When the WhatsApp Business API first launched, businesses or their providers had to install and maintain the API client on their own infrastructure. This was the On-Premise model.
Self-hosting gave more control but required servers, updates and engineering effort. After January 2024, new features shipped only to the Cloud API, and the On-Premises client received bug fixes and security patches only.
The sunset followed Meta's published timeline: from July 1, 2024, phone numbers could only be registered on the Cloud API, and on October 23, 2025 the final On-Premises version (v2.63) expired. Messages to or from numbers still registered on it are no longer delivered, so any remaining integration has to move to the Cloud API. The Cloud API vs On-Premises comparison explains the differences.
