WhatsApp character counter

WhatsApp limits at a glance

• Text: up to 1,024 characters.
• Media: up to 10 files per post.
• Follow-ups: no follow-up comments on this network.
• Settings in Postozo: Send only to (this post).

How WhatsApp counts characters

Postozo sends your text as the {{1}} variable of your approved WhatsApp template. WhatsApp allows up to 1,024 characters in the template body and no line breaks inside the variable, so the message shows as 1 paragraph.

Among the 25 networks with a counter here, WhatsApp has the 5th shortest of 16 different limits. Shorter is not worse: it only changes how you write. A mid-size limit leaves room for a short story and a call to action.

This counter counts each character (Unicode code point), the same way Postozo checks it before saving.

Rules Postozo checks for WhatsApp

Sends the post text through your approved WhatsApp template to every number on the channel list, or only to "Send only to" in Settings. Up to 1024 characters, shown as 1 paragraph (line breaks become spaces). No photos yet, no markdown. Recipients must have opted in.

WhatsApp settings in Postozo

• Send only to (this post): Send this 1 post to 1 person or a few, instead of the whole channel list. Separate numbers with commas. Empty sends to everyone on the list.

How to use this WhatsApp counter

1. Write or paste your WhatsApp broadcast message in the box above.
2. Watch the "left" number. It turns amber when less than 10% is left and red when the text is too long.
3. Count links and hashtags as part of the text: WhatsApp counts them too.
4. Too long? Cut it down. WhatsApp posts in Postozo have no follow-up comments, so everything has to fit in 1 post.

Connecting WhatsApp to Postozo

You connect WhatsApp by pasting your details, which Postozo stores encrypted:

• Access token: In Meta Business settings, make a System User with the whatsapp_business_messaging permission and generate a permanent token. The short token on the API Setup page expires after 1 day.
• Phone number ID: Meta developer portal, WhatsApp, API Setup: the "Phone number ID" under your number. It is a long ID, not the phone number itself.
• Approved template name: A Marketing template, approved in WhatsApp Manager, whose body is exactly one {{1}} variable (or your fixed text around it). Broadcasts only deliver through approved templates.
• Template language code (optional): The language the template was approved in: en, en_US, hi and so on. Empty means en.
• Recipients: Who this channel messages: 1 WhatsApp number per line, with country codes, up to 500. Only people who agreed to hear from your business on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp does not share statistics with Postozo, so you see the publish status and the live link for each post.

Tips for WhatsApp posts

• Write 1 tight paragraph. Line breaks are replaced with spaces before sending.
• Put the news first and the ask at the end.
• Emoji are fine on WhatsApp and count as normal characters.
• Keep any fixed greeting in the template itself, so the whole 1,024 characters stay free for your news.

Before you post on WhatsApp

• Read the post on a phone screen. Most people will see it there, and long lines look longer on a small screen.
• Open every link once to check it works and goes to the right page.
• Keep the full, longer version of your text. You may want it for a network with more room than WhatsApp.

Write once, fit every network

If you post the same message to several networks, Postozo lets you write it once and change the text for WhatsApp only. The AI assistant can shorten a post to fit WhatsApp, and the post editor warns you before a post breaks a rule. See every network's limit on the all-networks character counter.