WhatsApp Usernames: Contacts Without a Phone Number

Some WhatsApp users now choose a username, and WhatsApp can then hide their phone number from the businesses they message. When that happens, the contact in VGraple CRM shows an @username and the line "No phone number shared", and the chat works like any other. This article is about your customers' usernames. If you want a username for your own business number, read Claim your WhatsApp username instead.

What is a WhatsApp username, and why is my contact missing a number?

A WhatsApp username is an optional, unique name that a person can set in WhatsApp. Using one is the customer's own choice, and once they do, WhatsApp can hide their phone number from a business that messages them or that they message. Meta is rolling usernames out to users through 2026, so you will see more of these contacts over time.

Businesses are in a different position. Meta's page says a business username is not a privacy feature, and adopting one does not hide the business's own phone number.

Nothing has gone wrong in your account when you see this. The message reached you, the customer is real, and WhatsApp simply did not pass their number along. Instead, WhatsApp sends a user ID that is specific to your business. Meta calls it a business-scoped user ID (BSUID). In this article we just say "a WhatsApp user ID".

What do I see in VGraple CRM?

You see the customer's name if you have one, otherwise their @username. Under the name, where a number would normally be, the contact shows the username on its own or the line "No phone number shared". In the contact panel of the conversation, the text reads: "This person uses a WhatsApp username and has not shared their phone number."

Everything else about the chat is ordinary:

• You can reply from the inbox.
• Flows and the AI agent answer as usual.
• A customer you already had keeps their existing chat and history when their number stops being shared. They are not split into a second contact.
• A STOP or opt-out from that customer applies to that customer only.

For a brand-new customer who writes in with a username and no number, VGraple CRM creates a new contact for them, shown by @username. If the customer later shares a number, see "How do I ask for the phone number?" below.

When does WhatsApp still share the number?

WhatsApp still passes the number to you in some cases, even for a customer with a username. This is Meta's rule, not ours. According to Meta's page, the number is included when any of these is true:

1. You messaged or called the customer's phone number within the last 30 days. Meta evaluates the 30 days per business phone number.
2. You received a message or call from the customer's phone number within the last 30 days.
3. The customer's number is in Meta's contact book for your business.

So a customer you talk to regularly will often keep showing a number, and a customer who writes once and then goes quiet can lose it. Read the exact wording on Meta's page, because Meta says the rules are subject to change while the rollout continues.

How do I ask for the phone number?

Open the conversation, look at the contact panel, and press Ask for their number. The link appears only on a contact that has no number on file.

1. Open the conversation with the customer who has no number.
2. Press Ask for their number in the contact panel, under the line about the WhatsApp username.
3. The customer receives a message with a Share Contact Info button. The label on that button is WhatsApp's and cannot be changed. The sentence above it reads: "Could you share your phone number so we can keep your details on file? Tap the button below."
4. If they tap it, the number appears on the contact by itself. If you already had a contact saved for that number, the two are merged into one, so you do not end up with duplicates.

The request only works while the 24-hour reply window is open. If the window has closed, VGraple CRM tells you so and does not send it. Ask again when the customer next writes in. You need the permission to send messages in the inbox, and the contact must not be blocked.

What works for a contact without a number, and what does not?

A few notes on the table.

Templates and broadcasts. Meta allows most message types to these customers, and VGraple CRM sends them. The exception is the one-time-code family of authentication templates. In a broadcast, a contact without a number is skipped for an authentication template with the reason shown in the results, instead of failing after the send. Read Send a template from the inbox for how templates behave outside the 24-hour window.

Custom Audiences. Meta builds an audience by matching phone numbers, and a contact with no number cannot be matched, so it is left out. Ask for the number first if you want that person in an audience.

Search. You can find these customers by typing their @username in the contact list or in the inbox search. See Search conversations and jump to a message.

No number to use elsewhere. Anything that needs a phone number, such as a call or a number you copy into another tool, is not available for these contacts. The export leaves the number empty for them and fills two columns instead: the WhatsApp user ID and the username.

API, webhooks and Zapier. Every contact these send carries wa_user_id and wa_username next to the phone number, and the number is empty when the customer has not shared one. To send an approved template to such a customer through the API, pass their user ID as recipient in place of to.

What happens if the customer changes their phone number?

WhatsApp gives the customer a new user ID when they change their phone number, and Meta sends a notice about the change. VGraple CRM follows it and keeps the same contact, so the chat, the tags and the history stay together. You do not need to do anything.

Can I create or import a contact like this myself?

No, and you would not need to. A contact without a number exists only because that person wrote to you first. The CSV import needs a phone number for each row, and there is no username to type in. If a customer later shares a number and you already have a contact saved for it, VGraple CRM merges the two. You can also merge by hand: see Merge duplicate contacts.

Do I need to set anything up?

No. It is automatic. There is no setting to switch on, and it applies to every WhatsApp number you have connected. VGraple is a Meta Tech Provider, and supporting these user IDs is something Meta requires of platforms like ours, so your inbox keeps working as the rollout continues.

Troubleshooting

If something here does not match what you see, message us from Support inside VGraple CRM with a screenshot of the contact and the conversation. Number connection problems are a different topic, covered in Errors 3441045 and 3441034. For a tour of the inbox itself, see the inbox overview.