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MESSAGING AND TEMPLATES
Authentication template
An authentication template is a WhatsApp message template used to deliver one-time passcodes for login, verification and transaction confirmation. Meta fixes the wording (a code, optional security disclaimer and expiry line), allows copy-code, one-tap or zero-tap buttons, forbids URLs, media and emojis, and bills it at its own rate.
template categoryutility templatetemplate variablerest api quickstart
Why it matters
Authentication templates replace SMS OTPs at a fraction of the cost with higher delivery rates in markets where WhatsApp is the default channel. Because the format is fixed, approval is nearly instant and rejection is rare; the trade-off is that you cannot customise the text beyond the options Meta offers, and the template cannot be used for anything else.
In VGraple CRM
The builder offers the authentication format as a preset with the code, disclaimer and expiry options and the button type; sending is done from the API or an automation rule with the code as the single variable. Authentication templates are excluded from the broadcast picker, since they are never bulk messages.
Related terms
Template category, Utility template, Template variable, and the REST API quickstart.