What is the green tick?

The green tick next to a WhatsApp name shows that the entity has been approved as anofficial business account. When you sign up for WhatsApp with Sparrow, you first need your use case approved before you can start. Once your request is approved, you are abusiness accountand you can start using the service to talk to your customers.

However, approval of your use case does not automatically mean that you are anofficial business accountand that users will see a green tick next to your name. To become anofficial business account,you need to go through a second approval process.

Can I apply for the green tick?

If you have been approved for a WhatsApp business account, you can request an official business account. Unfortunately, we find that only a small percentage of accounts are approved for the green tick. As a rule, only well-known brands or entities are approved.

How do I apply?

For us to submit the application, simply follow the steps below:

1. Make sure yourFacebook Business account has been successfully verified .
2. Go to theWhatsApp channel settingsin your MessageBird dashboard.
3. Press the edit icon of the WhatsApp channel for which you want to request official business account status.
4. At the bottom of the page, you will seeEnable two-factor authentication.
5. Set a 6-digit PIN and clickSave.
6. Once you have set the PIN, pleasecontact our support team torequest an official WhatsApp business account.
7. And that's it! We will submit the request on your behalf and send you a confirmation email once it is approved.

What are the best practices for getting approved?

To get the green tick, there are things you can do to increase your chances of being approved for an official WhatsApp business account. As a rule, keep in mind that official business accounts are not granted to employees, departments or test accounts. Official business accounts are only granted to businesses as a whole for real use cases.

Account setup

Before requesting your official business account, you must make sure your business has been verified on Facebook and that you have set up two-factor authentication. You can read here how to verify your business

Email address

If you want to request an official business account, we recommend making sure you add an official email domain to your Facebook business account. You can use an official email domain (such as"[email protected]") of your company or entity rather than a webmail address such as[email protected]or"[email protected]". Webmail addresses are most often rejected because they cannot be linked to established businesses.

Display name

Your display name can make a difference in the approval process. When you apply, you must make sure your display name complies with theguidelines ondisplay names. If there is an inconsistency between the display name and the external brand, or an unclear relationship with the business, your request will probably be rejected.

Online presence

From experience, we know your account must represent a well-known, frequently searched brand or entity. Accounts featured in several news sources are more likely to be approved, but note that paid or promotional content is not considered a review source.

What if I'm not approved?

Don't worry! From experience, we know this happens often. Rejection of an official business account does not mean your account has been cancelled or that you are not following the guidelines. Your brand or entity may simply not be big or well known enough. Unfortunately, we don't receive detailed case-by-case feedback on why an application was rejected.

If a request for a verified business account is rejected, a one-month cooldown period begins during which no new request can be made. Once the cooldown is over, you can request an official business account again.