Connecting a Turn.io WhatsApp Channel
Turn.io is a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider built for social impact organizations, used by health services and nonprofits across the Global South. Contacts can message your number and reply with photos, videos, documents and locations or by tapping buttons, and you can reach them at any time with templates approved by Meta.
Before you start
You'll need a Turn.io account with your WhatsApp number set up on it. From Settings > API & Webhooks in Turn, you'll then need your number's:
- Username and Password.
- Access token and namespace for its Message Template API, which are shown when you click Generate Credentials.
Turn's API docs explain these under authentication and messages.
Adding the channel
Go to Settings > Channels and click New Channel. Turn.io WhatsApp is under Social & Chat, or you can type its name in the search box.
Then fill in the form:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Number | Your WhatsApp number, including its country code |
| Country | The country your number is in |
| Username | Your number's username |
| Password | Your number's password |
| Access Token | Your Message Template API access token, used to sync your templates |
| Namespace | Your Message Template API namespace |
Click Add Channel. There's nothing more to set up on Turn's side, and your number's approved templates are synced to your workspace's Templates.
Considerations
Connecting the channel logs in with your username and password, which gives it a new access token for your number. Turn warns that this stops any token previously generated the same way from working, so check whether another service uses one before connecting. Tokens created in the Turn UI aren't affected.
Contacts can be sent any message within 24 hours of their last message to you. Outside that window, messages have to use one of your approved templates.
To learn more about WhatsApp channels in general, see Using WhatsApp.