WhatsApp Coexistence lets you use your existing WhatsApp Business App and SleekFlow together — without disconnecting or migrating your number.

When you connect your WhatsApp Business App number to SleekFlow via Coexistence, SleekFlow accesses it through the WhatsApp Cloud API.

This setup allows you to communicate with customers through both platforms at the same time:
Continue chatting with customers directly on the WhatsApp Business App
Reply to the same customers via SleekFlow, using Cloud API–powered features such as automation, analytics, and multi-user collaboration

You’ll be able to test API-level features and SleekFlow’s automation capabilities while keeping your existing chats and contacts in the WhatsApp Business App. It’s a safe way to explore the WhatsApp Cloud API before fully migrating — with no interruption to ongoing customer conversations.
 

Benefits and use cases

Pain points solved

• No migration risk: Continue using your WhatsApp Business App as usual without deleting or transferring your account.
• Gradual transition: Test SleekFlow’s automation and reporting features before fully moving to the Cloud API.
• Seamless collaboration: Allow multiple teammates to reply in SleekFlow while others stay in the WhatsApp app.
• Business continuity: Keep existing chats and contact data intact while expanding capabilities through SleekFlow.

Common use cases

• Admins connect their WhatsApp number to SleekFlow while agents continue replying through the WhatsApp Business App.
• Businesses test API-based features such as auto-replies, Flow Builder, and campaigns without giving up the app.
• Teams gradually transition from the app to SleekFlow by using both platforms in parallel.

Connecting your WhatsApp number via WhatsApp Coexistence

You can follow the steps below to connect your WhatsApp Business App phone number via WhatsApp Coexistence:

1. Click on the  icon in the left navigation bar to go to the “Channels” page
2. Click on “WhatsApp Cloud API” in the left-sided panel
   
    
3. In the “WhatsApp Business API” page, click “Connect” at the top right corner of the page
   
    
4. You will be redirected to the “Connect WhatsApp Official Cloud API” page
   
    
5. Click on the “Connect your existing WhatsApp Business app via Coexistence” option
   
    
6. Click “Continue”. 
7. You’ll be redirected to Meta to finish linking your WhatsApp Business App to the Business Platform. Follow the prompts on your mobile device:
   1. Choose whether to share chat history
      1. Select “Share all chats” to continue existing conversations with customers
         
      2. Only chats from the last 6 months can be shared. Group chat history won’t be included
      3. ⚠️ This choice cannot be changed later.
   2. Scan the QR code
      1. Tap Connect to the Business Platform on your phone.
         
          
      2. Use your phone to scan the QR code shown on your computer screen in SleekFlow.
         
          
   3. Set up your business profile
      1. Confirm your business name, phone number, and other profile details to complete the connection.
8. Once you have successfully connected, you will be redirected to the “Assign your contacts before import” page, where you will be assigning the new contacts from WhatsApp Business App to a person or a team
   
   When SleekFlow imports your WhatsApp contacts, each new contact needs an owner — someone responsible for managing and replying to them. Assigning ensures that:
   1. Every new contact has a clear owner
   2. Conversations don’t get lost or remain unassigned
   3. Your team can start replying immediately once import is complete.
   4. Your selection only applies to newly added contacts from the import. Any existing contacts in SleekFlow will keep their current owner
   5. If you are unsure who to assign, start by assigning new contacts to yourself. This ensures every contact has an owner and won’t get lost. You can always reassign them to teammates later from the “Inbox” or “Contacts” page.
9. To assign new contacts, follow the steps: 
   1. Open the “Assign new contacts to” dropdown
      
   2. Choose one of the following options:
      1. Unassigned: Leave new contacts without an owner. (Not recommended, as contacts may get lost or overlooked.)
      2. Specific users: Assign all new contacts to a single user, such as yourself or another teammate.
      3. Team – Specific users: Assign new contacts to a specific team, then select an individual user within that team.
      4. Team – Unassigned: Assign new contacts to a team without specifying an individual owner. Team members can take ownership later.
10. Click “Next” to continue
11. A pop-up modal will appear to inform you that contact sync is in progress. 
    
    
    1. Your contacts are now syncing in the background. If you’ve chosen to share chat history, that will also continue syncing automatically.
    2. You can track sync progress in the Background activity tab. Only contact sync progress will be displayed — chat history progress is not available as Meta doesn’t provide the total data size.
    3. Once syncing is complete, all imported contacts and chats will appear in their respective sections in SleekFlow.
12. Click “Got it” to dismiss the modal
13. After you have dismissed the modal, you will be redirected to set up auto top-up for your WhatsApp messaging fee
    
    
    1. Here, you can configure automatic payments for your WhatsApp messaging fees through Stripe. This ensures your balance never runs out while using the WhatsApp Cloud API.
    2. Select your minimum balance, which is the threshold that triggers an automatic top-up.
    3. Enter the auto top-up amount, which will be charged each time your balance falls below the minimum.
    4. If you wish to set up the auto top-up settings later, you can simply tick “I will set auto top-up later”. You can refer to this Help Center article to learn more about setting up auto top-up for your WhatsApp accounts
14. Click “Next” to continue

Limitations

Before using WhatsApp Coexistence, keep the following limitations in mind:

• Availability: Coexistence is currently available only in selected countries.
• Feature compatibility: Not compatible with WhatsApp Marketing Message Lite API.
• Chat history: Only one-to-one chats from the last 6 months can be imported. Group chats will not be included.
• Advanced features: Some advanced WhatsApp Business App features may be unavailable after connecting through Coexistence.
• Disconnection handling: If you fail to open the WhatsApp Business App for more than 14 days, the connection may expire and require reconnection.
• Offboarding: Removing or offboarding must be done directly in the WhatsApp Business App.
   

Managing your WhatsApp Coexistence channel

Once your WhatsApp Coexistence channel is connected, you can manage it directly from the Channels page in SleekFlow.

Renaming your WhatsApp Coexistence channel

You can follow the steps below to rename your channel:

1. Click on the icon in the left navigation bar to go to the “Channels” page
2. Click on “WhatsApp Cloud API” in the left-sided panel
   
3. You will be redirected to the “WhatsApp Official API” page, locate the WhatsApp Coexistence channel you would like to rename
4. Click on the icon next to the channel name
5. Select “Rename”
   
6. A pop-up modal will appear
   
7. Enter the new channel name
8. Click “Save” and apply the changes

Removing your channel

Coexistence channels cannot be removed directly from SleekFlow. You can disconnect the channel in your WhatsApp Business App. 

Follow the steps below to disconnect your WhatsApp phone number from SleekFlow:

1. In your WhatsApp Business App, go to “Settings”
2. Select “Accounts”
3. Choose “Business Platform”
4. Tap “Disconnect”

Once disconnected, the channel will automatically be removed from SleekFlow.

WhatsApp Pricing

Using the WhatsApp Business App itself is free of charge.

However, when you connect through WhatsApp Coexistence, messages are sent and received through SleekFlow via WhatsApp Cloud API, which incurs usage-based fees charged by Meta.

To avoid service interruption, make sure your WhatsApp account has sufficient balance or enable Auto Top-up to automatically add credits when funds run low.  You can also top up your account manually.

👉 Learn more in our WhatsApp pricing article.

Best practices

To make the most of WhatsApp Coexistence:

• Keep your app active: Open your WhatsApp Business App at least once every 14 days to maintain connection.
• Assign contacts properly: Always assign imported contacts to a user or team to ensure smooth follow-up.
• Set up Auto Top-up early: Avoid message delivery interruptions by configuring auto top-up during setup.
• Test automations safely: Start with small-scale flows before applying automation rules to all contacts.
• Monitor sync status: Check the Background activity tab regularly to confirm successful syncing.