Send a follow-up after delivery or read

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How the timing works

• Delivery starts the wait. The follow-up is due its delay after WhatsApp first reports the first message as delivered.
• A read takes precedence. If WhatsApp reports the first message as read before the follow-up starts sending, the wait restarts from that first read. Later reads do not move it again.
• No receipt, no follow-up. A follow-up never sends on a timer alone. Recipients who turned off read receipts report deliveries only, so their wait starts from delivery.
• Expiry never sends. The expiry counts from when the first message was sent. A follow-up that is not sent by then is marked expired and never sent.

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What cancels a follow-up

• The recipient replies to the number that sent the first message.
• The phone number is added to your opt-out list, whether by a STOP keyword, the API, an import or the console. A later START does not restore a cancelled follow-up.
• You stop the campaign.
• The sending number changes: it is renamed, connected again as a new connection, or switches sending type. A follow-up is only ever sent from the original number and connection.
• Your team leaves the beta, or the beta is turned off.

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Requirements

• The campaign sends one first message: a single composed message or a template. A campaign with a sequence of composed messages cannot launch with a follow-up.
• The follow-up is either text (1 to 16,384 characters, with the same {{variable}} placeholders as the campaign) or a message template (templateId). Follow-up text cannot contain tracked links ({{link:key}}).
• On a Cloud API number, the follow-up follows the same 24-hour window rule as any composed message: outside it, a text follow-up fails. Use an approved template to reach recipients outside that window.
• The follow-up fills its variables the same way as the first message, including the campaign’s variable mapping. A recipient without a value for a variable that has no inline fallback does not get the follow-up; it ends as failed with reason missing_variable. The console accepts only variables that the first message or its mapping already uses.
• You can add, change or remove the follow-up only while the campaign is an unlaunched draft. Launch freezes it.
• A/B tests and weighted variations work with follow-ups: each recipient’s own first message starts their wait.

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Add a follow-up

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Use the console

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Use the API

curl -X PATCH "https://api.polymorfa.com/messaging/projects/$PROJECT_SLUG/campaigns/$CAMPAIGN_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POLYMORFA_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "followUp": {
      "delaySeconds": 86400,
      "expirySeconds": 604800,
      "message": { "type": "text", "text": "Hi {{first_name}}, still interested? Reply YES to hold your size." }
    }
  }'

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Read follow-up results

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Campaign analytics

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Recipients

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Campaign history

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Leaving the beta