Consent Log

What it does

WhatsApp → Consent Log lists every marketing consent change recorded for your contacts, newest first, with the date and time it happened.

The log is read only. Consent is not edited by hand in the admin panel: a record appears when a contact opts in or out themselves, or when a contact file records an opt-in. Nothing in the log can be changed or removed.

To see one contact's current preference and their last ten consent changes, open that contact in Contacts; the Consent Log shows the full history across all of your contacts.

When to use it

Use it to:

• Check when a number opted in or opted out, and prove it if a contact or a regulator asks
• Find out why a contact stopped receiving campaigns
• Confirm that a contact import recorded the opt-ins you expected
• Check that an opt-out was recorded after a contact asked to stop
• Count the opt-ins or opt-outs recorded in a period, such as last month

Steps

1. Open WhatsApp → Consent Log.
2. Type a phone number into Search by phone.... All non-digit characters are ignored. It is a partial contains search, so part of the number is enough but typing mistakes are not corrected. UK numbers can be entered with the leading zero, without it, or with the +44/44 country code; the leading-zero form also checks the same digits without its leading 0. A search with no digits shows the whole log.
3. Optionally choose Opted-in or Opted-out in the consent list to see only that kind of record. All marketing consent statuses shows both.
4. Optionally pick a date in From, To or both to see only the records from that period, in your company's time zone. Both dates are included, and you can leave either one empty.
5. Read the records for that number from the top down; the most recent change is first.
6. Select a row's contact to open that contact and see its current consent, customer link and message history.

Clear the search box and filters to go back to the full log. Use Previous and Next to move through the pages. Your filters are kept in the page address, so you can bookmark or share a filtered view.

What you'll see

Three columns:

• Timestamp - the date and time the change was recorded, shown in your company's time zone.
• Contact - the contact's name over their phone number, or a dash if you have no name for them. Select it to open the contact.
• Marketing consent - Opted-in or Opted-out, the preference the contact moved to at that moment.

Above the table you'll see how many records match, for example Showing 1–50 of 240 records, Showing 1–50 of 240 records matching “7700” when you have searched, or Showing 1–50 of 35 opt-out records in your date range when you have chosen a consent status and dates, and the page you are on. When there is more than one page of records the same bar also appears below the table, with Previous and Next.

When there is nothing to show you'll see No consent records yet., or No consent records match your filters. if a search, consent or date filter is applied.

Each record is a single event, not a running status. A contact who opts out and later opts back in has two records, and the highest one in the list is their current preference. A record belongs to the WhatsApp channel it came from, and the table does not name the channel. An opt-in added by a contact import is recorded once for each of your channels, so the same contact can appear more than once at the same time. The count therefore tells you how many opt-ins or opt-outs were recorded, which can be more than the number of contacts who made them.

If something goes wrong

• A number you searched for has no records: the contact has never changed their marketing preference, so they have no consent and will not receive campaigns. Check the number in Contacts, then invite them or ask them to join.
• You typed a name and the list did not change: search matches phone numbers only. Letters are ignored, so a name leaves the whole log on screen. Type digits from the number instead.
• Your search shows No consent records match your filters: no record matches the digits, consent status and dates together. Try fewer digits, drop the leading zero or the country code, or widen the dates.
• A contact says they opted in but the last record is Opted-out: the later opt-out stands. Ask the contact to reply START, or send them an invite so they can opt back in.
• A contact says they asked to stop but there is no record: a typed keyword only counts when it is sent as STOP in capitals. If they wrote it another way they are sent a message with a STOP button; the record is created when they tap it. You can also send them an invite so they can set their preference.
• An import did not add the opt-ins you expected: an import only records an opt-in for numbers that have no consent yet, so contacts who have already opted in or out are unchanged. Check the import result in Imports.
• A record looks wrong and you need it corrected: records cannot be edited or deleted here. Contact your onboarding manager.

What creates a record

A record is written when:

• A contact replies STOP to opt out, or START to opt in
• A contact taps an opt-out or opt-in button on one of your messages, including the buttons on automated consent replies
• A contact uses WhatsApp's own Offers and announcements controls to stop or resume marketing messages from your business
• A contact accepts or declines an invite, including an invite they asked for through your join page. The record appears when they reply in WhatsApp, not when they submit the join form
• A contact import records an opt-in for a number that had no consent recorded yet

Every STOP or START a contact sends is recorded, even if they had already opted out or in, so the log shows each time they asked.

Only upload opt-ins you can evidence. Read consent and opt-in for the rules on what counts as valid consent and the records you need to keep.

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