WhatsApp Business Usernames: A Guide for API Businesses

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Wish your customers could contact your business on WhatsApp using a name they can remember? 

That's the idea behind WhatsApp business usernames. Once your username is active, customers can use @yourbrand to start a chat without knowing your business number first. Your number will still be visible on your business profile. 

At the same time, customers using personal usernames may message you without sharing their phone numbers. If your team uses AiSensy to answer enquiries and a CRM to find orders, how will you keep track of the customer? 

In this blog, we'll explain how to reserve a WhatsApp business username, how it differs from your display name and blue tick, and what to prepare in your inbox, chatbot and CRM as usernames roll out. 

Can businesses using the WhatsApp Business API get a username?

Yes, businesses using the WhatsApp Business API can reserve a username through WhatsApp Manager or Meta Business Suite if the option is available for their account. Choosing one is optional, and customers can use it only after WhatsApp activates it. 

Once it's active, you can put your username on your website, social profiles or packaging so customers know how to reach you. Your registered phone number will still appear on your WhatsApp business profile. 

But what if you don't choose a business username? Your customers can still start using personal usernames and message you without sharing a number. To help your software recognise them, WhatsApp provides a customer ID called a BSUID. We'll explain how it works below. 

You can find the reservation and visibility rules in WhatsApp's business username guide.

WhatsApp username vs display name vs blue tick: What’s the difference?

Already have a display name and a blue tick? You may be wondering why you'd need a username too. Your display name tells customers who you are, while a username gives them a unique name they can use to contact you. The blue tick shows that Meta has verified the account. 

These details work alongside one another. Choosing a username doesn't give you a blue tick or reserve every variation of your brand name. 

Let's take a fictional bakery called Mira Bakes. It could keep Mira Bakes as its display name and choose @mirabakesorders for cake enquiries, if that username is available. 

If the bakery already has a verified badge, it can keep that too. Customers may still see a saved contact name or the verified business name at the top of the chat, rather than the username. 

How to reserve and manage a username for your WhatsApp API number

Ready to reserve a name for your business? Choose a username that customers can easily connect with your brand, then open WhatsApp Manager. If someone else manages your WhatsApp number in Meta, ask them to follow the steps below. 

These steps follow WhatsApp's instructions, last checked on 29 October 2026. Usernames are rolling out gradually, so availability and the options you see can vary by account and region. 

Reserve your username in WhatsApp Manager

You'll do this in WhatsApp Manager, the Meta tool for managing your WhatsApp business numbers. Sign in with an account that has access to your business, then:

1. Open WhatsApp Manager and select the relevant business account if prompted.
2. Click Phone number in the left menu, then select the number you want customers to contact.
3. Open Profile and scroll to Username.
4. Click Create, then enter your preferred handle or select a Suggested username.
5. Click Save, then Close.

Prefer using Meta Business Suite? Go to WhatsApp Accounts → select your number → Phone numbers → pencil icon → Username → Create. Enter your username or choose a suggestion, then click Save → Close. 

You can use either tool because changes made in Business Suite also appear in WhatsApp Manager, and vice versa. 

Choose a username that follows WhatsApp's rules 

Keep your username easy to recognise, but make sure it follows WhatsApp's naming rules. It must be 3–35 characters long and contain at least one English letter. You can use English letters, numbers, periods and underscores. 

A username can't start or end with a period, contain consecutive periods, start with www or end with a website suffix such as .com. 

Capital letters don't make a username different. A period or underscore does, so pay attention to those when choosing a name and sharing it with customers. 

Want to use the handle you already have on Instagram or Facebook? If it isn't suggested, link your business phone number to the relevant account first. You'll need full control of that Page or account, or basic partial access with the manage_phone permission. 

Follow WhatsApp's instructions for proving ownership when claiming the handle. A blue tick on its own doesn't guarantee that you can claim it.

Wait for activation before sharing your username 

After you save a username, it is reserved for your business. Customers still need to wait until WhatsApp activates it before they can use it to contact you. 

Wait for the activation notification, then try the username yourself before adding it to your website or printing it on packaging. In the meantime, customers can continue using your existing WhatsApp number. 

Can't find the Username option? First, make sure you've selected the right number and have access to manage it. If the option is still missing, ask Meta or your API provider whether it is available for your account. 

If you can see the option but your preferred name is unavailable, someone may already have taken it. If it matches a handle you own on Instagram or Facebook, you may need to link that account before claiming it. 

Change or delete your business username 

Need to change the name later? In WhatsApp Manager, go to Phone number → your number → Profile → Username → Edit. Enter the new username and click Save → Close. To remove it instead, select Delete and confirm by clicking Delete again. 

WhatsApp holds your old business username for 60 days after you change or delete it, so you can claim it again during that time. After a change, update the name wherever you've shared it, including your website and packaging. 

Meta currently limits API requests to two new usernames per business number in a rolling 14-day period, or ten when the requested username has reserved status. Deleting a username doesn't reset the limit. See Meta's username-change rules before making repeated requests.

Where will your username appear, and where will customer messages go? 

Once WhatsApp activates your username, customers can see it on your business profile alongside your phone number. Share the exact handle wherever customers find your business, because WhatsApp doesn't offer a username directory they can browse. 

When someone messages that username, they are contacting the business number linked to it. If your API provider supports username chats and BSUIDs, the message can reach the team inbox you already use. You won't get a separate inbox just because you've chosen a username. 

For example, a shopper could message the bakery's active @mirabakesorders handle to ask for a birthday cake. From a supported inbox, the team could reply and ask which flavour they want, when they need it and where it should be delivered. 

The way your handle appears inside a provider's dashboard can vary, so ask your provider to show you. Also ask whether it records that the enquiry came through a username. Being able to receive the message doesn't automatically mean you'll see how the customer found you. 

Can sales and support have separate usernames on the same number?

No, each WhatsApp business number can have one username at a time. If sales and support use the same number, they will share its username too. 

You can still have both teams handle different enquiries. With a supported team inbox, a sales question can go to your sales team while a support request goes to the people who can resolve it. 

Want separate public handles, such as @yourbrand.sales and @yourbrand.support? You'll need two registered WhatsApp numbers. These handles are examples, and their availability hasn't been checked. 

To use the second number through the API, you'll also need to connect it to the WhatsApp Business Platform. Reserving another username doesn't give you a phone number. 

This doesn't necessarily mean moving to a new provider or creating another Meta business portfolio. Your provider can explain how to add the number and whether it needs a separate project, subscription or paid add-on. 

If your goal is simply to let sales and support answer different questions, start with the team access and roles available in AiSensy. Multiple team members can handle chats, so you may be able to organise the work without adding another number. 

What happens when a customer messages you without sharing their phone number?

Say a new customer asks about a cake but chooses to keep their phone number private. Your team can answer the question, but what happens when you need to find their order or arrange a delivery call? If your current process relies on a phone number for every step, this is where it needs attention. 

A supported inbox can continue the chat using the customer ID WhatsApp sends with the message. This ID is called a BSUID. Some messages may still include a phone number, so your software needs to handle both situations. 

What is a WhatsApp BSUID?

BSUID stands for business-scoped user ID. Think of it as a customer reference code that WhatsApp gives your business. Your software can use it to recognise the customer even when their phone number isn't shared. 

If the same customer returns to ask about delivery, your software can use that code to find their existing cake enquiry. Your team can then continue helping them without asking them to start again. 

You don't have to create these codes yourself because WhatsApp generates them automatically. A customer can also have a BSUID without choosing a username. 

A regular BSUID is tied to your Meta business portfolio, which is where Meta groups your business assets. Numbers owned by that portfolio can use the customer's BSUID. If the same person messages a business in another portfolio, they get a different regular BSUID there. 

A customer can change their username without changing their BSUID. However, changing their phone number creates a new BSUID, so your developer needs to handle the change and update the correct customer record. 

You can find the technical details in Meta's BSUID guide. Some eligible Meta-managed businesses can link portfolios and use a parent BSUID across them. 

How is a BSUID different from a username? 

Keep the public username and BSUID in separate fields. A customer can change their handle, so your software should use the BSUID when matching messages to a customer record. 

Will you still receive customer phone numbers? 

Yes, you may still receive phone numbers. A message can include both the customer's number and their BSUID, or it may include only the BSUID. Your software needs to work in either case. 

For a customer using a username, Meta may still share their number if calls or messages have been exchanged with that number within the previous 30 days. Their number may also be available through Meta's Contact Book. 

The 30-day condition applies to each business number separately. If a customer recently spoke to your sales number, that doesn't automatically meet the condition for a different support number in the same portfolio. 

Already have the right customer's number in your CRM? Keep it, even if a later message arrives without one. At the same time, don't combine two records just because they have the same display name. 

How does Meta's Contact Book help? 

Meta's Contact Book stores a customer's phone number and BSUID together for your business portfolio. It is separate from your CRM's contact list, so saving someone in your CRM doesn't automatically add them to Meta's Contact Book. 

When Meta records an eligible interaction through the customer's phone number, it can include that number in later message data, even after the customer starts using a username. This can help your software continue recognising an existing contact. 

Contact Book begins recording interactions after the feature becomes available. Older conversations aren't imported automatically. Also, turning it off deletes the data it has stored, and turning it back on won't restore those entries. 

Before changing the setting in Meta Business Suite, read Meta's Contact Book guide to understand which interactions qualify and what will happen to your saved entries.

For developers: what changes in the message data? 

If a developer manages your connection, share this section with them. A webhook carries the data WhatsApp sends your software when a message arrives. These examples show the customer ID fields inside the part of a Cloud API webhook called value. They are simplified excerpts, rather than complete payloads or logs from an AiSensy account. 

When WhatsApp includes the customer's phone number, the data can contain both identifiers: 

{
  "contacts": [
    {
      "wa_id": "<CUSTOMER_PHONE_NUMBER>",
      "user_id": "<BSUID>"
    }
  ],
  "messages": [
    {
      "from": "<CUSTOMER_PHONE_NUMBER>",
      "from_user_id": "<BSUID>"
    }
  ]
}

When the customer doesn't share a number, the BSUID fields remain: 

{
  "contacts": [
    {
      "user_id": "<BSUID>"
    }
  ],
  "messages": [
    {
      "from_user_id": "<BSUID>"
    }
  ]
}

In the second example, contacts[].wa_id and messages[].from are omitted because the phone number isn't included. Your software receives the BSUID through contacts[].user_id and messages[].from_user_id. 

Your developer should allow for these missing fields, rather than expecting a phone-number field with an empty value. Providers may pass the data on in a different format, so use a test message to see what your connection actually receives. 

For the Cloud API format, see Meta's incoming-message examples.

How to prepare your CRM, inbox and chatbot for BSUIDs

1. Save the BSUID in its own field 

Ask your developer to save the full BSUID in its own field, along with the Meta business portfolio it belongs to. Keep the country-code prefix and period exactly as received. The prefix uses letters, such as US, rather than a phone dialling code, so a digits-only phone field won't work. 

If you also have the customer's verified number, keep it in a separate field. Then send a test enquiry and make sure both details are saved against the same customer. 

2. Keep the enquiry in one customer record 

Let's follow the bakery's cake enquiry through the system. The customer sends a message with a BSUID but no phone number. Your software needs to find or create their customer record before the chatbot asks about the event date, cake size and delivery area. 

When a team member takes over, they should see those details with the same enquiry. Try this without supplying a phone number during testing. If a form or connection makes the number compulsory, the enquiry could stop before it reaches your team. 

3. Check replies and delivery updates 

Next, try replying to that customer using their regular BSUID and a business number in the same Meta portfolio. A number in another portfolio can't use that regular ID. If your business has linked portfolios, ask your provider whether you qualify for the parent-BSUID option explained above. 

As the message is sent, delivered or read, Meta can include the customer's BSUID in a contacts block within the status update. Failed-message updates don't contain that block. If the failed message was sent to a phone number, recipient_user_id is also omitted. 

Your developer should match each delivery update to the original message ID and account for those missing fields. Also test username and phone-number changes separately: the customer keeps their BSUID after a username change, but gets a new one after a phone-number change. 

4. Test your store and CRM connections 

Now follow the same enquiry into your CRM, online store and exported reports. Each tool needs to keep the BSUID and continue working when the phone-number field is empty. An installed connection may still need an update, so ask about the version you're using. 

If you need a number to find an order, explain why and ask the customer to share it. For a general question about a product, your team can continue the conversation using the BSUID when the connection supports it. 

How to request a customer’s phone number with consent

Need a number so your delivery team can call the customer? Tell them why you're asking and let them choose to share it. Meta provides a contact-request button for marketing and utility templates, as well as an interactive message for requesting contact details. 

Once the customer confirms that they want to share their WhatsApp phone number, it appears in the chat and reaches your software through a contacts webhook. Here's how to bring the shared number into your process: 

1. Explain why you need the number. The bakery, for example, could ask for it so the delivery team can call about the order.
2. If your connection supports it, use the contact-request button or interactive message. Ask AiSensy whether the option is available in your account and the tools you use with it.
3. Save the shared number against the customer's existing BSUID record. Your developer should also identify whether it came from the request button or from a separately shared contact card.
4. Verify the customer or order before updating its details. When Meta's Contact Book is enabled, it also saves the shared number.

Sharing a number for delivery doesn't mean the customer has agreed to receive unrelated offers. Record what they've agreed to receive, and stop messages when they ask you to. 

Your developer can find the REQUEST_CONTACT_INFO button, request_contact_info interactive message and webhook formats in Meta's contact-request documentation.

Can you send campaigns, follow-ups and OTPs without a phone number?

You can send supported campaigns and follow-ups using a customer's BSUID if your API provider and campaign tools support it. Saving a public @username on its own won't let you send an API message. You need the customer ID WhatsApp provides. OTP messages work differently, as we'll explain below. 

The usual messaging rules still apply. You can reply within the 24-hour customer service window, measured from the customer's latest incoming message. Outside that window, you'll need an approved template. 

Before sending an offer, make sure the customer has agreed to receive it and respect any opt-out. A username doesn't change that permission, and the message types you can send will depend on your provider's support. 

For the bakery, this could mean following up on a cake enquiry with an appropriate approved template through a supported connection. If the team wants to make a regular phone call or send an SMS instead, it will still need the customer's phone number. 

OTP messages still require a phone number

If a customer needs an OTP to sign in or verify an account, you'll still need their phone number. Meta's BSUID guide excludes one-tap, zero-tap and copy-code authentication templates from messages sent using only a BSUID. 

Include a step where the customer can share their number, then confirm how your software will send the authentication message. Before adding it to a record, verify that the number belongs to the right customer. A username or display name alone doesn't prove this. 

For the setup and authentication process, follow our WhatsApp OTP guide.

How to get your AiSensy account ready 

If you're using AiSensy with the WhatsApp Business API, you can use chatbot flows to collect enquiry details and let your team continue the conversation in Live Chat. Start with the questions your team needs answered to help the customer.

For the bakery, a chatbot could collect the cake date, size and delivery area before a team member takes over. Customer details and a tag such as custom-cake would help the team tell a birthday order apart from a general menu enquiry. 

See how agents manage these conversations and take over from a bot in AiSensy's Live Chat guide.

To use this process with customers who haven't shared a number, ask the AiSensy team which parts of your account support BSUIDs. Include the inbox, campaigns, exports and each connected CRM or store. A conversation working in Live Chat doesn't by itself show that every connected tool is ready. 

Test the conversation before promoting your username 

Before inviting customers to use your username, try a conversation without a phone number and follow it all the way to the final reply. Your developer can use Meta's BSUID test guidance, while the table below helps your team see what should happen at each step. 

Keep a record of the results and give each issue to the person who can fix it. Resolve any missing enquiries, duplicate contacts or replies linked to the wrong customer before promoting your username. 

Want help preparing your WhatsApp setup? Speak with the AiSensy team about your number, the enquiries you handle and the tools connected to your account.

FAQs about WhatsApp usernames and the Business API