WhatsApp alerts

WhatsApp is a premium channel for when a down really needs to reach a person, not just a room. PingArk sends a short message to your number when a check goes down and another when it recovers. Because each message has a real cost, WhatsApp is metered: every alert draws one message credit.

Prerequisites

A plan that includes premium alerts, and a phone number that can receive WhatsApp. Your plan comes with a monthly pool of message credits, and you can buy more as top-up packs. WhatsApp and SMS share the same message pool.

Setup

Open Channels, click Add channel, and pick WhatsApp. Enter the destination number in the Phone number field in international E.164 format, for example +15551234567. Save, and PingArk sends a verification code to that number over WhatsApp.

Config fields

• Phone number. The WhatsApp number to alert, in E.164 format (a plus sign, country code, then the number, no spaces or dashes).

Verify before it can alert

A phone channel stays disarmed until you confirm ownership, the same idea as verifying an email address. PingArk messages a six-digit code to the number, and you enter it back in the dashboard to arm the channel. Until then the channel never alerts and never spends a credit. Codes expire after a few minutes, and you can request a new one from the channel's menu if it lapses.

What an alert looks like

A down message reads like "PingArk alert: nightly-backup is DOWN. Your scheduled job has not checked in." A recovery reads "PingArk: nightly-backup has recovered and is back UP." Both are kept short so they read cleanly on a phone.

Credits and limits

Each delivered WhatsApp alert costs one message credit, drawn from your monthly bundle first and then any top-up balance. Bundled credits reset each billing period; top-up credits never expire. If the balance runs out, PingArk stops sending premium alerts and flags it in the dashboard rather than billing you past your balance. A per-check limit also caps how many premium alerts a single check can send in a short window, so a flapping job can never run up a bill. See the pricing page for the credits each plan includes.

Troubleshooting

If the code does not arrive, confirm the number is in E.164 format and can receive WhatsApp, then resend from the channel's menu. If alerts stop, check your credit balance and whether the number is still verified. A failed delivery is always surfaced in the dashboard, so a silent phone never hides a problem.