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Some channels only let you send a free-form reply for a limited time after the customer’s last message. Once that window closes, your reply — whether typed by you, sent by the AI, or fired by a workflow — is blocked until the customer messages again. This is not a Cura setting and not an error. It’s a rule set by the platform (Meta for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram) to protect people from businesses messaging them out of the blue. Cura simply follows it.
This page is about by-design platform windows, not connection problems. If a reply fails and the channel has no window (LINE, Telegram, website), see A customer didn’t receive my message instead.

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The window for each channel

*Instagram’s 24-hour-to-7-day window relies on a Meta feature (the Human Agent tag) that Meta must approve for your connected account. Until it’s approved, replies sent between 24 hours and 7 days fail with a “pending Meta approval” message. See Instagram: the extra approval step below.

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Why the window exists

The short version: Meta doesn’t want businesses messaging people who haven’t messaged them recently. The clock starts on the customer’s last inbound message and resets every time they send you a new one.
  • WhatsApp gives you a hard 24-hour service window. There’s no extension — once 24 hours pass with no new message from the customer, free-form replies are blocked.
  • Messenger and Instagram give you 24 hours to reply freely, then a longer 7-day window for genuine human follow-up (a support agent picking the conversation back up). After 7 days, even that closes.
  • LINE, Telegram, and the website widget have no window at all — you can reply whenever you like.
There is no owner-side setting that reopens a closed window. Cura does not send WhatsApp template or broadcast messages, so on WhatsApp the only way back in is for the customer to send a new message.

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What you’ll see when a window is closed

When you (or the AI) try to reply after the window has closed, the message shows failed in the conversation, with a plain-language reason:
  • WhatsApp: “WhatsApp only allows free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer’s last message.”
  • Messenger / Instagram: a notice that replies are only allowed within 7 days of the customer’s last message.
In the reply box you may also see a Response Window Closed notice before you even send. See Replying to a customer.

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What to do

1

Check when the customer last messaged you

Open the conversation and look at the customer’s most recent inbound message. Compare its time against the limit for that channel in the table above.
2

Wait for the customer to message again

Any new message from the customer reopens the window — a fresh 24 hours on WhatsApp, or 24 hours / 7 days on Messenger and Instagram. Once they’ve messaged, your reply will send.
3

Reply promptly next time

The single best way to avoid a closed window is speed. Fast first responses keep you well inside the window — which is exactly what your AI is for.
Leave your AI on for these channels so the first reply lands in seconds, not hours. A conversation answered quickly almost never runs into a closed window.

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Instagram: the extra approval step

Instagram’s 24-hour-to-7-day window depends on Meta’s Human Agent feature, which Meta must approve for your connected Instagram account through its app-review process.
  • Until it’s approved: replies within the first 24 hours work normally, but a reply sent between 24 hours and 7 days fails with “this Instagram account is pending Meta approval for replies outside the 24-hour window. Contact support.”
  • The fix: reply within 24 hours wherever you can. To unlock the 24-hour-to-7-day window, Meta needs to approve the Human Agent feature for the connected app — contact support so we can complete Meta app review with you. Include your workspace name and the Instagram handle.
WhatsApp and Messenger don’t need this extra approval. Only Instagram’s extended window depends on Meta’s Human Agent review.