diff --git a/gateway/platforms/whatsapp_cloud.py b/gateway/platforms/whatsapp_cloud.py
index 8b170db886..92c5f8767f 100644
--- a/gateway/platforms/whatsapp_cloud.py
+++ b/gateway/platforms/whatsapp_cloud.py
@@ -234,12 +234,12 @@ class WhatsAppCloudAdapter(WhatsAppBehaviorMixin, BasePlatformAdapter):
         """Normalize allowlist entries to bare wa_id (digits): strip ``@...`` JID suffixes and non-digits."""
         return {re.sub(r"\D", "", entry.split("@", 1)[0]) or entry for entry in ids}
 
-    def _is_dm_allowed(self, sender_id: str) -> bool:
-        """Allowlist check against the normalized bare wa_id."""
-        if self._dm_policy == "allowlist":
-            bare = re.sub(r"\D", "", str(sender_id).split("@", 1)[0])
-            return (bare or sender_id) in self._normalize_allow_ids(self._live_dm_allow_from())
-        return super()._is_dm_allowed(sender_id)
+    def _entry_matches(self, entries, target: str) -> bool:
+        """Bare-wa_id membership first (Cloud senders are digits), then the shared WhatsApp matcher
+        so ``*`` and phone/LID aliases keep working for DM intake and groups as they always did."""
+        entries = set(entries or ())
+        bare = re.sub(r"\D", "", str(target).split("@", 1)[0]) or target
+        return bare in self._normalize_allow_ids(entries) or super()._entry_matches(entries, target)
 
     def _allow_all_env_names(self) -> tuple[str, ...]:
         """Also honor the documented WHATSAPP_CLOUD_ALLOW_ALL_USERS opt-in."""
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_access_policy_mixin.py b/tests/gateway/test_access_policy_mixin.py
index 292daae97b..baf2406447 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_access_policy_mixin.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_access_policy_mixin.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ def _hosts():
     """One bare instance per own-policy class, attributes set exactly as the adapters do."""
     from gateway.platforms.qqbot.adapter import QQAdapter
     from gateway.platforms.weixin import WeixinAdapter
+    from gateway.platforms.whatsapp_cloud import WhatsAppCloudAdapter
     from gateway.platforms.whatsapp_common import WhatsAppBehaviorMixin
     from gateway.platforms.yuanbao import AccessPolicy
     from plugins.platforms.wecom.adapter import WeComAdapter
@@ -40,9 +41,11 @@ def _hosts():
         "wecom": object.__new__(WeComAdapter),
         "qqbot": object.__new__(QQAdapter),
         "whatsapp": WhatsAppBehaviorMixin(),
+        "whatsapp_cloud": object.__new__(WhatsAppCloudAdapter),
         "yuanbao": AccessPolicy("open", [], "open", []),
     }
     hosts["whatsapp"]._dm_allowlist_source = "config"
+    hosts["whatsapp_cloud"]._dm_allowlist_source = "config"
     hosts["wecom"]._groups = {}
     return hosts
 
@@ -64,7 +67,9 @@ def _verdicts(host, name, dm_policy, group_policy):
 # would pass with a host whose prefix is missing — that is exactly how WeCom regressed once.
 PLATFORM_OPT_IN = {"weixin": "WEIXIN_ALLOW_ALL_USERS", "wecom": "WECOM_ALLOW_ALL_USERS",
                    "qqbot": "QQ_ALLOW_ALL_USERS", "whatsapp": "WHATSAPP_ALLOW_ALL_USERS",
-                   "yuanbao": "YUANBAO_ALLOW_ALL_USERS"}
+                   "whatsapp_cloud": "WHATSAPP_CLOUD_ALLOW_ALL_USERS", "yuanbao": "YUANBAO_ALLOW_ALL_USERS"}
+# Hosts whose allowlists document ``*`` (weixin/yuanbao match literally, as before).
+WILDCARD_HOSTS = ("wecom", "qqbot", "whatsapp", "whatsapp_cloud")
 
 
 def _all_agree(hosts, opt_in_for, label):
@@ -93,6 +98,20 @@ def test_all_own_policy_adapters_agree(monkeypatch, mode):
     _all_agree(_hosts(), opt_in_for, mode)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("name", WILDCARD_HOSTS)
+def test_wildcard_allowlist_admits_strangers_on_every_path(name):
+    """``*`` must open strict DM auth, DM intake AND group intake alike — whatsapp_cloud once
+    honoured it on intake only, then on neither."""
+    host = _hosts()[name]
+    host._dm_policy = host._group_policy = "allowlist"
+    host._allow_from, host._group_allow_from = ["*"], ["*"]
+    group_args = ("room-2", "stranger") if name in ("wecom", "qqbot") else ("room-2",)
+    assert host._is_dm_allowed("stranger") is True
+    assert host._is_dm_intake_allowed("stranger") is True
+    assert host._is_group_allowed(*group_args) is True
+    assert host._is_dm_intake_allowed("   ") is False
+
+
 def test_mixin_host_without_prefix_is_rejected_at_class_creation():
     with pytest.raises(TypeError, match="ALLOW_ALL_ENV_PREFIX"):
         class Host(OwnAccessPolicyMixin):  # noqa: F841