApp to Sinch Engage means creating your WhatsApp Business Profile and associating it a phone number that will be used to communicate with your customers using WhatsApp Business Platform . Thanks to this integration you will be able to leverage all the exclusive features quoted in the What are the different way to use WhatsApp ? section as well as connecting it to the Sinch Engage platform to allow Agents and your bot to chat with your end users.   What is a WhatsApp Business Profile ? A WhatsApp Business Profile is a Meta entity listing important information, such as a company's address, email and website. Each WhatsApp Business Profile is associated with a phone number and is equivalent to a contact on WhatsApp. A WhatsApp Business Profile belongs to a  WhatsApp Business Account (WABA).   What is a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) ? A WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) lets your business use the WhatsApp Business Platform (API) to communicate directly with your customers. It can own several WhatsApp Business Profiles.  A WABA belongs to a  Meta Business Account. Learn more   What is a Meta Business Account WABA ? A Meta Business Account is the identity of your brand in the Meta ecosystem. It can gather your Facebook pages, Instagram pages, WhatsApp Business accounts (WABAs) and ads accounts under one Meta entity.  Learn more       How many WhatsApp Business Profiles can I have ? Initially you are limited to 2 business profiles per Meta Business Account before tou verify your business.  After your business has been verified by Meta you can have up to 20 business profiles per Meta Business Account on several WABAs (WhatsApp Business Accounts).    Do I need a personal Facebook account to connect WhatsApp,Messenger or Instagram on Sinch Engage ?  Yes, you do. Meta is using personnal accounts connected to Meta Business Accounts to enable the connection.   I don't have a Meta business Account/WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) / WhatsApp Business Profile for my business. How can I create any of these ressources ?  You will be able to create these resources during the process of Connect to WhatsApp.   I have an existing Meta Business Account/WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) / WhatsApp Business Profile for my business. Can I reuse them ? Yes, you can reuse them. Make sure that you have an admin access to the business profile and that it is not connected to any other BSP (partner). Contact our support if you want to migrate your WhatsApp Business Profile (number) from another provider to Sinch Engage.   I don't have the admin rights for the Meta Business Account of my company. Contact the admin of your company to complete the flow. How can I know that my phone number is valid to connect with WhatsApp on Sinch Engage ? As mentioned in this question: What does connecting a company to Sinch Engage on WhatsApp mean ? you will need a phone number to create the WhatsApp Business Profile of your brand. This phone number should not be connected to: any personal WhatsApp number any WhatsApp Bussiness app integration → See What are the WhatsApp integrations available ? any WhatsApp Business Platform integration → See What are the WhatsApp integrations available ? To verify that you number is free of any integration, you can use the verification tool in the Connect WhatsApp flow. In case of previous integration here is how you can remove it: Personal WhatsApp number  WhatsApp Bussiness app integration WhatsApp Business Platform integration Contact our support  to proceed to a number migration.          2. You should be able to receive international SMS or Voice calls to this number as during the connection process you will be asked to enter a code send to this number via Voice or SMS. Note: A landline phone number is valid to complete the process. If your number match these 2 conditions, it will be valid for an integration.  ... View more

The Channels page shows an overview of the channels connection status of your project. Access it in order to connect channels and/or get more information about connected channels.   Only admins can access the Channels page in Engage. To access it Go to Settings > Project > Channels. By default you will land on the My channels section which display connected channels (active or failing).     If you want to connect another channel, click on the Available channels section.   Clicking on See details/Connect on a channel card will guide you to the dedicated channel section. See articles below. Connect WhatsApp Connect Facebook Messenger Connect Instagram Connect Telegram Connect Viber bot Connect Apple Messages for Business  Connect WebChat ... View more

To enable customers to start a conversation through your website you can create chip widgets with Webchat as a channel and embed them on your website. If you are looking for a customizable and mobile friendly integration after creating a widget here is what you can do and how to do it:   An advanced integration provides the same messaging capabilities with more customization (see table below) as well as a mobile friendly integration thanks to the available sdk.   Messaging bubble and chat previews     Customization Parameter Type Description isLocationPickerEnabled boolean Toggles the location picker functionality in the chat widget. isEmojiPickerEnabled boolean Toggles the emoji picker functionality in the chat widget. isImagePickerAvailable boolean Toggles the image picker functionality in the chat widget. isTollbarAvailable boolean Toggles whether the toolbar is available in the chat widget. darkmode boolean Toggles dark mode. showDefaultChatButton boolean Toggles whether the default chat button is available in the chat widget. showRefreshConversationButton boolean Enables the Refresh button. Works for anonymous users (without uuid and uuidHash). chatPositionOffset number or number[] Specifies the offset of the chat widget from the bottom right corner of the screen. brandText string Sets the brand text that displays in the top bar of the chat widget. brandColor string Sets the brand color of the chat widget. brandColorLight string Sets the light mode brand color. brandColorDark string Sets the dark mode brand color. defaultAgent { displayName?: string; pictureUrl?: string; } Allows you to set either a custom client icon or a client name. In the case of the name, the first letter will be displayed in place of the image.   In the example above the widget has the default customization apart from: brandColor: #008080 (bubble and header window color) brandColorLight: #CCE3E3 (Text buble preview in light mode) brandText: "Can be customized" dakmode: False   What are the differences between a classic and an advanced widget ? An advanced widget offers: better customization options. a better UI. new features (push under development). An advanced widget does not offer: The possibility to add multiple channels to a widget. The possibility to set the working hours.   Integrate with an advanced widget To integrate with advanced Webchat widgets: Request to our support the required credentials and customization. Select the integrations you want to perform in the Integrations available sections. Each integration can have a different style and options. Multiple integrations can work in parallel Follow the step of the integration.   Integrations available All these integrations require 3 parameters (project id, region, client id) that can be requests to our support. Web sdk integration Integrate this snippet of code on your website:       <script> var script = document.createElement('script'); script.addEventListener("load", async () => { await SinchSdk.initialize(); SinchSdk.setIdentity({ clientId: `${clientId}`, projectId: `${projectId}`, region: `${region}`, }); SinchSdk.Chat.mount({ brandColor: '#008080', brandColorLight: '#CCE3E3', brandColorDark: '#003D3D', brandText:"Can be customized", }); }) script.src='https://cdn.sinch.com/sinch-chat/latest/sdk.js'; document.head.appendChild(script); </script>​       Replace the clientId, projectId and region values. Customize your configuration to create the widget that will fit you website. In the example above the brand colors and text are changed. All parameters are referenced in the table above.       { brandColor: '#008080', brandColorLight: '#CCE3E3', brandColorDark: '#003D3D', brandText:"Can be customized" }​       Learn more here about the Web sdk integration. Android sdk This integration requires: Android Studio and Android SDK tools available here . Android 5.0 Lollipop - min SDK 21 Access to SDK GitHub repository (It is private, ask access to our support team) Follow the steps here Android sdk IOS sdk This integration requires: Xcode 13+ and a familiarity with how to use the Xcode UI. Swift Package Manager (iOS 11+) OR Cocoapods (iOS 12+) Access to SDK GitHub repository(It is private, ask access to our support team) Follow the steps here IOS sdk ... View more

Promotion tools allow you to create entry points for customers to access your channels and interact with you through Sinch Engage. You can find promotion tools at Settings > Project > Promotion Tools.   Only admins can access Promotion tools.   Active channels     In addition to seeing all your active channels, you can also open the channel, copy a link to it, and download a QR code for: Viber Bot The QR code and link can only be used from the Viber application. Instagram Telegram Facebook Messenger WhatsApp   Widget editor     In the Widget editor, you can create and manage your widgets.   Widget menu You can find the drop-down widget menu by clicking the three dots on the left side of the widget row.   The menu includes actions you can use for the widget: Edit: Edit the widget in the same popup window as when you created the widget. HTML snippet: Access the widget code. Read more about adding your widget on your webpage. Direct link: Preview the widget on an otherwise blank new tab. Delete: Delete the widget. You'll need to confirm this in a popup that opens. WhatsApp flyer   If your project is connected to WhatsApp, here you can download a PDF to share to your customers.   Privacy statement for the widget   You as the data owner carry responsibility for preparing and providing the privacy statement to the end customer in the framework of the widget. Our legal counsel has prepared the following text which you may use freely. Remember to add the name of your company where indicated. You can also change the wording.      Privacy Statement Per sending the start message I declare my consent with the internal data protection regulations of (enter the name of your company). In accordance with Art. 6 sec. 1 a GDPR I specifically consent to the saving, processing and usage of the following personal data (first and last name, telephone number, Messenger-ID, IP address, profile picture as well as the message/news content) in the framework of use of the messaging service in order to enable the sending of messages. The use of the messaging service requires a valid and active account with the messaging service provider. In addition, I am aware that (enter the name of your company) uses MessengerPeople GmbH, Seidlstr. 8, 80335 Munich, Germany, as a technical service provider and data processor in the course of the provision of services. My consent can be freely revoked at all times; with regard hereto, a message specifying your intention to terminate the reception of services needs to be sent to (enter the name of your company). Further information is contained in the privacy statements of (enter the name of your company), the messaging services and MessengerPeople GmbH.   ... View more

Only admins have the permissions to connect channels in Sinch Engage.   Before connecting Facebook, you must have: a Facebook account For instructions, see How do I create a Facebook account  . a Facebook page and admin rights to it For instructions, see Create a Facebook Page for your business  . For more information on page roles, see What are the different page roles and what can they do?  . a chat button: For instructions, see How do I add an action button to my Facebook Page?  .   To connect Facebook Messenger to Sinch Engage: Go to Settings > Project > Channels. Go to the Available channels section Click on Connect under the Facebook section.   Click the Login with Facebook button. Log in with your Facebook credentials and complete the integration process in the Meta popup: If you have several Facebook business accounts, select the one you want to use. Select the page you want to connect to Sinch Engage. Set permissions for that page. When complete, the pop up closes and you can see your Facebook token.   Click Save to connect your channel. The channel state turns to Pending. After a maximum delay of 5 minutes your channel status changes to: Active if the connection was successful. Failing if an error occurred. You can see a description of the error. When connected, the Facebook section shows the name of your page.                           Connect several Facebook pages If you have more than one page in your Meta business account and want to connect them to multiple projects: Connect your first page as instructed above. To connect your other pages, follow steps 1-3 above. Log in with your Facebook credentials and complete the integration process in the Meta popup: Select Edit Settings in the Meta popup. Select the additional page you want to connect without deselecting the previous one. Only select one additional page at a time. Jump back to step 4c above and finish the setup. Repeat this process for each page you want to connect.   ... View more

Webchat is a channel that allows you to handle conversations coming in from customers through a widget placed on your web site. The Webchat channel is activated by default for all projects.    Only admins can connect channels in Engage.   To connect Webchat to Engage: Go to Settings > Project > Channels. Go to the My channels section Click on Se details under the Webchat section. In the weekday and time fields, define the time window during which Webchat is available to your customers. Note: You can use a chatbot to answer your customers outside your opening hours, meaning that the channel can stay open even when human agents aren't available. In the text field, enter the message to send to your customer when they contact you outside of the availability window. Click Save. That's it! You've just configured your Webchat channel. Now, let's test it.   Test your Webchat channel   To try out your Webchat channel: Go to Settings > Project > Promotion Tools and create a chip widget that includes Webchat. Go to the Widget editor section. Click the three dots  on the left side of the chip widget with Webchat enabled and select Direct Link. You will land on a blank page with a preview of the widget on the bottom right. Click the widget to see the available channels and click the Webchat icon  and send a message to start a conversation. Go to Customers > All customers and click on your conversation. You'll see you've successfully started your first Webchat conversation.   Next, embed your widget on your website or landing page to provide an entry point for your customers. ... View more

Sinch Engage uses Meta's embedded signup tool to handle your onboarding process, cutting lead time from days to minutes. In the four-step signup flow, you can manage business accounts for both Meta and WhatsApp, manage WhatsApp Business Profiles, and complete required verification steps.   Only admins have the permissions to connect channels in Sinch Engage.   Before connecting WhatsApp, you must have: A phone number that can receive international SMS or phone calls and is not connected to any WhatsApp account. Access to a Facebook account that has been added to the Meta Business Suite for your business with admin rights. Go to Meta Business Suite To learn more about Meta entities and the requirements consult our FAQ WhatsApp onboarding. If your business doesn't have Meta Business Suite then you only need a Facebook account. Key points: For fast and easy onboarding, make sure to: Add accurate and relevant details to your Business Profile. Fill in matching information on Sinch Engage and in the Meta embedded signup if you're creating a new Meta Business Account and/or a new WhatsApp Business Account. Fill in information that matches your previously created account on Sinch Engage if you're using an existing Meta Business Account and/or an existing WhatsApp Business Account. The Connect WhatsApp flow has a Save & exit feature which enables you to quit the flow and resume it later without loosing your current progress.   To connect WhatsApp to Sinch Engage: Go to Settings > Project > Channels. Go to the Available channels section. Click Connect under the WhatsApp section. To start the flow, click the Connect button. In the Add number step, fill in the number you wish to use as your brand identity on WhatsApp and click Next. 
This number should be able to receive international SMS or phone calls to perform the Meta two factor authentication. The number should not be connected to any WhatsApp account. Check the What are the different ways to use WhatsApp? article in the FAQ to learn more about WhatsApp usages. If you want to check if you number is free from any previous connection follow the instructions from the FAQ section on Sinch Engage and scan the QR code. In step Business profile, fill out your WhatsApp Business Profile information. The WhatsApp Business Profile represents the contact identity of your company on WhatsApp. While filling out the information, the previewer (on the right of the screen) will update the contact information as it will be displayed on WhatsApp for an end user. By adding more accurate and detailed data you increase your chance to succeed in the Business verification by Meta. Proceed by clicking on Next. In step Embedded signup, click the Continue with Facebook button. A Meta popup will open, log in with your Facebook credentials and complete the flow. When your phone number is verified, the pop up closes. If every step was successful, you will be automatically redirected to the WhatsApp page and a modal will be displayed. When connected, the WhatsApp section will show details about your business profile and connection.   The channel state turns to Pending while the connection is being established After a maximum delay of 20 minutes your channel status changes to: Active if the connection was successful. Failing if an error occurred. You can see a description of the error.   To edit your business profile details:   To edit the information shown to customers about your company on WhatsApp, click Edit business profile.     If you want to first verify that the edited information is correct before submitting for update, click Save draft. When you click Request change, the changes will take 1-3 business days to come into effect. Switch between the current information and the submitted draft using the toggle button on top.   After saving a draft or requesting a change your number is still connected and you can see the information about your update request in the main page.  The status in the Business Profile section represents your update status. The available statuses are: Draft: When you saved a draft Accepted: Changes have been accepted and made to your Business Profile Rejected: Your update has been denied by Sinch ... View more

Only admins have the permissions to connect channels in Engage.   Before connecting Instragram, you must have: a Facebook account For instructions, see How do I create a Facebook account  . a Facebook page and admin rights to it For instructions, see Create a Facebook Page for Your Business  . For more information on page roles, see What are the different Page roles and what can they do?  . a business account on Instagram and it must be connected to the Facebook page For instructions, see Set up a business account on Instagram   and Add or change the Facebook Page connected to your Instagram business account  .   To connect Instagram to Engage:   Go to Settings > Project > Channels. Go to the Available channels section Click on Connect under the Instagram section. Click the Login with Facebook button. Log in with your Facebook credentials and complete the integration process in the Meta popup. During this process, you are prompted to grant permissions to Sinch. Select your Instagram Business Account. Select the page you want to connect to Engage. Give permissions to that page.  When complete, the pop up closes and you can see your Facebook token.   Click Save to connect your channel. Your channel state turns to Pending. After a maximum delay of 5 minutes your channel status changes to: Active if the connection was successful. You can see the name of your page in the Instagram section: Failing if an error occurred. You can see a description of the error. Depending on the error, try again or contact our support.   Connect several Instagram accounts If you have more than one Instagram account in your Meta Business Account and wish to connect them to different projects: Connect your first Instagram account as instructed above. To connect your second Instagram account, switch to the other project by using the project switcher in the top left corner. Expand the Instagram section by clicking on the arrow icon  . Click the Login with Facebook button and log in with your Facebook credentials In the Meta popup, click Edit Settings. Select the additional Instagram account you want to connect (only one at a time) without deselecting the previously connected one.   Select the additional page you want to connect (only one at a time) without deselecting the previous one. Give permissions to that page.  When complete, the pop up closes and you can see your Facebook token.   Click Save to connect your channel. Your channel state turns to Pending. After a maximum delay of 5 minutes your channel status changes to: Active if the connection was successful. You can see the name of your page in the Instagram section: Failing if an error occurred. You can see a description of the error. Depending on the error, try again or contact our support.   ... View more

Only admins have the permissions to connect channels in Engage.   Before connecting Telegram, you must have: a Telegram account If you don't already have an account, create one by downloading the app and following the instructions: Android  iOS  a Telegram bot If you don't already have a bot, see the instructions below. Read more about Telegram bots  .    To set up a Telegram Bot: In Telegram, go to Contacts. Search for BotFather and select the bot. Enter /start in the chat or click the Start button if you have one. Enter /newbot in the chat and follow the instructions. Save the token you receive. You will need it to connect your bot in Engage. The token is in format: 0123456789:abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789 To connect Telegram to Engage: Settings > Project > Channels. Go to the Available channels section. Click on Connect under the Telegram section. Paste the token from Telegram in the input field. Click Save to connect your channel. Your channel status turns to Pending. After a maximum delay of 5 minutes your channel status changes to: Active if the connection was successful. Failing if an error occurred. You can see a description of the error.   When connected, the Telegram section shows the name of your Telegram bot.                     Note: Telegram deletes an account, including bots, if it has been inactive for six months. To avoid losing your account, you must have at least one conversation with another Telegram user in the Telegram app every six months. ... View more

Before connecting Viber bot, you must: have a Viber bot If you don't already have one: Install the Viber app on your mobile device  and create an account to sign in. Your account is used to administer your new bot. To create your bot, follow the steps on the Create Viber Bot Page  . Once your bot is created, its authentication token appears on the bot’s Edit info   view. be aware of Viber bot pricing  .   Only admins have the permissions to connect channels in Engage.   To connect Viber bot to Engage: Settings > Project > Channels. Go to the Available channels section. Click on Connect under the Viber bot section. Copy the Viber bot's token: Log into the Viber admin panel   on your desktop and go to the Edit info view. Go to Info and copy the token from the Token field. Paste the Viber bot's token to the Viber bot channel in Engage. Acknowledge the pricing policy of Viber  . Click Save to connect your channel. Your channel state turns to Pending. After a maximum delay of 5 minutes your channel status changes to: Active if the connection was successful. Failing if an error occurred. You can see a description of the error.   When connected, the Viber bot section shows the name of your page.                           By default, your Viber bot can't be found in the Viber app by searching. This is an option for premium chatbots. You can subscribe to this feature by contacting Viber  directly.   To access your bot, use the Viber QR code feature which can be found in the Viber app under More and the QR code icon. You can find your channel's QR code in the Viber admin panel  under Tools > Info or you can generate one using the syntax: viber://pa/info?uri=<URI> The URI is the username property shown in Engage under the Viber section.   ... View more