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:

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 will see a separate pop up window. Please sign in to your personal Facebook account that has full access rights in Facebook Business Portfolio. Input your password, then click "Continue". 
   
   
8. Once signed in, click "Continue as {your user name}" to proceed to the next step.  If you are not on the correct account, click "Log into another account" to return to the previous step. 
   
9. Read the permission that you will share with SleekFlow as shown on the screen. Click "Get started" to proceed. 
   
10. You will be asked to fill in your business information.
    First, select the business portfolio that you want to connect your WhatsApp Business API account to. Please note that once your WhatsApp Business API account is connected to a business portfolio, it cannot be connected to another business portfolio. If you have completed the business portfolio info in Meta Business Portfolio (previously known as Facebook Business Manager), the "Business name", "Business website or profile page", and "Country" fields will be pre-filled. If all details are correct, click "Next" to continue. 
    If the fields above are not pre-filled, we highly recommend you to fill in the business portfolio info page in Meta Business Portfolio and come back to this step. 
    
11. Select “Connect your existing WhatsApp Business App”, then click “Next” 
    
12. Input the phone number registered in the WhatsApp Business App. Then click “Next”.
    
13. You will see the QR code on the screen. To scan the QR code, return to your phone with WhatsApp Business App installed. Remember to keep this screen OPEN on your desktop.
    You will see the QR code on the screen. To scan the QR code, return to your phone with WhatsApp Business App installed. Remember to keep this screen OPEN on your desktop.
    
14. You will receive a message from Facebook, click into the conversation and click “Connect”
    
15. You will be redirected to the following page, click “Continue on Business Platform”
    
16. Choose whether to share chat history
    1. Select “Share all chats” to continue existing conversations with customers, then click confirm
    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 unless you reconnect the account
       
17. Scan the QR code
    Use your phone to scan the QR code shown on your computer screen in SleekFlow.
    
18. Wait until you see the following screen, then return to your computer screen
    
19. Confirm your business name and timezone to complete the connection. Then click “Next”.
    
20. Review the permission given to SleekFlow. Then click “Next”.
    
21. You can now receive unlimited customer-initiated conversation and send a specific amount of business-initiated conversation in a rolling-24 hour period. 
    Click "Finish" to connect your WhatsApp Business account with SleekFlow. The number of business-initiated conversations that you get depends on the Facebook Business Verification status of your Meta Business Portfolio . Check out this article to learn more about the steps to complete Facebook Business Verification. 
    
22. The pop-up window will close and 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.
23. 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.
           
24. Click “Next” to continue
25. 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.
26. Click “Got it” to dismiss the modal
27. 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
28. Click “Next” to continue
29. Complete! You have connected your WhatsApp Business Account to SleekFlow!
    

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.