Reaction messages webhook reference

Updated: May 21, 2026

This reference describes trigger events and payload contents for the WhatsApp Business account messages webhook for messages containing a reaction to a previous message sent by a business.

Note: When an end user removes a reaction emoji, a webhook without the "emoji" field will be sent as shown in the sample webhooks below.

Triggers

• A WhatsApp user reacts to a previous message sent by a business within the last 30 days.
• A WhatsApp user removes a previously sent reaction to a previous message sent by a business within the last 30 days.

Syntax

{  
  "object": "whatsapp_business_account",  
  "entry": [  
    {  
      "id": "<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>",  
      "changes": [  
        {  
          "value": {  
            "messaging_product": "whatsapp",  
            "metadata": {  
              "display_phone_number": "<BUSINESS_DISPLAY_PHONE_NUMBER>",  
              "phone_number_id": "<BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID>"  
            },  
            "contacts": [  
              {  
                "profile": {  
                  "name": "<WHATSAPP_USER_PROFILE_NAME>"  
                },  
                "wa_id": "<WHATSAPP_USER_ID>",  
                "identity_key_hash": "<IDENTITY_KEY_HASH>" <!-- only included if identity change check enabled -->  
              }  
            ],  
            "messages": [  
              {  
                "from": "<WHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER>",  
                "id": "<WHATSAPP_MESSAGE_ID>",  
                "timestamp": "<REACTION_TIMESTAMP>",  
                "type": "reaction",  
                "reaction": {  
                  "message_id": "<CONTEXTUAL_WHATSAPP_MESSAGE_ID>",  
                  "emoji": "<EMOJI_UNICODE>" <!-- omitted if user removes reaction -->  
                }  
              }  
            ]  
          },  
          "field": "messages"  
        }  
      ]  
    }  
  ]  
}

Parameters

Placeholder	Description	Example value
<BUSINESS_DISPLAY_PHONE_NUMBER> String	Business display phone number.	15550783881
<BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID> String	Business phone number ID.	106540352242922
<CONTEXTUAL_WHATSAPP_MESSAGE_ID> String	WhatsApp message ID of the message the WhatsApp user reacted to.	wamid.HBgLMTQxMjU1NTA4MjkVAgASGBQzQUNCNjk5RDUwNUZGMUZEM0VBRAA=
<EMOJI_UNICODE> String	Unicode of emoji sent by the WhatsApp user as a reaction. If the user removes their initial reaction, another webhook is triggered, but the emoji property will be omitted from the payload.	U+1F44D
<IDENTITY_KEY_HASH> String	Identity key hash. Only included if you have enabled the identity change check feature.	DF2lS5v2W6x=
<REACTION_TIMESTAMP> String	Unix timestamp indicating when the WhatsApp user sent the reaction.	1739321024
<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID> String	WhatsApp Business Account ID.	102290129340398
<WHATSAPP_MESSAGE_ID> String	WhatsApp message ID.	wamid.HBgLMTY1MDM4Nzk0MzkVAgASGBQzQUFERjg0NDEzNDdFODU3MUMxMAA=
<WHATSAPP_USER_ID> String	WhatsApp user ID. Note that a WhatsApp user's ID and phone number may not always match.	16505551234
<WHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER> String	WhatsApp user phone number. This is the same value returned by the API as the input value when sending a message to a WhatsApp user. Note that a WhatsApp user's phone number and ID may not always match.	+16505551234
<WHATSAPP_USER_PROFILE_NAME> String	WhatsApp user's name as it appears in their profile in the WhatsApp client.	Sheena Nelson

Sample Webhooks

Receiving a reaction

{  
  "object": "whatsapp_business_account",  
  "entry": [  
    {  
      "id": "102290129340398",  
      "changes": [  
        {  
          "value": {  
            "messaging_product": "whatsapp",  
            "metadata": {  
              "display_phone_number": "15550783881",  
              "phone_number_id": "106540352242922"  
            },  
            "contacts": [  
              {  
                "profile": {  
                  "name": "Sheena Nelson"  
                },  
                "wa_id": "16505551234"  
              }  
            ],  
            "messages": [  
              {  
                "from": "16505551234",  
                "id": "wamid.HBgLMTY1MDM4Nzk0MzkVAgASGBQzQUFERjg0NDEzNDdFODU3MUMxMAA=",  
                "timestamp": "1749419544",  
                "type": "reaction",  
                "reaction": {  
                  "message_id": "wamid.HBgLMTQxMjU1NTA4MjkVAgASGBQzQUNCNjk5RDUwNUZGMUZEM0VBRAA=",  
                  "emoji": "👍"  
                }  
              }  
            ]  
          },  
          "field": "messages"  
        }  
      ]  
    }  
  ]  
}

Reaction removed by end user

{  
  "object": "whatsapp_business_account",  
  "entry": [  
    {  
      "id": "102290129340398",  
      "changes": [  
        {  
          "value": {  
            "messaging_product": "whatsapp",  
            "metadata": {  
              "display_phone_number": "15550783881",  
              "phone_number_id": "106540352242922"  
            },  
            "contacts": [  
              {  
                "profile": {  
                  "name": "Sheena Nelson"  
                },  
                "wa_id": "16505551234"  
              }  
            ],  
            "messages": [  
              {  
                "from": "16505551234",  
                "id": "wamid.HBgLMTY1MDM4Nzk0MzkVAgASGBQzQUFERjg0NDEzNDdFODU3MUMxMAA=",  
                "timestamp": "1749419544",  
                "type": "reaction",  
                "reaction": {  
                  "message_id": "wamid.HBgLMTQxMjU1NTA4MjkVAgASGBQzQUNCNjk5RDUwNUZGMUZEM0VBRAA="  
                }  
              }  
            ]  
          },  
          "field": "messages"  
        }  
      ]  
    }  
  ]  
}