WhatsApp Usernames

Overview

WhatsApp is rolling out usernames during 2026. A WhatsApp user who adopts a username can appear to businesses without a phone number — you'll see their @username instead. Veya supports this automatically: conversations, replies, and campaigns keep working whether or not a contact has a phone number on file.

What stays the same

• All your existing contacts are unaffected. Anyone you've messaged (or who has messaged you) keeps their phone number in Veya, even if they adopt a username later. WhatsApp preserves this continuity for known contacts.
• Replying, sending templates, campaigns, automations — everything works the same way. Veya automatically picks the right way to address each contact.

What you'll notice

• Some new customers may appear with an @username and no phone number. Their contact card shows — for phone, and the @username appears in the chat header, the contact details panel, and search.
• These contacts always start the conversation — a business can't look up or message a username-only user who hasn't messaged you first.
• Conversation threads, tags, notes, and assignment work exactly as they do for any other contact.

Requesting a phone number

If you need a customer's phone number (for calls, invoicing, or reaching them on other channels), use the Request phone number action:

1. Open the conversation and click the phone icon in the chat header.
2. Choose Request phone number.
3. The customer receives a message with a Share Contact Info button (the button label is set by WhatsApp and shows in the customer's own language).
4. If they tap it, their phone number is shared into the conversation and Veya automatically saves it to their contact card — no manual entry needed.

Customers can decline — the conversation continues normally over WhatsApp either way.

Campaigns

Contacts without a phone number are included in your WhatsApp campaigns like any other contact — segment and tag audiences work unchanged, and delivery is tracked the same way. The one exception: authentication (OTP) templates require a phone number, a WhatsApp platform restriction. Campaign delivery logs show a blank phone column for username-only recipients.

FAQ

Can I import or manually create a contact with only a username? Not yet — username-only contacts are created automatically when the customer first messages you. Contact import and manual creation still require a phone number.

What if a customer changes their username? Nothing breaks. The username is a display name — the conversation thread and contact history continue seamlessly, and Veya updates the shown @username automatically.

Do I need to change anything? No. There is nothing to configure — this works out of the box.