Commercial policy
On this page, you will find information about the commercial policy structured by Facebook on WhatsApp accounts.
Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
When you do business, we consider all materials and media messages related to your assets, goods and services (including descriptions, prices, duties, taxes, and/or disclosures required by law) as a transaction.
Transactions must comply with the policies listed below, as well as with applicable terms, laws, and regulations.
1 - You are entirely responsible for your transactions and for providing terms of sales, privacy, and other terms that apply to interactions with your users.
2 - We are not responsible for processing, paying for, or concluding sales related to transactions.
3 - You are the only one accountable for determining, collecting, withholding, declaring, and filling all taxes, fees, and other charges related to your sales operations.
4 - The examples mentioned below are representative, but not exhaustive.
5 - The following items may not be sold or offered for sale:
Illegal products or services
Policy: companies may not engage in transactions that involve illegal operations or exchanges of illegal products or services.
Drugs; recreational, prescription, or other.
Policy: companies cannot sell or promote the sale of illegal drugs, whether recreational or prescripted.
Examples:
❌ Drugs, including marijuana and marijuana related products.
❌ Accessories designed for drug consumption, such as pipes or bongs.
❌ Prescription medical drugs.
Tobacco products and related accessories.
Policy: companies may not sell or promote the sale of tobacco products and its associated accessories.
Examples:
✅ Clothing containing a tobacco brand’s logo.
❌ Cigarettes, cigars, or chewing smoke.
❌ Tubes and paraphernalia.
❌ Tobacco Rolling machines
❌ Hookahs
❌ Bongs
❌ Cigarette rolling silks
❌ Electronic cigarettes or tobacco accessories.
Alcoholic beverages
Policy: companies cannot sell or promote the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Examples:
✅ Alcoholic books or DVDs
✅ Articles related to alcoholic beverages, such as glasses, refrigerators, and wine bottle holders.
❌ Alcoholic beverages.
❌ Kits for producing alcoholic beverages
Risky food supplements
Policy: companies may not sell or promote the sale of risky food supplements, as determined by WhatsApp at its sole discretion.
Examples:
❌ Anabolic steroids
❌ Chitosan
❌ Comfrey
❌ Dehydroepiandrosterone
❌ Ephedra
❌ Human Growth Hormones
Weapons, ammunition or explosives
Policy: companies may not sell or promote, or use weapons, ammunition, or explosives.
Examples:
✅ Promote safety training or licensing for legalized weapons
❌ Firearms and firearm components
❌ Paintball guns
❌ Airsoft and Pellet guns
❌ Fireworks
❌ Pepper spray
❌ Electroshock weapons
❌ Shooting ranges
❌ Weapons exhibitions
Animals
Policy: companies cannot sell or promote the sale of animals.
Examples:
✅ Animals nurseries
✅ Products designed for animals, such as toys, necklaces, etc.
✅ Veterinary Services
✅ Animal Hygiene Services
✅ Animal Daycare/Hotel Services
❌ Live animals
❌ Cattle
❌ Prohibited animal parts, including, but not limited to, bones, teeth, horns, ivory, taxidermy, organs, external limbs, secretions or remains
❌ Any product or part of an animal, including but not limited to, leather, fur, rawhide, fur, wool or fur from any dog, cat or animal that is endangered or near extinction
Products or services for the adult public
Policy: companies may not sell or promote the sale/use of products or services dedicated for adults.
Examples:
✅ Products that encourage family planning or contraception, with a focus on the contraceptive characteristics of the product, not on sexual pleasure or enhancement
❌ Sex toys
❌ Videos, live shows or recordings for adult entertainment
❌ Sexual enhancement products
❌ Sexually suggestive services
Body fluids and parts
Policy: companies may not sell or promote the sale of human body parts or fluid.
Examples:
❌ Blood
❌ Hair extensions and wigs
❌ Urine
❌ Body parts
❌ Organs
❌ Human tissue
❌ Teeth
Medical and health products
Policy: companies cannot sell or promote the sale of certain health products, including medical devices and smoking cessation products that contain nicotine.
Medical devices:
Examples:
✅ Accessories for fitness and wellness
❌ Contact lenses
❌ Dressings (bandages, gauze, etc.) and protection against physical injury
❌ Thermometers
❌ Kits for medical examinations or diseases.
❌ Breast pumps
❌ First Aid Kits
Smoking cessation products
❌ Nicotine Patches
❌ Nicotine gum
Sexualized articles or products
Policy: Companies may not market products or services in a sexually suggestive manner.
Examples:
❌ Implied nudity
❌ Implied sexual act
❌ Enlarged sexual image
Real Money Betting Services
Policy: companies cannot sell, promote or facilitate gambling, skill games, or lotteries, including online casinos, sports betting, bingo, or poker.
Relationship Services
Policy: Companies may not sell or promote the sale or provide relationship services online.
Products or items that facilitate or encourage unauthorized access to digital media
Policy: Companies may not sell or promote the sale of devices that enable or support the transmission of digital content in an unauthorized manner or interfere with the functionality of electronic devices.
Examples:
✅ Additional equipment for transmission devices, such as keyboards or remote controls
❌ Sale of transmission devices with software that facilitates unauthorized access to certain content
❌ Preloaded or unlocked devices
❌ Devices used for decoding or interference
❌ Wiretapping devices
Digital subscription services, including processing or links to process any subscription sale, renewal, or upgrade.
Policy: companies cannot sell or promote sales including but not limited to renovations, upgrades of content, subscriptions, or digital accounts.
Examples:
✅ Real Audio or Video CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray
✅ Digital devices, including smartphones, game consoles, and TVs
❌ Material available for download, such as PDF, music, games, movies, etc
❌ Digital accounts, including game accounts
❌ Digital subscriptions and webcasting services such as TV, mobile devices, etc
❌ Digital coupons
Business models, goods, items, or services that we conclude may be fraudulent, misleading, offensive, deceptive, exploitative, inappropriate, or unduly intimidating to certain groups.
Policy: companies cannot sell or promote the sale of misleading, false, misleading, or offensive offers or products.
Examples:
❌ Multi-Level Marketing
❌ Pen auctions
❌ Foreign exchange currency and binary options offer
❌ Payroll loans, salary advances, P2P loans, debt collection, and guarantors
❌ Diet, weight loss or other health products that involve or attempt to generate negative self-perception on a customer
Counterfeit currency, virtual or real
Policy: Companies may not sell or promote the sale of counterfeit currency, whether virtual or real.
Examples:
❌ Real money (in kind, coins or equivalent)
❌ Replicate or establish money
❌ Digital money or cryptocurrency
❌ Credit or debit bank cards
❌ Credit cards or store coupons
❌ Prepaid credit or debit cards
❌ Checks and checkbooks
❌ Equipment to create false currency or financial instruments
Third-party infringement
Policy: the content of transactions must not infringe or violate the intellectual property and rights of others, including copyrights or trademarks. This includes, but is not limited to, the sale of counterfeit products, such as those that copy the brand (name or logo) and/or specific details of products from other companies to imitate a genuine product.
Examples:
❌ Counterfeits, imitations or replicas of branded products or publications offering products that confuse consumers as to the origin, sponsorship or affiliation of the offered products
❌ Unauthorized or pirated copies of copyrighted works such as videos, movies, television programs and broadcasts, games, CDs, or other musical practices, books, etc.
**Reference: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/commerce-policy/?lang=en