Customers Who Hide Their Number Still Become Contacts

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames, which let someone message your business without ever handing over their phone number. Ignite Funnels already handles this: when one of these customers messages you for the first time, they are still created as a contact, using their username and the identifier WhatsApp assigns them for your business. Nothing in your current setup changes, and there is nothing to switch on.

What happens when a username customer messages me?

A contact is created from their username and their business-scoped user ID, or BSUID. The conversation lands in your inbox as normal and the lead is yours, even though the phone number was never shared. Support for this was built before the feature reached most markets, so you are covered from the day it arrives in yours.

What happens to my existing contacts and setup?

Nothing changes. Every phone-based conversation, import and automation behaves exactly as it did before, and no existing record is touched or migrated.

• Messaging by phone number works exactly as before, with no difference in how you send or receive.
• Importing contacts by phone number is unchanged.
• Your current contacts, their records and their full conversation history stay intact, and running automations are not disrupted.
• The only difference is that a first-time message from a username adopter arrives without their phone number.

Can I message someone using only their username?

No. A username is a display label, not an address, and WhatsApp does not let you look a customer up by one. You can only reply after they have messaged you first, because that is the point at which their BSUID becomes available to you. Cold outreach to a username-only lead is not possible.

What is a BSUID?

It is a business-scoped user ID: a unique identifier WhatsApp gives each customer for your business specifically. It lets you keep messaging that customer even when their phone number is hidden, and it stays stable so your conversation history and automations stay reliable. A username, by contrast, can be changed by the customer at any time, which is why it is not used as the identifier.

Will I still get phone numbers from some customers?

Often, yes. If you already have a relationship with the customer, such as a recent exchange of messages, WhatsApp continues to share their number. It is mainly withheld for a brand-new customer who has adopted a username and is contacting you for the first time.

Where is this available?

Usernames are in beta with Meta and are being released market by market. The first markets are:

• Algeria, Azerbaijan, Ghana, Libya and Nepal
• Colombia, Dominican Republic, Singapore, Malaysia and Peru

More will follow as Meta expands the beta.

Does this affect my billing, templates or automations?

No. There are no changes to WhatsApp billing, to template approval, or to your existing workflows and automations.

There is nothing to set up. Keep WhatsApp connected under Settings > WhatsApp and username adopters are captured automatically as the feature reaches your market.