Create a Facebook App (for Meta Ads)

To run Meta Ads (Click-to-WhatsApp) from inside WaDesk, you first create a Meta app on the Facebook Developers portal and generate one permanent access token plus a few IDs. You do this once. This guide walks through every screen in order.

Where the live screens are. Meta changes its dashboard layout often, so instead of embedding screenshots that go stale, this page uses the exact button and field names you will see. When a screen looks different, follow the bold label named in each step. The official reference screens are linked at the bottom under Reference.

What You Need First

Before creating the app, make sure you have these Meta assets. All of them live in Meta Business Manager:

  • A Meta / Facebook account you own.
  • A Business Portfolio (Business Manager) — create one at business.facebook.com → Settings if you don't have one.
  • A Facebook Page for your brand (ads run from a Page).
  • An Ad Account with a payment method added (Meta bills your ad spend here, not WaDesk).
  • A WhatsApp Business (WABA) number connected to your business — the destination customers chat with when they click the ad.
Business verification. To move the app out of test mode and run real ads with a permanent token, Meta requires your Business to be verified (Business Settings → Security Center → Start Verification). Start this early — it can take a day or two.

Step 1 — Create the App

  1. Go to developers.facebook.com and click My Apps (top right). If it's your first time, accept the developer terms.
  2. Click Create App.
  3. Under “What do you want your app to do?” choose Other, then click Next.
  4. For app type, select Business, then Next.
  5. Enter an App name (e.g. “MyBrand WaDesk”), your contact email, and pick your Business Portfolio from the dropdown. Click Create App and re-enter your password if prompted.

You now land on the app's Dashboard. Your App ID is shown at the top — keep this page handy.

Step 2 — Add Products (Marketing API + WhatsApp)

On the app Dashboard, scroll to “Add products to your app” and set up the two products WaDesk uses:

  • Marketing API — click Set up. This lets WaDesk create ad campaigns.
  • WhatsApp — click Set up. This links your WhatsApp Business number so the ad can open a chat.

When adding WhatsApp, select your Business Portfolio so the app is tied to your WABA.

Step 3 — Create a System User & Generate a Permanent Token

A personal token expires. For a token that keeps working, create a System User in Business Settings:

  1. Open Business Settings → Users → System Users.
  2. Click Add, give it a name (e.g. “wadesk-api”), set the role to Admin, and create it.
  3. With the system user selected, click Generate New Token.
  4. Choose your app (the one you created in Step 1).
  5. Set token expiration to Never.
  6. Tick these permissions, then click Generate Token:
    • ads_management
    • business_management
    • whatsapp_business_management
    • whatsapp_business_messaging
    • pages_read_engagement and pages_manage_ads (so the ad can run from your Page)
  7. Copy the token now — Meta shows it only once. Store it somewhere safe; you'll paste it into WaDesk in Step 6.
Treat the token like a password. Anyone with it can spend from your ad account. WaDesk stores it encrypted at rest. If it ever leaks, return to this screen and click Revoke, then generate a new one.

Step 4 — Give the System User Access to Your Assets

The token can only touch assets the system user is assigned to. Still in Business Settings → System Users, with your system user selected, click Add Assets and assign, with Manage / Full control:

  • Your Facebook Page — under Pages.
  • Your Ad Account — under Ad Accounts.
  • Your WhatsApp Account (WABA) — under WhatsApp Accounts.

Step 5 — Collect Your IDs

WaDesk needs three IDs alongside the token. Find them in Business Settings:

  • Page ID — Accounts → Pages, click your Page; the ID is shown on the details panel.
  • Ad Account ID — Accounts → Ad Accounts, click your ad account; the ID is a long number (WaDesk accepts it with or without the act_ prefix).
  • WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID) — Accounts → WhatsApp Accounts, click your WABA; the ID is on the details panel. (You can also find it under the app's WhatsApp → API Setup screen.)

Step 6 — Connect It in WaDesk

  1. In WaDesk, open Meta Ads and click Connect (or Settings).
  2. Paste the four values from the steps above:
    • Access token (from Step 3)
    • Page ID
    • Ad Account ID
    • WABA ID
  3. Save. WaDesk validates the connection with Meta and, where possible, auto-detects assets for you.
  4. Create your first campaign: upload the ad image, choose objective, audience and budget, and the destination WhatsApp number. WaDesk builds the campaign → ad set → creative → ad on Meta and reports status back on the campaign card. Full feature guide: Meta Ads (Click-to-WhatsApp).
Click-to-WhatsApp campaigns can run across both Facebook and Instagram placements — one ad, chats from either app.

Step 7 — Go Live (App Review & Permissions)

A brand-new app starts in Development mode, which can only act on assets owned by people with a role on the app. To run real ads at scale:

  • Complete Business Verification (Business Settings → Security Center) if you haven't.
  • On the app, switch App Mode to Live (top bar toggle) once verification is done.
  • The permissions above (ads_management, whatsapp_business_management, etc.) are granted to your own business assets without app review. App review is only needed if you plan to manage other businesses' assets.

Troubleshooting

  • “Missing permission” / ads_management not granted — the token was generated without that scope. Regenerate it (Step 3) with all permissions ticked and paste the new token into WaDesk.
  • “(#200) User does not have permission” — the system user isn't assigned to the Page / Ad Account / WABA. Fix in Step 4.
  • Ad rejected or in review — that's Meta's ad policy review, not WaDesk. Check the campaign card's error and Meta Ads Manager.
  • Token stopped working — a personal (non-system-user) token expired, or the token was revoked. Generate a permanent System User token (Step 3).
  • No spend / ad not delivering — confirm a valid payment method is on the Ad Account and the campaign budget/schedule are active.

Reference (Official Meta Docs)

Prefer to do this hands-off? Our support team can walk you through the app setup on a screen-share — reach out and we'll help you get the token and IDs.
WaDesk Documentation