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Native vs Federated vs Cloned WhatsApp Capture: What’s the difference and why it matters
WhatsApp Capture is top of mind for almost every regulated firm today.
WhatsApp has become deeply embedded in global financial markets and many institutions across the industry are asking the same questions:
- What counts as compliant WhatsApp use?
- Which capture model should we adopt?
- Is there a single “right” approach, or does it depend on our workflows and risk profile?
These questions are no longer theoretical. Recent changes to Meta’s platform policies, high-profile third-party breaches, and increasing regulatory scrutiny have made WhatsApp Capture a material compliance and operational risk issue.
It’s telling that many large institutions still have blanket WhatsApp bans in place. Yet in practice, these bans often drive communication off-channel, making it harder for compliance teams to maintain control, visibility and auditability.
The result is a market full of mixed messages, assumptions and misunderstanding about what is and is not compliant.
This first article in VoxSmart’s WhatsApp Compliance Series aims to bring clarity to a space crowded with confusion, explaining the most common terms, the main capture models, and the practical pros and cons of each.
Why WhatsApp Capture matters
WhatsApp has become central to how global financial markets operate. Clients increasingly expect fast, informal communication via their preferred messaging apps - and for over 3 billion people worldwide, that app is WhatsApp.
Across the industry, front-office teams use WhatsApp to:
- share live prices
- update positions
- maintain client relationships
- update investors in real time
For compliance teams, this creates significant challenges. Regulators expect firms to maintain complete, accurate and retrievable records of business communications, with appropriate supervision and oversight. But the industry has struggled to balance convenience and speed of communication with regulatory expectations for record-keeping and oversight. For too long WhatsApp has been officially off-limits in regulated environments, but often this simply drives off-channel behaviour that remains completely unmonitored, leading to significantly increased risk.
Today, multiple capture technologies exist that allow WhatsApp communications to be monitored, recorded and audited. However, they don’t all work in the same way, and they carry different risk profiles.
Understanding these differences is essential to selecting an approach that keeps your business both compliant and connected.
The three main models of WhatsApp capture
The trade-offs: usability vs standardisation
Every regulated firm must balance two competing priorities:
- Compliance defensibility: capturing and archiving all relevant communications with integrity, security, complete metadata and auditability.
- User adoption: ensuring front-office teams actually use the approved channels, rather than resorting to workarounds.
In high-intensity environments, particularly fast-moving trading and broking desks, native capture continues to offer the closest match to real-world communication behaviour. Cloned apps also replicate that behaviour, but with significant security weaknesses and an elevated risk of platform enforcement and bans following Meta’s recent changes.
In more structured environments, a Federated model may better align with existing IT, risk and governance frameworks, even it if requires some trade-off in useability.
There is no universal answer. The right model depends on how your people communicate and how compliance oversight fits into those workflows.
Why the confusion exists
Part of the challenge is that ‘WhatsApp Capture’ has become a catch-all term.
But in practice, some solutions capture messages directly from the native app; others rely on enterprise APIs; some use cloning techniques; and some blend multiple approaches. These materially different technologies are often described using similar language, despite carrying very different risk, security and operational implications.
Each approach can support regulatory compliance if implemented with appropriate governance, controls, monitoring and supervision. However, the nuances are frequently lost in simplified narratives and marketing messages.
As a result, many firms assume there’s only one compliant way to capture WhatsApp. In reality, regulators do not mandate a specific technical architecture, they assess outcomes, controls and evidentiary integrity. The market is moving toward flexibility, choice and fit-for-purpose adoption.
A flexible future
At VoxSmart, we believe compliance shouldn’t come at the cost of effective communication.
Our mission is to make regulated messaging effortless, and fit for purpose, whether that means capturing communications directly from the native app, or through enterprise-grade APIs and integrations.
Today, VoxSmart’s native capture solution enables seamless compliance for brokers and traders who rely on WhatsApp to instantly share live prices, update positions and keep markets moving.
Across global markets, many asset managers, private banks and wealth firms use the VoxSmart App to communicate compliantly with clients through a single secure platform.
From early 2026, VoxSmart will also support WhatsApp Business (API), giving firms an additional option where a federated model better aligns with their operating model, regional requirements and risk appetite.
Choosing the right approach
When assessing WhatsApp Capture solutions, firms should consider three core questions:
- Who is communicating?
Traders and brokers operating in a fast-moving environment may require a native experience, while relationship managers may work effectively through more structured enterprise channels.
- What’s the communication risk?
Message volume, sensitivity of information and client expectations all influence model choice.
- How will compliance be demonstrated?
Focus on completeness, metadata integrity, security and auditability – not just the underlying technical architecture.
The most effective approach is one that aligns with both how your people work and how your regulators assess compliance.
The bottom line
There is no single version of ‘Compliant WhatsApp Capture.’ The firms that succeed are those that understand their workflows, assess their risks, and select a capture model that aligns communication reality with regulatory expectations.
Compliance shouldn’t slow communication - it should make it safer, more transparent and more defensible.
Next in the series:
> The WhatsApp Capture Myths Holding Back the Market - a closer look at the misconceptions and assumptions shaping industry thinking and how firms can separate fact from fiction.
